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East Coast Showcase -- Lawrence, MA -- 8/4


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56 minutes ago, Triple Forte said:

 I completely agree…


IMO It’s the adults running the activity that’s messing things up.... For accolades, profit...(sponsorship deals)  ?   

You can sell new uniforms every season.  That’s pretty lucrative. 

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It's been a while since I saw a show. It was a rush. Skipping dinner. Driving 100 mph to get there. Trying to find a parking spot on a random unknown street. Race walking to the ticket booth. Trying to get the highest, middlest, seats from the ticket sellers. Finding the section. Holding your bladder through SOA because it's either pee, or miss a show. Enjoyed every minute!!! Even after going to work on only 4 hours sleep, it was still worth it.  So much fun, I really missed it lol!!! 

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4 minutes ago, kkrepps said:

It's been a while since I saw a show. It was a rush. Skipping dinner. Driving 100 mph to get there. Trying to find a parking spot on a random unknown street. Race walking to the ticket booth. Trying to get the highest, middlest, seats from the ticket sellers. Finding the section. Holding your bladder through SOA because it's either pee, or miss a show. Enjoyed every minute!!! Even after going to work on only 4 hours sleep, it was still worth it.  So much fun, I really missed it lol!!! 

sounds like heaven!

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Rant coming in 3,2,1: The entire point of the cadets show and using throw back uniforms this year was to kiss butt to the fans and alumni who completely abandoned the corps starting in 2018. Don’t believe me, go back and look at the posts on this website! And guess what, it worked!! Y’all love it. And that’s good. But no need to defend it or quote “kids on Reddit” to show that it’s “cool and hip” and what the kids want for the future! It just is what happened for this year only, it’s great, you love it and we’ll all move on next year and they’ll be back in “costumes” next season like everyone else because that’s the future of the activity.  

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2 minutes ago, Den8uml said:

Rant coming in 3,2,1: The entire point of the cadets show and using throw back uniforms this year was to kiss butt to the fans and alumni who completely abandoned the corps starting in 2018. Don’t believe me, go back and look at the posts on this website! And guess what, it worked!! Y’all love it. And that’s good. But no need to defend it or quote “kids on Reddit” to show that it’s “cool and hip” and what the kids want for the future! It just is what happened for this year only, it’s great, you love it and we’ll all move on next year and they’ll be back in “costumes” next season like everyone else because that’s the future of the activity.  

I don’t think I have the energy or inclination to go back three years to read posts on DCP. 

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Just now, Terri Schehr said:

I don’t think I have the energy or inclination to go back three years to read posts on DCP. 

Fair point!! Don’t bother. Not worth it.  I feel better just saying it. 

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12 hours ago, jwillis35 said:

Mostly agree with you here. Maybe BAC takes brass, Cadets maybe take percussion. That aside there is no doubt that if there was judging this summer Bluecoats would easily win and I don't think it would be close. The total visual and GE along with strong performance captions would be too much for any other corps. We are all lucky to be seeing some wonderful complete and entertaining shows this summer, but the Bluecoats didn't just put together a full production that is entertaining -- it's quite complex and layered and they are marching the heck out of it. Boston is right there though. Their visual program is simply not as complete and they are doing some experimentation with the panels. And again, we have to keep in mind that every corps this summer is really trying to achieve a unique thing. Most of that is non competitive. 

I absolutely appreciate reading your insightful and thoughtful reviews and assessments of performances and corps productions. I am curious though on your take on Bluecoats use of amplification for all performers, and the electronic manipulation of audio.  What I found bothersome (and my tinnitus is nutty this week) was the seemingly relentless high volume throughout Bluecoats performance.  But more bothersome during the second Lawrence show was the amount of amplification for brass and percussion, reverb and echo for brass soloists and sound coming from drums I’ve never heard a drum produce.  I get corps are doing different things this year, but IMO you shouldn’t be credited with great music performance for the individual performers with so much electronic boost and manipulation. But to temper that; Bluecoats have some utterly amazing soloists.  They don’t need help.

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39 minutes ago, LabMaster said:

I absolutely appreciate reading your insightful and thoughtful reviews and assessments of performances and corps productions. I am curious though on your take on Bluecoats use of amplification for all performers, and the electronic manipulation of audio.  What I found bothersome (and my tinnitus is nutty this week) was the seemingly relentless high volume throughout Bluecoats performance.  But more bothersome during the second Lawrence show was the amount of amplification for brass and percussion, reverb and echo for brass soloists and sound coming from drums I’ve never heard a drum produce.  I get corps are doing different things this year, but IMO you shouldn’t be credited with great music performance for the individual performers with so much electronic boost and manipulation. But to temper that; Bluecoats have some utterly amazing soloists.  They don’t need help.

It's called GE for a reason...lol   j/k

 

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1 hour ago, LabMaster said:

I am curious though on your take on Bluecoats use of amplification for all performers, and the electronic manipulation of audio.  What I found bothersome (and my tinnitus is nutty this week) was the seemingly relentless high volume throughout Bluecoats performance.  But more bothersome during the second Lawrence show was the amount of amplification for brass and percussion, reverb and echo for brass soloists and sound coming from drums I’ve never heard a drum produce. 

The Bluecoats show overall feels very much like what they have typically done with electronics, but I do think they are experimenting some with audio. I will get a better feel on Monday when I see them live in Akron, OH. In general I feel the Bluecoats and Blue Devils are the masters of using electronics but there have been times when it's been too much. I remember a few performances in 2017 where I felt they got carried away with solos and small ensembles. I thought they had some serious issues on Finals night in 2017. I know they have top audio guys that help with their systems and setups. One of them worked the Vegas show for Cirque. From the perspective that I have seen them to this point (Flo) I have not heard anything that really bothers me, other than FLO issues. That may change. 

As much as I love the corps and feel they have led the charge in visual show design (along with BD), electronics (along with BD), and creative musical construction, I generally feel that most corps have too much sound coming from the pit. It's not just synth bass. The mallets in most pits are so overwhelming at times that I wonder why any amplification is necessary. Field audio for solos, pit, or even small ensembles is incredibly difficult to master and requires a lot of training.

Ask the folks who work big events like the Super Bowl, large outdoor concerts, etc. There is a reason that vocalists are often told to lip sync at those big events. Outdoor audio presents projection issues and quality of sound, timing delays (latency), clarity and all kinds of other issues. Feedback is a big issue if compressors and limiters are not used carefully along with good EQ techniques. Phantom Regiment has a fantastic show this summer, but the end (at least on Flo) sounded like a cymbal crash festival with mallets as the second most dominant sound. The brass and percussion on the field felt like they were fighting for 3rd place.  Being a former band director we are used to hearing things like mallets and orchestral percussion come from behind the concert ensemble. Not in front. I realize drum corps is a different art form, but to many ensemble directors in the band/orchestral profession this is one of their more common complaints about modern drum corps. We love the activity and its unique identity, but the balances are really different. Not a bad thing in every case. It just depends on what the music calls for. 

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