Cadets 2017

[George Dixon]

1 hour ago, cadet93 said:

Yes, reminds me of 2007/08.

They really should have won in 07, but the vocals were so controversial. SO GH had to try them again in 08, and we all remember how that went.

So this time are we in for 7th place down to out of finals LOL.  Probably not, but still why would you do that.

Prepare for a singing version of WSS or Candide.  Ick!

Ick is a good word 

[Shewhois]

Would a corps suffer points wise for having a three or four person front ensemble? Honestly, I highly doubt the sound of the corps as a whole would be radically changed.

[cadet93]

6 minutes ago, Shewhois said:

Would a corps suffer points wise for having a three or four person front ensemble? Honestly, I highly doubt the sound of the corps as a whole would be radically changed.

Probably not, hence what is the point of having such a large front ensemble like they do this year?  Unless they had trouble filling their hornline which is a larger issue...

[Shewhois]

1 hour ago, George Dixon said:

Ick is a good word 

I mean, at least it would make sense with On the Town or WSS.

[wallace]

8 hours ago, HockeyDad said:

Oh the humanity. If it's at the end of the show it really should be Christ resurrected, not "with the cross". Ugh he shouldn't go there. What next, the Blessed Virgin?  Like Terri said, it's like getting hit across the face with a 2 x 4.  A bit much. 

So much to say with so little time, but I've promised to keep the peace. Silence is golden especially when it's the thunderous goo.

Edited August 6, 2017 by wallace

[Ediker]

Keep pushing!

This thread is about to break 950 pages!

[HockeyDad]

3 hours ago, Icer said:

Interesting statement, and at some point it is appropriate to ask what exactly is the product that they are selling?  Vanderbilt and Winston Salem both had massive attendance (the latter was over 10,000 for the first time).  Did these people come to hear brass and percussion and to see a guard?  Or did they come for entertainment, where brass, percussion and guard are the main, but not exclusive, components of the spectacle?  If you have a choice between filling high school stadiums with purists or filling college stadiums with fans, which do you choose?  Given the budgets of these corps, it seems that we are tending toward the latter by default.

If you look at high school marching bands, which started as football half-time entertainment and have morphed into something highly competitive in its own right, the same thing has been happening.  Just look at how many people descend on these big stadiums for the top BOA events.  It is instructive that Tarpon Springs, who has emerged as a perennial power, doesn't even have a football team, and calls itself an "Outdoor Performance Ensemble" rather than a marching band.  Cheerleading has gone the same route as well.

If this activity is moving away from the traditional drum and bugle roots in order to broaden appeal and support the larger financial needs, then the judging is going to have to reflect that change.  If there starts to be a divergence between the shows the fans like and the shows the judges like, that will be damaging in the long run.  Unfortunately, DCI is not like the NFL. The parties don't seem to have a strong an interest in cooperation and the central office is not very strong.  So I think it's going to be hit or miss for a while as this gets sorted out.

They're not moving away from traditional drum and bugle roots to broaden appeal. They're doing it to try to get a competitive advantage or dare I say win. Are you claiming there is now broader appeal?

[Ghost]

21 minutes ago, Ediker said:

Keep pushing!  This thread is about to break 950 pages!

Don't worry, it'll hit 1,000 by Wednesday.

[Liahona]

6 hours ago, George Dixon said:

they are 5th in GE - seems high frankly

the performance captions are just killing them - percussion is what it is at this point - too many different judges saying the same thing. The show doesn't feature battery a lot - opener is tiny snippets then back field sacet for Simple Song, then they play, ramming notes and constant movement backfield, you can barely see or hear them - they come up to be quickly featured (no section really moving during their feature, kneeling etc which isn't very effective) and then the go backfield for the remainder of the show, not playing then playing for the big push.  I also don't think the pit uniform helps - it is too sloppy. They need to be in the middle uniform so you can see what they are doing.

All JMO - kids are great

I agree...GE though is in the eye of the beholders( the judges) It also just seems like the brass hardly plays (perception anyway) the first half of the show...and they have watered down things a lot...

4 hours ago, George Dixon said:

as good as they are as vocalists - god I hope it is

it's a can of worms - it is hurting their brass and percussion scores

very difficult to balance night to night

and frankly this is DRUM & BUGLE corps - not "DRUM & BUGLE & CHOIR" corps - meaning it hurts crowd response (you only have to look at Crown to get that)

I agree with this as well...in their defense though they seem to be restricted by the Bernstein foundation on how much can be changed...Is this deal worth it in the long run?

4 hours ago, George Dixon said:

it's a question of good taste and a sense of "good design"

listened to the interview - Hopkins said something like "we of course need to do something with vocals next year, we opened a can of worms and now we need to figure it out and expand/perfect it" (not a direct quote, paraphrasing)

extremely worrisome comment - WHY??

why the need to keep going down a path like that - there is zero reason

very frustrated to listen to - do something FRESH

 

This seems like the wrong direction for the cadets...the singing is already way too excessive..although they were great singers...

Edited August 6, 2017 by Liahona

[Jeff Ream]

2 hours ago, Shewhois said:

Would a corps suffer points wise for having a three or four person front ensemble? Honestly, I highly doubt the sound of the corps as a whole would be radically changed.

Bloo has less than 10.