2023 Blue Stars

[Cellano]

6 minutes ago, BlueStainGlass said:

Also, they haven't had the brass or assistant brass caption head there since like San Antonio. Something IMO needs to be addressed so that the person in charge can run the ship. If they eant to be competitive they need to use less field, less marching, and louder impacts. Extra marching and spacing doesn't get rewarded so don't take the risk. 

Missing the caption and assistant caption heads can explain why everything with the show has really stayed the same thus the scores staying stagnant. Like I said earlier seems staff gave up for the season. 

[BlueStainGlass]

I mean they are band directors and as some people have pointed out schools start earlier. Tennessee started this week, I think Arizona started last week, and Indy starts before finals now I believe. It's also a reason why the activity talent pool is shrinking because you can't do a whole summer and miss a month of school. 

[brians]

2 hours ago, NewToPosting said:

 

BS: "In Absintheia": The green makes sense. The boxes are sugar cubes. Spoon slides. Cool stuff. Cool colors. What does it all mean though? They're very good, but where does it start, where do we go, why do we go there, and where do we end? Why do they switch from purples/oranges/blacks to greens? Great drum corps and very cute, but what's the purpose of it all? I want to be bought in, but I'm having to figure out how to buy in. All the elements are great, I just miss the overall point (and I'm saying this as someone who drank Absinthe in France before the EU banned the wormwood version).

I dont know..... What does, phantom, cavilers, crowns, blue devils, blue coats, etc... show all mean.  If you could please do a detailed description of what all of the corps shows mean,  where they take you/the point they are making, and the story the are telling,.... the same request you are making of Blue Stars, I will be happy to listen.

Edited August 5, 2023 by brians

[corps8294]

16 minutes ago, brians said:

I dont know..... What does, phantom, cavilers, crowns, blue devils, blue coats, etc... show all mean.  If you could please do a detailed description of what all of the corps shows mean,  where they take you/the point they are making, and the story the are telling,.... the same request you are making of Blue Stars, I will be happy to listen.

The difference with those corps and the Blue Stars is execution and smart design. The way those shows ebb and flow from beginning to end with highs, lows, impacts, etc is very clear. While the Blue Stars show appears cluttered and in a constant state of "where am I supposed to watch?" those corps have effectively utilized their props and drill cohesively. In addition, their shows aren't overwritten and the members are being challenged; but in away to allow for growth and achievement. Simply saying, "The Blue Stars have one of the hardest shows on the field and they aren't being rewarded for it" is a lame sense of reasoning. Content scores only go so far during a season; if the execution isn't there, so goes the growth of the show and the score. Yes, corps should challenge their members; however, it has to come with smart design and material that will allow for achievement and growth. The Blue Stars are not clean and aren't getting much better; one of the reasons why they are sitting in 11th place, currently. The guard book is way overwritten for the talent level of the members in the section. Moreover, when you have a caption head and an assistant caption head gone since San Antonio...no wonder why the music scores are lagging behind the competition. I fully understand the commitments instructors and caption heads have outside of drum corps; but if you don't have somebody in the chain of command that can run the ship while the leadership is away, then that caption is going to suffer. The percussion has been an ongoing issue since Mapes and Grom left the corps. 
It's going to be interesting to see what happens with the corps after finals. Lots to discuss. The comments have been very insightful and pretty much what everyone has been thinking. 

[PamahoNow]

53 minutes ago, brians said:

I dont know..... What does, phantom, cavilers, crowns, blue devils, blue coats, etc... show all mean.  If you could please do a detailed description of what all of the corps shows mean,  where they take you/the point they are making, and the story the are telling,.... the same request you are making of Blue Stars, I will be happy to listen.

Well, this is from the Bluecoats description of their show. If that is what you are asking for...

The Woods (Chick Corea) were all around me as I wandered among the trees amidst the birdsongs and ambient sounds of nature. All at once, I stepped out of the forest and into the enchanting landscape of The Garden of Love (William Blake & Jacob TV), where I had once spent so much blissful time. Surrounded by soaring butterflies, blooming flowers, brilliant colors, and green grass, I was quickly immersed in all that was beautiful. Topiaries and a flourishing greenhouse appeared as the melody of dance enhanced the sights and sounds around me.

I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.

I celebrated life, freedom, and passion as I contemplated the complexities of the future. In this apparent paradise, I searched for harmony, light and truth. Even as a chapel arose and threatened to contain my spirit, I found myself Finding and Believing (Pat Metheny) in the sacred space that enveloped me.  

And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And 'Thou shalt not' writ over the door;
So I turn'd to the Garden of Love,
That so many sweet flowers bore.

But all was not as it had first appeared. I began to consider the darker side of my youthful idyll. A sinister element intruded, fiery and uncertain. I remembered sadness and found myself haunted, without knowing what the truth is - 45 (Bon Iver).  Then, suddenly – Bump (Anna Meredith) – I was jolted from this reverie by a metaphysical darkness that descended upon my world. Light, liberty, and love were supplanted by rules, restrictions, and repression. The delight and satisfaction that came so easily at first were now thwarted by the shrouded figure of convention.

And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tomb-stones where flowers should be:
And Priests in black gowns, were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars, my joys & desires.

And yet, after this time of dark contemplation, the foreboding shadows faded, and a heartwarming lightness crept back into the Garden. The complexity of life was revealed and I realized that it takes pain and sadness melded with joy and beauty to create the complex reality of our world. In fact, So Many Layers of Colour Become a Deep Purple Heart (Edda Magnason) as we navigate our way through life’s earthly garden on our restless quest for happiness.

[2muchcoffeeman]

38 minutes ago, corps8294 said:

the Blue Stars show appears cluttered and in a constant state of "where am I supposed to watch?" those corps have effectively utilized their props and drill cohesively.

I had the same sensation watching early-season Cadets in 2019. Busloads of talent pointlessly pushing barges all over the field and a constant island-hopping of sound from one small ensemble to another. Eventually the creatives got their hands around the production and honed it into something less unruly and more focused. They landed at 9th that year.

Maybe interesting: The name of the Cadets show in 2019, "Behold," was about as non-specific as you can get. Just about any thought can live under that label. Cadets took it in the direction of fanfares and processions and constant new shiny things to look at here and there. The job of the season was to take something wide and shallow and fashion it into something narrower and deeper.

Interesting, then, that Blue Stars give off, to some, a similar chaotic vibe, but are doing so under a thematic concept that is not the vast ideascape of "Behold," but rather is associated with, of all the esoteric things of the world, the uber-specific absinthe ritual. Talk about narrow and deep. And yet.

The lesson? If you're like me and believe that the theme or device upon which you hang a show is less important that what you actually do in the show, then Cadets 2019 and BS 2023 are primary exhibits in your case: similar outcomes from opposite ends of the thematic spectrum. Call the show whatever you want; attach it to whatever idea, broad or narrow, that you like. Be as specific or metaphorical as you please. None of that matters when the curtain goes up. The production has to have a logic unto itself, and it must communicate effectively on its own terms. The sheets triangulate at this with concepts such as "effect" and "analysis" and "content" that everyone strains to define, but ultimately rest upon, at best, a well-educated and -trained notion of clarity and coherence.

 

Edited August 5, 2023 by 2muchcoffeeman

[Jurassic Lancer]

1 hour ago, brians said:

I dont know..... What does, phantom, cavilers, crowns, blue devils, blue coats, etc... show all mean.  If you could please do a detailed description of what all of the corps shows mean,  where they take you/the point they are making, and the story the are telling,.... the same request you are making of Blue Stars, I will be happy to listen.

If you are serious, and want a detailed explanation of BD’s show, goggle BD360 Midseason Review. It is a half hour presentation that breaks down each segment of the show. It is well done and definitely worth the look. 

Edited August 5, 2023 by Jurassic Lancer

[kdaddy]

2 hours ago, BlueStainGlass said:

I mean they are band directors and as some people have pointed out schools start earlier. Tennessee started this week, I think Arizona started last week, and Indy starts before finals now I believe. It's also a reason why the activity talent pool is shrinking because you can't do a whole summer and miss a month of school. 

Yes, but this would also be true of other corps who are surging.

[BlueStainGlass]

9 minutes ago, kdaddy said:

Yes, but this would also be true of other corps who are surging.

Not all of them. I know staff takes breaks but normally your Assistant covers in that period. This has had the top people gone at the same time. 

[saxfreq1128]

3 hours ago, BlueStainGlass said:

Also, they haven't had the brass or assistant brass caption head there since like San Antonio. Something IMO needs to be addressed so that the person in charge can run the ship. If they eant to be competitive they need to use less field, less marching, and louder impacts. Extra marching and spacing doesn't get rewarded so don't take the risk. 

Wait why is this, what’s going on with their staff?