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Is anyone becoming bored w/the Avant Garde shows?


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7 minutes ago, CrownBariDad said:

Instead of trying to figure out the theme, just sit back and enjoy the music. 

Give me a chance.  Too many corps have to narrate, often numerous times, to remind us what the theme is.  All trying to be clever by not reciting the whole thing, just juxtaposed parts.  I feel like I am watching movie trailers.

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     I’ve been longing for the return of traditional modern drum corps of the 90’s and early 2000’s.  As said in an above post “theater does not transfer to the field very well,” ... especially the electronic instruments used in the theater’s orchestra pit.  I had to detox with some 80’s and 90’s DCI championships on VHS in order to recover from this year’s finals week.  

     What I fear is there will be a time when no one in the activity will have experienced the purity / clarity / quality and raw power of just brass and percussion.  Keyboard percussion instruments never needed an electronic piano keyboard backup or, God forbid, lead.  DCI instructors and performers were creative enough and good enough to simulate piano parts, etc.  Listen to how ‘91 SCV simulated a landing helicopter.  It sounded just like the real thing and there was no electronic instrument assist or amplification at all.  No one ever said, “that soloist or ensemble would sound much better if amplified or even replaced by an electronic instrument, or better yet, have their part sung or spoken.”  Maybe today’s society is leaning towards less effort and more mono-tone?  

     I’m not totally against props either.  They are fine for back drop settings but not to impede the flow of marching and routine execution.  The marching members and guard with their weaponry are the kaleidoscope used to exclusively visualize the emotion of the music.  A prop never evokes emotion, it modulates it.  Watch Star of Indiana’s 1990 show.  The props weren’t the performers.  

 

 

Edited by Land_Surfer
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17 minutes ago, ReturnOfTheSonOfSUAPYG said:

If anything, DCI shows are the "summertime blockbusters" to BOA/WGI's "arthouse indies."

It’s all “art house indie.”  

We need more cult classics!

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15 minutes ago, Land_Surfer said:

     I’ve been longing for the return of traditional modern drum corps of the 90’s and early 2000’s.  As said in an above post “theater does not transfer to the field very well,” ... especially the electronic instruments used in the theater’s orchestra pit.  I had to detox with some 80’s and 90’s DCI championships on VHS in order to recover from this year’s finals week.  

     What I fear is there will be a time when no one in the activity will have experienced the purity / clarity / quality and raw power of just brass and percussion.  Keyboard percussion instruments never needed an electronic piano keyboard backup or, God forbid, lead.  DCI instructors and performers were creative enough and good enough to simulate piano parts, etc.  Listen to how ‘91 SCV simulated a landing helicopter.  It sounded just like the real thing and there was no electronic instrument assist or amplification at all.  No one ever said, “that soloist or ensemble would sound much better if amplified or even replaced by an electronic instrument, or better yet, have their part sung or spoken.”  Maybe today’s society is leaning towards less effort and more mono-tone?  

     I’m not totally against props either.  They are fine for back drop settings but not to impede the flow of marching and routine execution.  The marching members and guard with their weaponry are the kaleidoscope used to exclusively visualize the emotion of the music.  A prop never evokes emotion, it modulates it.  Watch Star of Indiana’s 1990 show.  The props weren’t the performers.  

 

 

Subtract 10 years from all the dates and change a few words and this post would fit in perfectly 15 years ago

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Nope, I enjoyed almost all the shows I saw live in San Antonio a couple weeks ago.  I still love drum corps despite all the changes.  Have I liked all the changes? No, but then again, I do not like all the changes in the NFL either.  As far as drum corps dying?  Well, they have been saying that since the 80's.  DCI said attendance figures from last year broke all records (DCI has not released this years attendance info yet).  There are more World Class drum corps now than there were 5 years ago.  It is hard to see some favorites like Madison and Phantom struggle, but other corps such as Mandarins and Pacific Crest have either joined the party or are getting close.  These are exciting times!

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1 hour ago, chris7997 said:

Is anyone getting bored with show themes among the top corps these days?

Most everyone is doing the avante garde, post modern, esoteric, hidden meaning thing.   

I'm constantly thinking "what is it?"  Random circles and sticks, run ways, doors opening, strange props, futuristic costumes... I feel like I'm in the modern art museum at the Smithsonian every drum corps season.    

Does anyone miss a little bit of realism and grit in shows?   Maybe every once in a while a major score show ... like the old days...Phantom, Fiddler, etc.  

Or a show that doesn't leave people wondering "what is it?" 

Did you actually watch DCI in 2019?

From the top 12, I'd say: Blue Devils, Bluecoats, Cavaliers, Crusaders, Blue Stars, Crossmen, Phantom Regiment had straightforward themes that were easy to follow from the music and visuals. I watched all of these with non-DCI folks this year, and nobody had a hard time understanding "what is it?"

You can definitely argue that, say, Crown was more abstract. But most people were happy to just listen to the awesome music book and watch the awesome drill rather than parse the designers' intentions.

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Not at all bored with Avant Garde shows. To be fair, I only have faint memories of the 198(?) show that coincidentally featured Eleanor Rigby.

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2 hours ago, chris7997 said:

Is anyone getting bored with show themes among the top corps these days?

Most everyone is doing the avante garde, post modern, esoteric, hidden meaning thing.   

I'm constantly thinking "what is it?"  Random circles and sticks, run ways, doors opening, strange props, futuristic costumes... I feel like I'm in the modern art museum at the Smithsonian every drum corps season.    

Does anyone miss a little bit of realism and grit in shows?   Maybe every once in a while a major score show ... like the old days...Phantom, Fiddler, etc.  

Or a show that doesn't leave people wondering "what is it?" 

Have you considered the possibility that these shows aren't the least bit avant garde?

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I was bored with them in the late 90s.  My favorites are ones with a strong, literal, but not bash-you-over-the-head-PC theme.  Lately, the early-mid 2000s Crown (plus Inferno and Relentless), Phantom 2008, Academy in tails years, Spirit during the Sin City/Speakeasy years.  There have been some others lately that weren't thematic like that, but weren't esoteric, and they were great...Downside Up, SCV last yet.

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