Saturday Aug. 14 - DCI Celebration - The last dance

[Brian Tuma]

5 hours ago, Hrothgar15 said:

Some frustrating words from a recent Phantom alumni on Reddit:

“Long build ups to climaxes are a thing of the past and it's a #### shame. I encountered it in 2014, we played Swan Lake with long musical phrases that told a story. The judges that year were telling our staff how unimpressive it was compared to what everyone else was doing. They tried their best to convince the judges that what we were doing deserved to be scored competitively with other corps but it fell on deaf ears apparently. The activity was on the precipice of major change all the way back in 2014. I consider the 2016 SCV show the last of it's kind.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I’d like to see the sheets allow for some diversity and for both types of designs to score well. 

I feel BK has figured out how to develop long emotional build ups that fit today’s style. They do it in a much more subtle way than we’re used to in the past. The same for SCV in ‘18 and ‘19. What I like about both those corps is that they respect me as an audience member by asking me to invest some thought. 96 and ‘10 Regiment are the epitome of long build ups, different in their approach yet both with big emotional payoffs. I trust Regiment will find a way to make it work. It can be done. 

Edited August 15, 2021 by Brian Tuma

[BigW]

5 hours ago, Hrothgar15 said:

Some frustrating words from a recent Phantom alumni on Reddit:

“Long build ups to climaxes are a thing of the past and it's a #### shame. I encountered it in 2014, we played Swan Lake with long musical phrases that told a story. The judges that year were telling our staff how unimpressive it was compared to what everyone else was doing. They tried their best to convince the judges that what we were doing deserved to be scored competitively with other corps but it fell on deaf ears apparently. The activity was on the precipice of major change all the way back in 2014. I consider the 2016 SCV show the last of it's kind.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I’d like to see the sheets allow for some diversity and for both types of designs to score well. 

Phantom has always has issues with many folks about how they approach and arrange. Some people don't dig under the surface and think very deeply about what's inside that arrangement. They come to some rather shallow conclusions in quite a few instances. Lord, we can go back to 1979's "Malambo" and people saying the triplets weren't difficult because they were in unison. Mmmhmm.... Yeah. Right. Passages where the Low Brass were in the lower ends of the instrument, which could get excruciatingly ugly with G Bugles and was insanely hard to make work, and well, it wasn't pitched high enough to suit some folks.

 

There's a catch phrase that's been in vogue, "Sustain and deliver" in evaluations. (Yeah, I know it's got other connotations, but that's what the term is.)

 

Sustaining and shaping a long musical phrase and then capping it off with the hit or ending idea isn't easy. It demands a lot of thought from the performers and maturity. Thinking back, "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral", at least in the Calliet transcription for Wind Band, is an very difficult exercise in patience.  Cranking out he notes are easy. Making it a musical experience is very, very challenging.

 

If one is into instant gratification... or into being spoonfed with being hammered to death with painfully obvious challenges and difficulty well... Phantom has suffered for not being that way a good bit of the time for quite some time, not just recently. In 1999, they made it pay off, and it was pretty much a miraculous thing. Effect doesn't have to be blatantly obvious, nor "Impressive". It can have subtle facets. Same with deciding what is challenging and how challenging. There are nuances. Just my tuppence.

[kdaddy]

7 hours ago, Hrothgar15 said:

Some frustrating words from a recent Phantom alumni on Reddit:

“Long build ups to climaxes are a thing of the past and it's a #### shame. I encountered it in 2014, we played Swan Lake with long musical phrases that told a story. The judges that year were telling our staff how unimpressive it was compared to what everyone else was doing. They tried their best to convince the judges that what we were doing deserved to be scored competitively with other corps but it fell on deaf ears apparently. The activity was on the precipice of major change all the way back in 2014. I consider the 2016 SCV show the last of it's kind.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I’d like to see the sheets allow for some diversity and for both types of designs to score well. 

To be honest, I think it's really easy to say "the judges just don't get us and aren't rewarding us." It could also be that "long musical phrases" weren't the issue. Maybe Don Hill wasn't able to capture the complexity necessary to impress judges, and maybe that has nothing to do with long phrases or "four distinct pieces." 

For what it's worth, I think Regiment placed about where it should have in 2014. So regardless of how they got there, I'd say the judges did a good job in the end.

[Lance]

THANK YOU to all performers who happen to be perusing this little corner of the net on their way home. 

[NewToPosting]

On 8/14/2021 at 3:02 PM, KVG_DC said:

This has to be a fun show to perform.  There's a good level of whimsy going on.  The kids seem to really like doing it by the looks on their faces.  

Also, RCR's flags and Bloo's uniforms...same designer? 

Michael Marcantano designed all of RCR's flags.

[DrumManTx]

12 hours ago, Lance said:

THANK YOU to all performers who happen to be perusing this little corner of the net on their way home. 

^^^
 

They read it.  And ditto.  Congrats to every single one out there.   

[Terri Schehr]

FYI.  You can book your hotel reservations now.  We got in at the Omni.  Does anyone know if there’s an airport shuttle because I’d prefer to not rent a car.  I never move it anyway and we Uber.  I can Uber from the airport if there’s no shuttle.  I know we’re far out from this but I’m a planner.  Fail to plan or plan to fail is my motto. 

Edited August 16, 2021 by Terri Schehr

[Jurassic Lancer]

47 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said:

FYI.  You can book your hotel reservations now.  We got in at the Omni.  Does anyone know if there’s an airport shuttle because I’d prefer to not rent a car.  I never move it anyway and we Uber.  I can Uber from the airport if there’s no shuttle.  I know we’re far out from this but I’m a planner.  Fail to plan or plan to fail is my motto. 

We are going to book our AirBnB as soon as it becomes available. It was beautiful. 

[Terri Schehr]

4 minutes ago, Jurassic Lancer said:

We are going to book our AirBnB as soon as it becomes available. It was beautiful. 

They want $350 a night for the Holiday Inn Express across from the stadium.  Nope! 

[BigW]

19 hours ago, kdaddy said:

To be honest, I think it's really easy to say "the judges just don't get us and aren't rewarding us." It could also be that "long musical phrases" weren't the issue. Maybe Don Hill wasn't able to capture the complexity necessary to impress judges, and maybe that has nothing to do with long phrases or "four distinct pieces." 

For what it's worth, I think Regiment placed about where it should have in 2014. So regardless of how they got there, I'd say the judges did a good job in the end.

I think that's very fair- Looking over the 1-6 slots in 2014 (Tilt, Out of This World,  Felliniesque for example) , there were some incredible brass books in there. Splitting subatomic particles has been the way corps have been placed for quite some time now.