I Have Not Seen BD

[ChicagoFan]

I just had a thought...if the show moves backwards (describing a dance marathon from the end to beginning) is the music also played backwards? Perhaps this would help explain the rather disjointed, non-linear writing that seems to lack sustained melody.

[MikeN]

The show feels exactly like "winterguard outdoors", and I can't even say that's necessarily a bad thing. Novel certainly, but not bad.

Mike

[Bleu Raeder]

Saw the show in San Antonio and the general concensus was that it really didn't work well on the field.

[^Michael^]

Scott Chandler has been the caption head at Logan for quite some time, as well as at the Blue Devils, so I don't think that you can really look at it like BD "stole the idea" when it was his idea in the first place! Maybe someone out there can clarify if Scott was the caption head in 1999, but I am 99% positive that he was.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Good luck with this argument (sincerely). This same argument was presented in a similar thread about the Cadets' 'The Zone' show being based on ideas that Marc Sylvester first used with a high school in Michigan before expanding on them with Cadets. The explanation was shouted down by "the tribunal of omnipotent DCP'ers that are the arbiters of all that is drum corps."

But wait - this is not Cadets - you'll probably get a pass! ^0^ :P

[crfrey71]

Only 45 seconds of this year's show sound like the previous years, because that 45 second clip (the dynamite) was from the 2003 show.

Also interesting in reading all these forums is how so many people, NOW, like last year's show. I remember about this same time last year, how many people didn't like BD's 2004 show.

As far as narration, I don't care for it in any show, but, it does work well for the first half of the show. When they are into "Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs," then I am annoyed at it.

The show also has a very nice flow to it. There are plenty of sustained melody parts in this show, as well, especially the opening minute of the show to the flutter tongues. Anyone who doesn't just jam with that part is musically deaf, IMO. I can easily hum that part in my head all day long.

What's surprising is that, since the Cadets are on top, at this moment, it's funny how the complaints of their narration have basically gone to nil. Where are the complaints of the Cascades narration gone?

Again, I don't care for narration at all, but, atleast BD's narration has some life, energy to it and it works well for the first half of the show.

I will just laugh when Phantom regiment uses vocals in the future. I think this whole forum would have a heart attack, when they do.

[Lancerlady]

Okay, if you want me to complain about The Cadets narration, I will but this thread was about BD. :P b**bs

[crfrey71]

Also, it's so frickin funny how people complain how the shows sound similar to recent shows of this era, when back in the 70' and 80's, corps did the same songs in a very short time frame. BD does a 45 second clip of a 2003 show, in this year's show, and they are lambasted. SCV did Phantom of the Opera for 2 straight years and right before that, they did Shostakovich's "Fanfare" 2 straight years, BD did "Spanish Dream" a few times, "Channel One Suite, " Madison Scouts have played Malaguena countless times, and yet nobody has a problem with any of that, for the most part.

[Einstein On The Beach]

i'm wondering how much longer we'll keep hearing these people complain about the narration in bd's show..

please..  for the love of GOD!!    FIND SOMETHING ELSE to complain about!!

for the last time..  IT WORKS with their show..    how else could they describe that the show is a reverse of a dance derby???      NOBODY would have gotten that idea... 

and apparently some STILL don't,    probably cause they're too busy complaining about the narration and not paying attention to whats being narrated.. 

Good luck picking a show next year????      wow..    ...    and what GREAT IDEAS do you have for a show???

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think people have the right to express their distaste for BD's show this year, especially with so many other GREATER shows this season! Technically, BD isn't even reflecting as well with the judges with this show, I think that should say something as well.

I just had a thought...if the show moves backwards (describing a dance marathon from the end to beginning) is the music also played backwards?  Perhaps this would help explain the rather disjointed, non-linear writing that seems to lack sustained melody.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, that's just the way Downey likes to write lately. Hey, that's his style, I won't knock him for it, but I still don't like it much.

Also, it's so frickin funny how people complain how the shows sound similar to recent shows of this era, when back in the 70' and 80's, corps did the same songs in a very short time frame. BD does a 45 second clip of a 2003 show, in this year's show, and they are lambasted. SCV did Phantom of the Opera for 2 straight years and right before that, they did Shostakovich's "Fanfare" 2 straight years, BD did "Spanish Dream" a few times, "Channel One Suite, " Madison Scouts have played Malaguena countless times, and yet nobody has a problem with any of that, for the most part.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Apples and oranges, really. Playing the same thing 2 years in a row (and of course they aren't going to be exactly the same, the staff isn't stupid, give them credit) isn't the bother. However, what bothers people is Downey will use alot of the same forms and arranging tricks in the shows lately, making things sound similar. Hey, it just does, you can't deny fact. If BD wants to play Spanish Fantasy every year more power to them. Boston has the Conquest hits in their show every year, and people ANTICIPATE it! However, 2003 riff that is lifted and put into this year's Dance Derby show is just, well, kind of cheap and leads more to the choppy nature of it. I hope someone will know what I'm trying to get at with this.

[Herbel]

For me, it's not a question of playing the same songs year after year; it's the fact that the arranging seems redundant. As Lancerlady said, there seem to be the same old bleeps and bloops. I'm sorry if I am "lambasting," but I have high expectations of them. Similarly, I feel that the Cadets battery arranging reached a disappointing level of redundancy last year, and I complained just the same.

However, none of that will/has bother(ed) me enough to NOT enjoy the show..I personally think BD's concept sounds really cool, and I know they'll rock in Allentown.

[Einstein On The Beach]

For me, it's not a question of playing the same songs year after year; it's the fact that the arranging seems redundant. As Lancerlady said, there seem to be the same old bleeps and bloops. I'm sorry if I am "lambasting,"  but I have high expectations of them.  Similarly, I feel that the Cadets battery arranging reached a disappointing level of redundancy last year, and I complained just the same. 

However, none of that will/has bother(ed) me enough to NOT enjoy the show..I personally think BD's concept sounds really cool, and I know they'll rock in Allentown.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Redundancy! That's what I was getting at. It's almost as if sometimes Downey is just copy pasting things. I don't want to deny his talent, because I really like a lot of his arrangements! But hey, no one's perfect.