ShortAndFast Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 For a first performance, I thought this looked like a strong vehicle for Cadets. For brass and percussion, it seemed like a really meaty book and pretty coherent from beginning to end. I can definitely buy Respighi to Mackey as some kind of an "awakening" or "transformation". For what it's worth, I thought it was a more interesting music book than what we heard in the early videos from Crown and BD, although the Cadets have had outstanding musical books for the last couple of years. I'm definitely very interested to hear Bluecoats' music on Thursday. Visually, it seems like a reasonable attempt to incorporate what's being rewarded these days into the Cadets' bag of tricks. The run and gun Cadets-style drill stands out better and creates more effect when they aren't doing it all the time. I think the key to their success with the more staging & body oriented visual is whether they can really use them to highlight compelling individual and sectional performances/characterizations - BD is the master of this. I thought the guard was clearly used better than last year - better integrated into the drill, costumes contrast well with the black uniforms, better characterization, some potentially powerful moments. We'll see where they go with it. It seems completely clear that they are going to contend musically. They might not contend visually, but it's good to see some new faces on the design team trying some new directions. Even if they don't get everything figured out, it seems like a step in the right direction and my sense is that I'm going to enjoy the finished product more this year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Glassmen. best part of the corps those years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Yes he did say that. Kind of spending more time looking at show and changing/adding but would go back later to clean it. Compared to how they came out in 2014 and 2015, they're certainly a mess but I guess they feel those shows peaked early so doing things differently the top down approach. work on the big picture, then work your way down to the nitty gritty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrothgar15 Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) If anyone thinks the comments are harsh here go read the ones on reddit. You would have thought the corps just stood on the fifty and literally took a dump. Decided to see for myself: Easily my least favorite show this year so far (and possibly ever from The Cadets). The whole "Cadets" identity just seems gone. The uniforms are hideous on the field. They looked like The Cavaliers Part 2 (colorguard included), which I'm assuming is coincidence, but The Cadets are maroon and gold, ######! Cut the #### with the uniform change and fix it. Musically, it seemed way too choppy for The Cadets. The Cadets have always been about playing a long intro/movement 1/movement 2 that feels like a whole show because of how much energy they have. That's been their musical identity. Well that's gone and now we have just Generic Drum Corps pacing. Visually, again, the "Cadets" identity is just gone. I can't see their signature straight leg because of the uniform change and there's some different drill writer who wrote some pretty cool drill moves, but didn't put in a lot of straight lines and blocks and such. Instead, the corps now does body movement/dance. Let that sink in. The Cadets...horns...do body movement/dance. What? The drums are clean as hell and the horns sound pretty good. The colorguard is still dirty (it was windy, but still). But the actually show design? The whole idea behind it? Awful! Statues...in an activity known for large amounts of movement. Come on! And the statues were supposed to come alive, which is easy to convey, but then have emotions? I got none of that. The Cadets need to stop this notion that every show needs to be some emotional journey. They've been on that kick for the last 10 years and took one or two years off (one won a championship!) but stayed the course. Change it up! Bring the fast and loud and exciting for 11+ minutes! Edited June 21, 2016 by Hrothgar15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandonovan Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) Decided to see for myself: What even... That dude needs to take a chill pill. His message just boggles my mind. To his Cadets not being "cadets" all I can really say to him is: I am a huge nerd.... And I decided to use that... Hehe... Edited June 21, 2016 by Sandonovan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 all that's missing is a rant about no z pull 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandonovan Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 all that's missing is a rant about no z pull I am expecting a Billy Mays "But wait, there's more!" from them for that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20XXMM Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 What even... That dude needs to take a chill pill. His message just boggles my mind. To his Cadets not being "cadets" all I can really say to him is: I am a huge nerd.... And I decided to use that... Hehe... I am loving the Garrosh gif my friend. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallace Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Okay, I've watched it a couple of times now. Here's my early take. Guard is going to definitely be a step up this year. I love the flag work, and once it's polished, it will pop better. I like the Mackey part of the show better than the Respighi. Weird! The body work is overdone for my taste, but that's the nature of the beast now. The complaints about dirt are justified. I'm seeing some changes in the future. I don't like the drill in the "anti-ballad." I would surmise we'll see some tarps on the field, in the background with some sort of draping on the stage. There are some dynamite drill segments; I especially like the one about 5 minutes into the show. It's nice! I'm unsure about the characterizations so far. Will need to be up close to see that. I like to watch from a high vantage point; however, I may need to change that strategy this year to get the full effect of the "story." It's a better musical book than Crown or BD. So, I guess we will have to take a wait and see attitude with this new approach. Hoping for the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DasTuba Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 After watching it a couple more times and I must say "Bizarre" is the perfect word to describe this show. I love it. The hornline is pure bliss. Guard was sloppy but this was an issue for them last year as well and it was only the preview show. I'm a brass guy so I can't judge percussion at all, but they sound #### good to my untrained ear. Obviously there is a lot of dirt, just like every other corps right now. I feel like this is a great start for the cadets. I already like this show 100 times better than any of their shows since 2011. I was not a fan of the 2015 show (don't hurt me cadet fans!) Please please please turn that synth down in the closer! Goodness gracious I almost had to mute the video during that. I assume that this was a simple balancing error that will be fixed prior to the next show. Overall I feel this show definitely has the potential to contend for a tittle! As of right now I'm all aboard the hype train for both Crown and Cadets. Not at all a fan of BD at the moment. (Honestly I haven't enjoyed any of their preview shows in a long time), but they do tend to grow on me throughout the season never becoming a favorite of mine, more tolerable I guess you could say (hiding from any BD fans now). Still waiting to see Bluecoats! I'll see them live in Indy on Thursday! This is going to be a great summer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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