Blue Devils in the Details 2023

[Chief Guns]

38 minutes ago, resipsaloquitur said:

Before departing for Fresno, sharing my thoughts after a third, live viewing of the show. All seats were right under the box except SB at which we sat on the third row from field, 50-year line so we've had multiple vantage points.

Art is the expression of a human soul.  It finds its means where it may: music, sculpture, painting.  It’s a personal matter of aptitude and natural gifts.~ Matisse

The show Cut-Outs traces the relationship between music, design and colour in Matisse’s work.  Music was an essential element of everyday life for Matisse: he played the violin, listened to jazz and other music on the radio and on his large record collection.

Similarly, throughout its storied history, Concord has nurtured a relationship with art, not only looking to the avant-garde movements of the day to inspire their music, design, and performance, but creating a culture of artistry that envelopes and informs the type of shows they create. Ellis, Dada, Fellini, Hopper. Glass. Reich. Matisse.

On my first viewing I happen to be visiting Denver on business and made the two-hour drive to Laramie for the corps' “send off” show for the community. Laramie is fondly referred to by the staff and the member as "Laradise." The invitation came from one of the techs, although it was announced to the public. The show took place on a Saturday night at the War Memorial Stadium at the University of Wyoming campus. "The War" is the highest NCAA Division I football stadium in the country at an elevation of 7,220 feet and seats 29,181 fans. 

The first moment we see “The Cut-Outs” we are introduced to striking props on the field arranged in scattered formation. Inspired by Henri Matisse’s gouache cut-out masterpiece “The Sheaf” and parts of "Les Mille et Une Nuits" with its bold motifs of hearts, jasmine flowers and leaves in vibrant colors, jasmine was selected as the natural focus. The show testifies to the revered French artist Henri Matisse's ability to create a new form of art that "paints with scissors." This medium allowed him to work with brilliant colors even when he was bed-bound in his last years, in spite of his deteriorating physical condition. As Matisse himself pondered, “It’s not enough to place the colours, however beautiful, one beside the other; the colours must also react on one another, otherwise you have cacophony.” Visually, the show demonstrates to the audience exactly that type of interplay between colors, and between the props and the uniforms.

To me, the theme of the show appears to be artistic, physical, and mental rejuvenation, which are themes played out, much like Matisse' artwork, by the use of bold color palettes and exaggerated contrasts in the props and in the uniforms. Like 2010's Through A Glass, Darkly, along with 2012 and 2014, to me they are  spiritual predecessors to the 2023 production. the unfamiliarity of the cacophony designed, purposefully, to make the audience uncomfortable. To feel what's it's like for Matisse to suffer physical debilitation in his later artistic years.

Speaking of the uniforms, typical of the corps' design motif, there is what’s on the surface, and a backstory. It is never what you see is what you get. The Cut-Outs is no exception. What’s evident is that the uniform is literally cut out of patches of those of past year’s championship shows, like sleeves (Ghostlight), gloves (Tempus Blue), top (Cabaret Voltaire). 

Musically, it's an immersive and often thunderous repertoire that highlights the member's musical ability to nimbly alternate between polyrhythmic metal (TesseracT); 60s folk (Joni Mitchell); old school jazz; and, refreshingly, anime, which as someone on this forum mentioned is really old brassy, jazzy-sounding stuff that you'd likely listen to anyway.

For many in the San Bernadino audience, and on my third live viewing, the ears started to be challenged somewhat uncomfortably at the end of the ballad, when the highly unusual combination of the TesseracT and Graettinger's "Incident in Jazz" took over with its abstractly formatted fugal melodic lines, as if we were asked to listen while shifting our brain into overdrive. Here, I was expecting them to break out into full dance hall / big band the way the the 2010 Kenton version played out to fan excitement. We shall see if that part gets reprised as the show progresses.

Is this the intended Matisse effect? In his later years, he resorted to making cut-outs because of his debilitating physical illness that surely made him highly uncomfortable in his physical, as well as artistic, state of being.

The resulting collage is both visceral and striking, beautiful and intense. Poetry in motion.

If you have the chance this Summer, it's a show that must be seen live to be appreciated.

Brilliant.

Just Brilliant.

I really hope the judges are seeing the show the way you break it down. 

One day if you have time, can you breakdown "Sinnerman" for everyone not familiar with the Mandarins show? 

[resipsaloquitur]

12 minutes ago, Chief Guns said:

Brilliant.

Just Brilliant.

I really hope the judges are seeing the show the way you break it down. 

One day if you have time, can you breakdown "Sinnerman" for everyone not familiar with the Mandarins show? 

Becca Anderson (Creative Director) did a great job of it at the intro of this vid. Need I say more? 😏

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by resipsaloquitur

[resipsaloquitur]

23 minutes ago, Chief Guns said:

Brilliant.

Just Brilliant.

I really hope the judges are seeing the show the way you break it down. 

One day if you have time, can you breakdown "Sinnerman" for everyone not familiar with the Mandarins show? 

Ashlee Woods, Communications Intern at DCI, did the show justice with this piece, published 3 hours ago: https://dci.org/news/mandarins-take-on-nina-simone-classic-in-2023-show-sinnerman

[lawdn]

1 hour ago, resipsaloquitur said:

Before departing for Fresno, sharing my thoughts after a third, live viewing of the show. All seats were right under the box except SB at which we sat on the third row from field, 50-year line so we've had multiple vantage points.

Art is the expression of a human soul.  It finds its means where it may: music, sculpture, painting.  It’s a personal matter of aptitude and natural gifts.~ Matisse

The show Cut-Outs traces the relationship between music, design and colour in Matisse’s work.  Music was an essential element of everyday life for Matisse: he played the violin, listened to jazz and other music on the radio and on his large record collection.

Similarly, throughout its storied history, Concord has nurtured a relationship with art, not only looking to the avant-garde movements of the day to inspire their music, design, and performance, but creating a culture of artistry that envelopes and informs the type of shows they create. Ellis, Dada, Fellini, Hopper. Glass. Reich. Matisse.

On my first viewing I happen to be visiting Denver on business and made the two-hour drive to Laramie for the corps' “send off” show for the community. Laramie is fondly referred to by the staff and the member as "Laradise." The invitation came from one of the techs, although it was announced to the public. The show took place on a Saturday night at the War Memorial Stadium at the University of Wyoming campus. "The War" is the highest NCAA Division I football stadium in the country at an elevation of 7,220 feet and seats 29,181 fans. 

The first moment we see “The Cut-Outs” we are introduced to striking props on the field arranged in scattered formation. Inspired by Henri Matisse’s gouache cut-out masterpiece “The Sheaf” and parts of "Les Mille et Une Nuits" with its bold motifs of hearts, jasmine flowers and leaves in vibrant colors, jasmine was selected as the natural focus. The show testifies to the revered French artist Henri Matisse's ability to create a new form of art that "paints with scissors." This medium allowed him to work with brilliant colors even when he was bed-bound in his last years, in spite of his deteriorating physical condition. As Matisse himself pondered, “It’s not enough to place the colours, however beautiful, one beside the other; the colours must also react on one another, otherwise you have cacophony.” Visually, the show demonstrates to the audience exactly that type of interplay between colors, and between the props and the uniforms.

To me, the theme of the show appears to be artistic, physical, and mental rejuvenation, which are themes played out, much like Matisse' artwork, by the use of bold color palettes and exaggerated contrasts in the props and in the uniforms. Like 2010's Through A Glass, Darkly, along with 2012 and 2014, to me they are  spiritual predecessors to the 2023 production. the unfamiliarity of the cacophony designed, purposefully, to make the audience uncomfortable. To feel what's it's like for Matisse to suffer physical debilitation in his later artistic years.

Speaking of the uniforms, typical of the corps' design motif, there is what’s on the surface, and a backstory. It is never what you see is what you get. The Cut-Outs is no exception. What’s evident is that the uniform is literally cut out of patches of those of past year’s championship shows, like sleeves (Ghostlight), gloves (Tempus Blue), top (Cabaret Voltaire). 

Musically, it's an immersive and often thunderous repertoire that highlights the member's musical ability to nimbly alternate between polyrhythmic metal (TesseracT); 60s folk (Joni Mitchell); old school jazz; and, refreshingly, anime, which as someone on this forum mentioned is really old brassy, jazzy-sounding stuff that you'd likely listen to anyway.

For many in the San Bernadino audience, and on my third live viewing, the ears started to be challenged somewhat uncomfortably at the end of the ballad, when the highly unusual combination of the TesseracT and Graettinger's "Incident in Jazz" took over with its abstractly formatted fugal melodic lines, as if we were asked to listen while shifting our brain into overdrive. Here, I was expecting them to break out into full dance hall / big band the way the the 2010 Kenton version played out to fan excitement. We shall see if that part gets reprised as the show progresses.

Is this the intended Matisse effect? In his later years, he resorted to making cut-outs because of his debilitating physical illness that surely made him highly uncomfortable in his physical, as well as artistic, state of being.

The resulting collage is both visceral and striking, beautiful and intense. Poetry in motion.

If you have the chance this Summer, it's a show that must be seen live to be appreciated.

I am going to Stanford and Indianapolis so I am really hoping to see it live five times. You are building my anticipation!

[Cappybara]

Cincinnati scores make me all the more confident about BD running away undefeated this season. Happy to be wrong, but I said the same thing last season and wasn’t wrong about that either

[jwillis35]

20 hours ago, NakedEye said:

Agreed, and I was thinking yesterday that the entire show is reminding me of 2014 in the way that, even this early, it is a very consistent design thought. Everything refers to the Matisse motif, like everything referred to the Fellini film idea. Some of the more recent shows have been mashups that they made work, but this concept is very, very tight. It's also pretty simple for audiences of all knowledge levels to get. The shapes are everywhere - drill, props, costumes, flags, body positioning. And it will only get more enhanced and defined.

Potential for a very high ceiling by the end of the season.

 

Agree. After watching last night's show between Crown, Boston, and Bluecoats I believe only Bluecoats can challenge Blue Devils. Very much enjoy Crown this year, and for a brass guy they are certainly fantastic. Not sure about their visual GE. Boston is very dirty for now. Great corps also and I love the show but I don't see the upside in visual, the props, or the GE. For now -- and my opinion may change as these groups clean and make changes -- it seems the most upside in the top 4 is BD and Bloo. 

Edited July 6, 2023 by jwillis35

[Chief Guns]

Yea they are most certainly coming for the Sanford this year.

[saxfreq1128]

3 hours ago, Cappybara said:

Cincinnati scores make me all the more confident about BD running away undefeated this season. Happy to be wrong, but I said the same thing last season and wasn’t wrong about that either

I’d love to have an opinion either way but seeing as how fans of the west coast corps have been thrown mere SCRAPS by Flo so far this season, it’s tough to call. 😤 The Youtube contraband isn’t quite showing me what I need to see. It’s pretty convincing though. BD has a level of confidence that stands out among even equally talented corps with equally great design.  

I think I won’t really know until BD has a clearer program after the ballad. Everything up to that point is awesome, though. 

[NakedEye]

2 hours ago, jwillis35 said:

Agree. After watching last night's show between Crown, Boston, and Bluecoats I believe only Bluecoats can challenge Blue Devils. Very much enjoy Crown this year, and for a brass guy they are certainly fantastic. Not sure about their visual GE. Boston is very dirty for now. Great corps also and I love the show but I don't see the upside in visual, the props, or the GE. For now -- and my opinion may change as these groups clean and make changes -- it seems the most upside in the top 4 is BD and Bloo. 

Yep. It's the design quality again. The Blue Two are in another realm. That Bluecoats could be right with them on show #1 (with phasing), while the others were on show #4 (I think?) was a pretty strong statement. Very exciting to see how these two wondrously creative shows evolve.

[Chief Guns]

41 minutes ago, saxfreq1128 said:

I’d love to have an opinion either way but seeing as how fans of the west coast corps have been thrown mere SCRAPS by Flo so far this season, it’s tough to call. 😤 The Youtube contraband isn’t quite showing me what I need to see. It’s pretty convincing though. BD has a level of confidence that stands out among even equally talented corps with equally great design.  

I think I won’t really know until BD has a clearer program after the ballad. Everything up to that point is awesome, though. 

I am not concerned about BDs closer. They do this to us all the time. Give us a bare bones closer in June/early July, make us question it, then they beef it up and the rest is history. 

How they changed Fellini's closer into a masterpiece in 2014..........................unleashing Clara on the world in the 2015 closer........................Meta "Morphing" that ending into one of the greatest closer's we have ever seen in 2017.....................the final changes to Ghostlight....................and even last year's closer evolving into an awesome ending. 

This year's closer will be just fine when it's all said and done.