Bloooooooooooo! Bluecoats Official 2016 Thread

[Yossarian Sam]

Yes, thank you for the report, Jurassic Lancer. I am very excited to see and hear this show!

[DrumManTx]

Yes, thank you for the report, Jurassic Lancer. I am very excited to see and hear this show!

Seconded.

[garfield]

Bluecoats had their concert for the city of Granville last night in Denison's Fine Arts Quad. This year they pulled their mothership soundboard and a couple of their speakers down to the quad, so there was some electronics as opposed to last year when there was none. They played most of the show music, but not the end of Todo Tiende (they are still working/adding onto it). In a nutshell, it was a great concert. The horn line sounds fantastic to me for early June. In particular, they have a great trumpet line that has 3 or 4 legit screamers. In Todo Tiende, they featured three of them playing, in unison, what I am guessing will ultimately be a solo for one of them. The "solo" was all above high C and though the intonation was a little off with the three of them playing it, all three nailed it. It is a nice luxury when you can pick any of three screamers for a solo and not have to worry. If I counted correctly, there are 80 in the horn line--24 trumpets, 16 mellos, 24 baris / euphoniums / trombones, and 16 tubas. As I mentioned in the Cadets thread, electronics seem to me to be more a backdrop to the show this year--less in your face--and the show has an old school, but old school reimagined vibe to it--certainly not Tilt 3. Having been to this same concert last year, I can safely say the corps is ahead of where they were last year, and also that there is much more content in the horn book than last year. The battery sounds great to me, but I am definitely not a drum guy, so I can't critically tell you how they stack-up as to how they were this time last year, or to other lines.

I was standing a short chip-shot from JL and confirm his count mostly (I counted 79 but was blocked by the DM - I'd trust JL's count). I must say that I was less impressed with the music selections and arrangements than with the overall blend and smoothness of the sound. I kept listening for the typical early-season harshness or cracking that is common and didn't hear any at all. No guard was there last night. We stood in front of the battery prior to the concert and watched warm-ups. The drumline seems more ragged to my ear than the horns (but I'm not a horn guy). The bass drums were downright smokin' hot and had dead accurate timing while I stood five feet away. The snare line is not horrible if I closed my eyes, but the seeming mushiness of the snares was apparent when I watched the sticks. Styles are all over the place and I found it hard to see two players who were approaching the drum the same. I recognized one snare player from last year's BK line (HUGE white ear-expanders) and, like I saw in him last year, he was almost asleep with an eerie calm aura around him. Really spooky to watch him playing with such finesse and power while seeming to exert hardly any energy at all. I loved watching him. When my eyes caught the tenors they were playing Vortex (an incredible lot-lick that was written by a line member caption head, Roger Carter, a couple of years ago [$1 to Mingus]) that showcases the tenors as much as the snares. Highly, highly impressed with the tenor line. Very, very tight even in the exaggerated arm movement that Vortex requires.

I've enjoyed 'Coats shows in '14 and '15 but have been turned off by the heavy synth use. This year, as JL says and based on the cut-down electronics we saw last night, the horns easily overpowered the synths and the electronics melted more into the background. Admittedly we were 20 yards away and I can't say how it will present to the upper seats and box, but the electronics weren't nearly as overpowering last night than they were in either of the two prior years.

The _Kid was giddy listening to the show drum book and gushed quite a bit about how nicely it blended with the horns. I'd moved farther back to talk with some friends and missed much of what he described, but I trust his judgement that the books blended quite well.

Last night was "opening night" for us. This weekend we'll be able to compare directly to Cadets in Ada, Oh, for what's that worth.

Edited June 10, 2016 by garfield

[Jurassic Lancer]

I was standing a short chip-shot from JL and confirm his count mostly (I counted 79 but was blocked by the DM - I'd trust JL's count). I must say that I was less impressed with the music selections and arrangements than with the overall blend and smoothness of the sound. I kept listening for the typical early-season harshness or cracking that is common and didn't hear any at all. No guard was there last night. We stood in front of the battery prior to the concert and watched warm-ups. The drumline seems more ragged to my ear than the horns (but I'm not a horn guy). The bass drums were downright smokin' hot and had dead accurate timing while I stood five feet away. The snare line is not horrible if I closed my eyes, but the seeming mushiness of the snares was apparent when I watched the sticks. Styles are all over the place and I found it hard to see two players who were approaching the drum the same. I recognized one snare player from last year's BK line (HUGE white ear-expanders) and, like I saw in him last year, he was almost asleep with an eerie calm aura around him. Really spooky to watch him playing with such finesse and power while seeming to exert hardly any energy at all. I loved watching him. When my eyes caught the tenors they were playing Vortex (an incredible lot-lick that was written by a line member a couple of years ago) that showcases the tenors as much as the snares. Highly, highly impressed with the tenor line. Very, very tight even in the exaggerated arm movement that Vortex requires.

I've enjoyed 'Coats shows in '14 and '15 but have been turned off by the heavy synth use. This year, as JL says and based on the cut-down electronics we saw last night, the horns easily overpowered the synths and the electronics melted more into the background. Admittedly we were 20 yards away and I can't say how it will present to the upper seats and box, but the electronics weren't nearly as overpowering last night than they were in either of the two prior years.

The _Kid was giddy listening to the show drum book and gushed quite a bit about how nicely it blended with the horns. I'd moved farther back to talk with some friends and missed much of what he described, but I trust his judgement that the books blended quite well.

Last night was "opening night" for us. This weekend we'll be able to compare directly to Cadets in Ada, Oh, for what's that worth.

Thanks for filling us in on the percussion. Great report! Like I said before, I am drum dumb.

[Jurassic Lancer]

I was standing a short chip-shot from JL

Oh, I am sorry! I didn't even see you. I would have liked to have given you my greetings!

[Jurassic Lancer]

One additional thought that came to me when I should have been thinking of other stuff is: Bloo is utilizing a lot more soloist / small ensemble work this year, and they definitely have the horses to pull it off.

[DrumManTx]

Thanks for the reports guys! :)

[garfield]

For the drummers out there, this is 'Coats warming up for their public performance in Granville, Ohio, June 7, 2016.

(For those non-drummers who get lost, watch the set-player's left hand; he's playing the off-beats on 2 & 4)

Welcome to The Vortex

[mingusmonk]

When my eyes caught the tenors they were playing Vortex (an incredible lot-lick that was written by a line member a couple of years ago)

I thought Roger wrote Vortex.

[garfield]

I thought Roger wrote Vortex.

Ah, yes. Just confirmed with the _Kid, Roger Carter, the caption head, wrote Vortex. Fixed. Thanks.