Cappybara Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 55 minutes ago, MikeRapp said: I will say this: I don't know why we don't have a jazz-focused corps anymore. Right now, a jazz corps that was a big sound concept as a whole would KILL in GE. BD puts out jazz. Every. Single. Year. Their sound is the sound of a jazz ensemble through and through, and a lot of their arrangements get adapted to have a jazz spin compared to the original source material Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRapp Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 1 minute ago, Cappybara said: BD puts out jazz. Every. Single. Year. Their sound is the sound of a jazz ensemble through and through, and a lot of their arrangements get adapted to have a jazz spin compared to the original source material I understand what you are saying, I really do, but I think you know what I mean by jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRapp Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 2 hours ago, cfirwin3 said: I'm wondering how that stage reads closer to the field level. It seems like you really need to be at a pretty high box level in order to get the impact. I wonder how it would read if the back was bumped up a couple feet or the front (just before the stairs and ramp) was pushed down a bit... making the whole thing a bit of a ramp. Seems like they need to maintain that overhead clearance though for the drill to pass through. Yeah, I'm not convinced it is wise to split the field in general, esp with a prop that is as large and foreboding as theirs is. I wish they had sloped the stage forward more. Even at a fairly high level you really couldn't tell it was a jagged line. It definitely won't read at field level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfirwin3 Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 Just now, MikeRapp said: Understood. There is no question (or at least shouldn't be) that this activity is becoming a "GE" activity as opposed to a mostly technical exposition. The challenge for DCI is to keep both sides fully relevant and important to high scores. We oldsters can bemoan the loss of the old days but without eyeballs, without butts in seats, and without sponsors, DCI disappears. I bristle when people downgrade Bluecoats for being a visual show. They smoked most of not all the field in playing for much of the last three seasons. They are playing an enormously complicated book. Yes their drill is geared toward GE and not toward executing a series of traditional, technical skills—but so what? Kids want to be a part of a show, not a clinical exposition. I am concerned that we are creating a have and have not world, though. The fact is, from a financial and logistics standpoint, only a small handful of corps can put a Bluecoats type of show on tour. I don't want to see finalists have to do things that are obviously a full step below the top corps from a staging standpoint only because of money. I realize, of course, that the answer to that is ultimately to increase the size of the pie, and that means releasing the limits on the corps that can wow the crowds and sponsors. It just does sting a little seeing Madison and Phantom struggle in this new era. I think that a lot of people see what they want to see when they criticize (none of us are immune from it). But I don't think that the technical aspects are any less important in the perceived increased focus on GE... ESPECIALLY when you consider that GE has really only become more important because of the huge increase of technical proficiency among corps. The equation works like this... 5 corps split all technical captions by small margins... the corps that wins the biggest caption (GE) wins the night. Sound familiar? In the end, Phantom and Madison will do much better when they are technically pulling bigger punches... even if they don't have the finances to field extravagance. But in the end... your concern is valid and often talked about (has been for nearly 30 years now). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfirwin3 Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 Just now, MikeRapp said: Yeah, I'm not convinced it is wise to split the field in general, esp with a prop that is as large and foreboding as theirs is. I wish they had sloped the stage forward more. Even at a fairly high level you really couldn't tell it was a jagged line. It definitely won't read at field level. This plays right into the criticism that shows are becoming more camera-centric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappybara Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 2 minutes ago, MikeRapp said: I understand what you are saying, I really do, but I think you know what I mean by jazz. Jazz is a very broad genre. It has different subsections to it and comes in many forms. It's meant to be a bit open-ended so as to welcome improvisation and creativity. People have a stereotypical idea of what jazz should be in their minds, but I think that does injustice to the genre. Anyways, this is the Bluecoats thread so that's all I'm gonna say on the subject lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRapp Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 1 minute ago, cfirwin3 said: This plays right into the criticism that shows are becoming more camera-centric. I don't know that it's a criticism, though. Online is becoming a huge aspect of all live activities. Just not sure a stage this massive, that is flat, is working well for them. Would have been interesting, perhaps, to have it be on a diagonal so you had different soloist staging areas from front to back. It even took me some time to realize the stage was a jagged line at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forevergreen Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 2 hours ago, PrfctTimeOfDay said: Agreed! I'm digging what the Bluecoats are doing, but the ballad was such a let down. I love Grow Till Tall, but it felt rushed, unbalanced, and there were obvious issues with the soloist. But, I'm sure they'll work those things out. Agreed. Balance is an issue. I also feel if they played horns a bit more towards the audience, it would help. Finally seeing the "uniform", I get what they are doing, but I am not sure how much I like it. Dare I say, it's too white :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRapp Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 1 minute ago, Cappybara said: Jazz is a very broad genre. It has different subsections to it and comes in many forms. It's meant to be a bit open-ended so as to welcome improvisation and creativity. People have a stereotypical idea of what jazz should be in their minds, but I think that does injustice to the genre. Anyways, this is the Bluecoats thread so that's all I'm gonna say on the subject lol Totally understand. There is a lot of jazz in Bluecoats now. But to have a corps that did jazz in a way that frankly anyone would recognize as jazz is what I'm referring to. Not goofy or sappy, but big and innovative. Maybe I'm stuck in LaLaLand right now musically... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfirwin3 Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 Just now, Cappybara said: Jazz is a very broad genre. It has different subsections to it and comes in many forms. It's meant to be a bit open-ended so as to welcome improvisation and creativity. People have a stereotypical idea of what jazz should be in their minds, but I think that does injustice to the genre. Anyways, this is the Bluecoats thread so that's all I'm gonna say on the subject lol He probably means American Swing. But on this... as this is the Bluecoats thread, the Bluecoats are pretty faithful to the Jazz idiom... swing, fusion, symphonic, ethnic or otherwise. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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