Tobias Posted July 3, 2016 Author Share Posted July 3, 2016 Was at the show last night, and it is true. Seeing the performances live can change one's opinion quite a bit. Went with several friends, and we all have been following drum corps for decades. I went undecided as to whether or not I liked the Cadets' show, and very favorably disposed to Bluecoats after Indy and purloined videos. Well, my experience was not what I expected. First, this is the loudest Cadets brass I have ever heard, and they were aggressive. Very fitting for the show theme/story. We all loved that aspect of the performance. Agree with other posters who mentioned the dirt and also the improving guard and vastly improved guard staging. Had no problem with the "lack of color". We were up high -- a good approximation of what will be seen in Lucas Oil, and the guard uniforms looked just fine. The change to gold was also effective, though thy have got to clean that up. Flags looked fine, though I don't know whether or not these were the final show flags. Bottom line: we all loved the show. And, quite surprisingly, after being wowed in the theater, we were somewhat disappointed with Bluecoats. Some of our various thoughts were that the show seems some what repetitive both visually and musically. I must say, however, that I love the music, and the rhythmic nature of the music is great. Color guard is very good, but we don't think that they will challenge BD or Crown. Brass and percussion, of course, were excellent. However, we were surprised that seeing the performance live up top, the slides became less three dimensional and less impactful than what we saw at the theater. Now, don't get too upset Bluecoats fans. One of our party felt that there was a sense of desperation in the Bluecoats' show, i.e., trying too hard to be ground breaking, clever and entertaining with a lack of subtlety in the show. To be fair, as a group we tend to be Cadets fans and not Bluecoats fans, so, of course, thees are SUBJECTIVE impressions. However, is there enough substance in the show to defeat the Blue Devils in six weeks? We shall see. But, this is the Cadets thread, so I am happy to say my expectations for them this year have soared after last night. My thoughts after watching ensemble Friday afternoon before the eventually cancelled show. There is tons of content, difficulty and energy in the Cadets show. Very very aggressive brass and percussion which will be a force when clean. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 Ummm excuse me, but the gap between Cadets and Bloo has shrunk. Certainly glad to see this. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobias Posted July 3, 2016 Author Share Posted July 3, 2016 (edited) Ummm excuse me, but the gap between Cadets and Bloo has shrunk. Certainly glad to see this. Yes BUT the Cadets are honestly filthy by Cadets standards. Gaps closing because the content is there but for them to get closer Crown, BD or Bloo, they've got to dig in now. Sooooo much EFFECT in that show that's hidden because of dirty feet. Every impact point where you have unclean forms, sloppy unison guard tosses, not only hurts performance numbers but also effect. It's all there, just need to clean it up. Hoping they're done with changes for now to catch up on feet...BUT yes, closing gaps are better than expanding ones but Cadets are still competing with Cadets at this point. They know where they need to be... Edited July 3, 2016 by Tobias 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaviesFan17 Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 Yeah, The Cadets show is a lot more complex than the bluecoats. The Bluecoats have amazing talent, but their show isn't as great as a lot of people think it is IMO. I think the Cadets are sort of a dark horse right now. I could see this show contending for a title, don't get me wrong it wouldn't be easy. I have them finishing second, with Crown in first. The Cadets aren't ten time champs for no reason though. I personally love the music this year, I wish I could see them live. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 Yes BUT the Cadets are honestly filthy by Cadets standards. Gaps closing because the content is there but for them to get closer Crown, BD or Bloo, they've got to dig in now. Sooooo much EFFECT in that show that's hidden because of dirty feet. Every impact point where you have unclean forms, sloppy unison guard tosses, not only hurts performance numbers but also effect. It's all there, just need to clean it up. Hoping they're done with changes for now to catch up on feet...BUT yes, closing gaps are better than expanding ones but Cadets are still competing with Cadets at this point. They know where they need to be... I'm just excited to see that scoring gap shrink given the implications from people about Cadets' show not being nearly as good as Bloo's. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCFan Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 I predict that the Cadets will reverse what they did last year., and put on the regular Cadet uniform for the last 2 weeks of the season. The same thing is happening this year as happened last year with these black ones - you can't see a thing visually with them. But it could work to their advantage if they reverse it this year. They will have cleaned the show to it's zenith, THEN have the visual impact of the cream pants/white shoes, which will be a simple but elegant way to drive the GE higher. Ta-da..!! :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 I predict that the Cadets will reverse what they did last year., and put on the regular Cadet uniform for the last 2 weeks of the season. The same thing is happening this year as happened last year with these black ones - you can't see a thing visually with them. But it could work to their advantage if they reverse it this year. They will have cleaned the show to it's zenith, THEN have the visual impact of the cream pants/white shoes, which will be a simple but elegant way to drive the GE higher. Ta-da..!! :-) ...in your Peter Griffin voice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStainGlass Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 I predict that the Cadets will reverse what they did last year., and put on the regular Cadet uniform for the last 2 weeks of the season. The same thing is happening this year as happened last year with these black ones - you can't see a thing visually with them. But it could work to their advantage if they reverse it this year. They will have cleaned the show to it's zenith, THEN have the visual impact of the cream pants/white shoes, which will be a simple but elegant way to drive the GE higher. Ta-da..!! :-) They come out with the 12.25 all white/cream ones. I guess they really will have come to life? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRapp Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 (edited) Yeah, The Cadets show is a lot more complex than the bluecoats. The Bluecoats have amazing talent, but their show isn't as great as a lot of people think it is IMO. I think the Cadets are sort of a dark horse right now. I could see this show contending for a title, don't get me wrong it wouldn't be easy. I have them finishing second, with Crown in first. The Cadets aren't ten time champs for no reason though. I personally love the music this year, I wish I could see them live.I've seen most of the shows now and Cadets is probably more complex than every other show. Including BD. Including Crown. There is a type of complexity that Coats has that at this point is unique in DCI, so I would be cautious about counting that show out. It doesn't look or even sound like a typical DCI show (oh there's the Blue Devils tear jerker ballad in the middle!) and down the stretch that may well help them with scoring. Coats will medal, for sure. You can bet on that. Last night I felt for the first time like this Cadets show had some legs. Now the middle is still muddy as heck; there are moments where it sounds like half the corps isn't even playing, which only means the drill is still too complex for them to do everything by muscle memory. Still hate hate hate the end of the second set stage event up front, it gives me the creeps and I am convinced someone is going to leap and miss the stage. Cut the pawing statues, please! It is a creepy distraction that adds nothing. Again, Jmho. But at times it sounded like Cadets were marching 30 more brass than everyone else...given that the lineup didn't include Vanguard, Crown, Knights or Devils. Dunno, at this point I feel like I want Coats and Vanguard to medal. Two opposite ends of the new DCI spectrum. It's overtime for Coats to win gold. Any other year they would have won gold the last two seasons, kudos to two legendary BD shows. But I would rather listen to this Cadets show than BD, for sure. Edited July 3, 2016 by MikeRapp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 I've seen most of the shows now and Cadets is probably more complex than every other show. Including BD. Including Crown. There is a type of complexity that Coats has that at this point is unique in DCI, so I would be cautious about counting that show out. It doesn't look or even sound like a typical DCI show (oh there's the Blue Devils tear jerker ballad in the middle!) and down the stretch that may well help them with scoring. Coats will medal, for sure. You can bet on that. Last night I felt for the first time like this Cadets show had some legs. Now the middle is still muddy as heck; there are moments where it sounds like half the corps isn't even playing, which only means the drill is still too complex for them to do everything by muscle memory. Still hate hate hate the end of the second set stage event up front, it gives me the creeps and I am convinced someone is going to leap and miss the stage. Cut the pawing statues, please! It is a creepy distraction that adds nothing. Again, Jmho. But at times it sounded like Cadets were marching 30 more brass than everyone else...given that the lineup didn't include Vanguard, Crown, Knights or Devils. Dunno, at this point I feel like I want Coats and Vanguard to medal. Two opposite ends of the new DCI spectrum. It's overtime for Coats to win gold. Any other year they would have won gold the last two seasons, kudos to two legendary BD shows. But I would rather listen to this Cadets show than BD, for sure. As opposed to counting Cadets out? We know Bluecoats show is pretty freakin fantastic. But since the season started, multiple people have been counting Cadets out so I don't think anyone here needs to be any more careful than anyone else. Still plenty of season left and anything can happen, obviously, but I think it is good to see the gap has closed a little. I just hope they can keep it going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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