auldschool Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 There was no clearly communicated story in BD's show last year until around Atlanta or so. The whole story didn't fully come together until championship weekend when Clara (the little girl) was introduced. Give it some time, BD has proven they know how to properly develop a show throughout the season year after year. You are sold aren't you. How long have you been following BD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRapp Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 (edited) Uh old grainy vhs tapes don't tell the full story. There were some terrific drum corps in the 80sAs I have said many times, it all changed for me when I watched Vanguard perform Phantom of the Opera on PBS. ANd, in retrospect, the entire activity changed as well. What these kids are doing right now on the field is nothing short of miraculous. They are playing music that is darned near impossible to play cleanly sitting down in an air conditioned band room. And they're marching 200 steps per freaking minute, and playing it to perfection.The good old days were never as good as we thought they were. Cadets, today, smokes Cadets of two decades ago. That's no disrespect to the old Cadets, it just is what it is. Things change, and I don't fear the future so long as we all embrace greatness. Edited July 10, 2016 by MikeRapp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 As I have said many times, it all changed for me when I watched Vanguard perform Phantom of the Opera on PBS. ANd, in retrospect, the entire activity changed as well. What these kids are doing right now on the field is nothing short of miraculous. They are playing music that is darned near impossible to play cleanly sitting down in an air conditioned band room. And they're marching 200 steps per freaking minute, and playing it to perfection. The good old days were never as good as we thought they were. Cadets, today, smokes Cadets of two decades ago. That's no disrespect to the old Cadets, it just is what it is. Things change, and I don't fear the future so long as we all embrace greatness. You weren't their live in the 80s were u? Things were different for sure, but there's a lot to be in awe of from each era. Today's corps are different, I love them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan1993 Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 (edited) I hate to say this, but if high school bands were more like this year's Bluecoats style, there would be a ton more kids interested in being in band, and a lot more interest from the crowds. The appeal for traditional marching is limited, whether we like it or not, and given that the biggest shows of the last decade all seem to be leaning on layered thematic, dramatic productions should speak for itself. I guess I look at some of these videos from the 80s, of renowned World Class shows, and it makes me chuckle. Put today's 12th place corps on the same field as these guys and the 12th place corps would bring the house down. Times change. The idea of having windmills, ramps, or for heavens sake a horse drawn carriage on the field would be more than absurd 20 years ago. The activity has evolved, and is much better for it. Good point. You're probably right and attracting more kids would be good for everyone, especially the kids! Anything to keep them off the streets. Edited July 10, 2016 by Fan1993 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auldschool Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 (edited) As I have said many times, it all changed for me when I watched Vanguard perform Phantom of the Opera on PBS. ANd, in retrospect, the entire activity changed as well. What these kids are doing right now on the field is nothing short of miraculous. They are playing music that is darned near impossible to play cleanly sitting down in an air conditioned band room. And they're marching 200 steps per freaking minute, and playing it to perfection. The good old days were never as good as we thought they were. Cadets, today, smokes Cadets of two decades ago. That's no disrespect to the old Cadets, it just is what it is. Things change, and I don't fear the future so long as we all embrace greatness. Wow you are kidding right? The Cadets of today would "smoke" Cadets of two decades ago? Well two decades ago you're looking at shows from 1996-1998 that finished 3rd, 2nd and 1st. Stonehenge was arguably one of the best Cadets shows ever. And don't forget 1993...first place with some extremely difficult music. Go back and watch those shows again. The best show from The Cadets recently was 2011. 2012 through this year's show are not as good as the shows from 20 years ago. Edited July 10, 2016 by auldschool 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 (edited) Great post, thanks for the reply. I agree that what the Bluecoats ARE doing with this costume is pretty phenomenal. The demand of that opening dance is not lost on me, trust me, and I realize that it would not be possible had they been using their traditional uniforms. My concern is not with the Bluecoats' use of it, but with the spread of this style to other corps. I have written in another thread discussing this that I will fight for the right for the Bluecoats to be able to use this costuming and to continue to put out these awesome show designs, but I really do not want anyone else following them and that is my concern. What the Bluecoats are doing is cool, but I can see myself getting tired of it if there are more corps doing something similar. Personally I look forward to the time when costuming is the norm. In this day and age it just makes sense. I think it will slowly continue down that roafd. Edited July 10, 2016 by MikeD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 The good old days were never as good as we thought they were. Cadets, today, smokes Cadets of two decades ago. That's no disrespect to the old Cadets, it just is what it is. Things change, and I don't fear the future so long as we all embrace greatness. The Cadets shows of today would smoke shows of 20 years sgo in terms of today quite possibly. It is really not possible to take shows out of their era and make a fair comparison, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Anyway . . . I'm glad you're a fan. And BD is glad. But man, this show is not as good as those other years. it's essentially the same show as last year, except there is not a clearly-communicated storyline. I found last-year's BD show not very comprehensible at all. I saw them live once and on video multiple times, and if not for close-up shots, I wouldn't even have been able to tell that all those props were books. The writing was impossible to see from a distance. The various fairy-tale props were likewise designed more for video than for the bulk of the audience. The wolves, for instance, were just a bunch of guys who for some unknown reason had furry tails. And there were multiple references on this forum to this or that character, and I kept thinking, Who are they talking about? I don't remember that. One factor in my case may be that I don't know Into the Woods very well, but other than bringing together a bunch of fairy tale figures, I gather they weren't really doing much with that musical's plot anyway, so it may not have made a difference. (I don't care if a show doesn't have a storyline at all, but if it seems to have one, I get annoyed when it's unclear.) Anyway, I would have had BD in third last year, but I'm liking their Tempest show a good deal more, and think it's the best this year. That may change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 I hate to say this, but if high school bands were more like this year's Bluecoats style, there would be a ton more kids interested in being in band, and a lot more interest from the crowds. The appeal for traditional marching is limited, whether we like it or not, and given that the biggest shows of the last decade all seem to be leaning on layered thematic, dramatic productions should speak for itself. I guess I look at some of these videos from the 80s, of renowned World Class shows, and it makes me chuckle. Put today's 12th place corps on the same field as these guys and the 12th place corps would bring the house down. Times change. The idea of having windmills, ramps, or for heavens sake a horse drawn carriage on the field would be more than absurd 20 years ago. The activity has evolved, and is much better for it. I'm not sure you're right about the audiences or the kids. I attended a high school band show last year at Ohio State that was a combination of about 30 corps-style competition bands being judged and 10 halftime-style show bands getting comments only (from a panel of college band directors). A sizeable portion of the audience clearly preferred the latter group, which was much more traditional. Regarding the competition bands, people were puzzled by the props, bored by the body movement, and felt that any marching that wasn't high step was merely "shuffling". (As for 1980s vs. 2010s drum corps, the former are at least as musically enjoyable as the latter. I'd rather listen to 1989 Dutch Boy than to 2015 Troopers, to pick just a pair of 13th place corps--and I never heard that Dutch Boy show until a few years ago, so it's not a case of nostalgia. It's great that the corps move more and faster now than they did then, but between the interference of that movement with great playing, and the ever-increasing reliance on the electronically-enhanced front ensemble that doesn't even have to move at all, something was lost. Beware of presentism!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRapp Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 The Cadets shows of today would smoke shows of 20 years sgo in terms of today quite possibly. It is really not possible to take shows out of their era and make a fair comparison, IMO. It's certainly not possible, obviously. Football players of today look nothing like the football players of 20 years ago. I don't mean to pooh pooh the previous decades of drum corps. Sorry if I came off that way. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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