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Boston Crusaders 2019


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You cant always gleam much from the overall score as that type of thing is subjective is largely due to contest dynamics, or a Judge who didn't manage their numbers correctly, but what I always look at this time of year is sub captions and the ordinals within those sub-captions.. 

The GE 1 Judge gave Boston a .1 advantage in performance over Blooo, the first such nod to BAC in this caption. 

The visual proficiency judge gave the same score for Content and Achievement a common sign among judging that the judge doesn't like the show.. Basically saying that the performance level is capped by what is being asked of them to do... Something you don't really want until you get to the end of the season and you are maxing out your rep scores.. 

The Percussion score shows one that the judge prefers what Cadets and Bloo are playing and if this judge was correct that BAC Drums had some dirt in their run last night.. Had BAC simply lost in the Performance category and had a higher Rep score than Cadets you could summarize that BAC just had a bad run, but the Cont score tells me that this Judge prefers what Cadets are playing.. 

 

 

A video of the corps from Evansville shows me that the corps is having a little performance issues in a couple spots (general dirt, drops etc.., that is common for the first week of tour)

The transition between the herald Fanfare and the reprise of the My shot/ Rocky "shout" section needs some work. The frequency of the voice-overs is still there and by the time it gets to the shout section gets to be a little distracting.

The ballad in general needs some massaging. The French horn / Euphonium while a good novelty and different texture are adding to the clunky feeling of the ballad, there has consistently been some balance issue with the mics and the blend of the rest of the corps in the recordings I've heard of them.. 

The corps in order to make a legit Medal run needs to shore up some of these weaknesses in their own show that are not performance issues so they can close the GE gap and start to go toe-to-toe with the elite. 

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at this time of the season, when comp and performance numbers are equal, it means look here's where you are with what you have no....and since so many shows have so much detailing yet to be added, that isn't a death knell.

 

When it starts happening at Atlanta and you have the major changes in, or the week between Atlanta and Allentown, thats when it becomes an issue

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21 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

at this time of the season, when comp and performance numbers are equal, it means look here's where you are with what you have no....and since so many shows have so much detailing yet to be added, that isn't a death knell.

 

When it starts happening at Atlanta and you have the major changes in, or the week between Atlanta and Allentown, thats when it becomes an issue

From this judge going forward I wouldn't expect their scores to be favorable to Boston, So it is not a Death blow from the Judging activity as a whole, but this one judge has made a statement to BAC and their design team. That is a guy to be circled and to make a point to see during critique to point out some things that I as a designer would feel are not being appreciated... 

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I too....since the theater premiere, and moreso seeing various videos online,  feel the narration in the "My Shot" is far too much, and too repetitive and overshadows the percussion when they are right there on the sidelines with judge watching!  Keep in mind that the speakers are right there too on the sidelines and may distort the clarity of the notes being played, but, in fairness to Colin's book... it has some tasty things just like Bloo & Cadets, so i can't see them as far down as they are unless there are some very visible technical errors we are not seeing/hearing from the vids .   

Also, the "Goliath" character needs as I have said before in this thread - a major overhaul/change.  He needs to have a different appearance than the corps proper.  He needs to be made larger... whether it be costuming, different armor (a gleaming silver breastplate would be awesome!) , additional padding ... wider - different colored pant legs whatever.. there also needs to be some sort of weapon... David had a sling... what does Goliath have?  At present.....NOTHING!!!

A huge gleaming sword could be added.  Some additional colors (red) could be added too.... maybe signifying or representing blood?  And the scene just needs to be re-worked as to how he actually "falls".

 

AND..................... THERE NEEDS TO BE AN ORGAN/SYNTH ADDED!  Please, Please ..... this makes the whole piece in the actual orchestral version!   

 

I KNOW ( as does everyone else ) the actual closers that we'll see in August are by no means realized or added yet --- nor will they be say until perhaps San Antonio.

 

There is NO DOUBT that the Visual staff have a lot of changes forthcoming, and additions that we will see as the season progresses.  I predict some changes to 'Goliath' and the ending scenes on a whole and a different closer than what we see/hear currently!

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1 hour ago, PRPhan4ever said:

I too....since the theater premiere, and moreso seeing various videos online,  feel the narration in the "My Shot" is far too much, and too repetitive and overshadows the percussion when they are right there on the sidelines with judge watching!  Keep in mind that the speakers are right there too on the sidelines and may distort the clarity of the notes being played, but, in fairness to Colin's book... it has some tasty things just like Bloo & Cadets, so i can't see them as far down as they are unless there are some very visible technical errors we are not seeing/hearing from the vids .   

Also, the "Goliath" character needs as I have said before in this thread - a major overhaul/change.  He needs to have a different appearance than the corps proper.  He needs to be made larger... whether it be costuming, different armor (a gleaming silver breastplate would be awesome!) , additional padding ... wider - different colored pant legs whatever.. there also needs to be some sort of weapon... David had a sling... what does Goliath have?  At present.....NOTHING!!!

A huge gleaming sword could be added.  Some additional colors (red) could be added too.... maybe signifying or representing blood?  And the scene just needs to be re-worked as to how he actually "falls".

 

AND..................... THERE NEEDS TO BE AN ORGAN/SYNTH ADDED!  Please, Please ..... this makes the whole piece in the actual orchestral version!   

 

I KNOW ( as does everyone else ) the actual closers that we'll see in August are by no means realized or added yet --- nor will they be say until perhaps San Antonio.

 

There is NO DOUBT that the Visual staff have a lot of changes forthcoming, and additions that we will see as the season progresses.  I predict some changes to 'Goliath' and the ending scenes on a whole and a different closer than what we see/hear currently!

I agree with that.

This design team is good at what they do so I will trust their process. 

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1 hour ago, Glenn426 said:

From this judge going forward I wouldn't expect their scores to be favorable to Boston, So it is not a Death blow from the Judging activity as a whole, but this one judge has made a statement to BAC and their design team. That is a guy to be circled and to make a point to see during critique to point out some things that I as a designer would feel are not being appreciated... 

So likely Colin or his team will discuss the performance with the judge, bring things to light about what BAC plays and how they play.  It could be small issues with new material but it was interpreted to be throughout the entire performance.  Was this a a first viewing?  If so, I wouldn't say a statement was made.  I am thinking it was about THAT performance.  If this kind of scoring is repeated more than once, then there is a bigger issue.  I have no doubt the staff (and actually the entire BAC staff) knows how to manage the performance programming.  I have no doubt the show layering and changes are already planned to be implemented.

BAC has a show tomorrow in Allentown, then  Lawrence on Saturday.  Then 2 days before a show in Clifton (good rehearsal time).  Then 2 days before the next show (another 2 days of rehearsal and maybe some rest or 4th of July fun).  Another show the 5th and the next night the 6th in Orlando (kind of another home show).  After Orlando they have 4 full days until Knoxville.

My guess is there will some changes through Orlando,  then more significant layering in Orlando for Knoxville.  After Knoxville there are a number of shows leading up to SA to get the layering cleaned up.  All that being said I like your breakdown of BAC and the others.  Very thoughtful and balanced.

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Most of the above opinions are reasonable.  At the end of the day, when it comes to the drum number I have a motto:       "IN COLIN WE TRUST".

Edited by craiga
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44 minutes ago, LabMaster said:

So likely Colin or his team will discuss the performance with the judge, bring things to light about what BAC plays and how they play.  It could be small issues with new material but it was interpreted to be throughout the entire performance.  Was this a a first viewing?  If so, I wouldn't say a statement was made.  I am thinking it was about THAT performance.  If this kind of scoring is repeated more than once, then there is a bigger issue.  I have no doubt the staff (and actually the entire BAC staff) knows how to manage the performance programming.  I have no doubt the show layering and changes are already planned to be implemented.

BAC has a show tomorrow in Allentown, then  Lawrence on Saturday.  Then 2 days before a show in Clifton (good rehearsal time).  Then 2 days before the next show (another 2 days of rehearsal and maybe some rest or 4th of July fun).  Another show the 5th and the next night the 6th in Orlando (kind of another home show).  After Orlando they have 4 full days until Knoxville.

My guess is there will some changes through Orlando,  then more significant layering in Orlando for Knoxville.  After Knoxville there are a number of shows leading up to SA to get the layering cleaned up.  All that being said I like your breakdown of BAC and the others.  Very thoughtful and balanced.

My comments were in regard to the Visual Proficiency judge giving square numbers.. Even score in Comp and Perf.... 

Drum judges are particular about their personal taste I feel, And in Drumming the guys can have a bad run, I think yesterday show was a combination of a judge who preferred the Cadets and Bluecoats book to BAC's along with perhaps a bad run... 

Colin will not give up and I have no doubt they will sure up any issues they are facing whether perceived or actual performance issues.

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49 minutes ago, Glenn426 said:

My comments were in regard to the Visual Proficiency judge giving square numbers.. Even score in Comp and Perf.... 

Drum judges are particular about their personal taste I feel, And in Drumming the guys can have a bad run, I think yesterday show was a combination of a judge who preferred the Cadets and Bluecoats book to BAC's along with perhaps a bad run... 

Colin will not give up and I have no doubt they will sure up any issues they are facing whether perceived or actual performance issues.

While surprising, I'm not losing sleep over the percussion results, at this time.  It appears some risks were taken with regard to percussion, which is fine... June is the time for that.  There is time between now and mid-July to make adjustments. 

Brass performance is very encouraging.  They're executing much of the tough stuff, earlier this year, and there is still room to grow.  

In terms of the overall program, I hope they're planning to rethink the ballad.  This year (and last), it seems late, brief, and under-developed.  It's an important part of a show.  Wish they would approach it as an opportunity to showcase this great brass line, and not like an obligation/afterthought.  Love the French horn and concert baritone/euph back and forth.  It's the rest of the brass line that needs some better involvement.  

Feeling lukewarm on the stilts and stick figure.  Curious if they have other ideas here.  

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