Cadets -- Innovation vs Crowd Appeal

[boxingfred]

Finding that perfect balance between crowd appeal and judge apeal is very difficult. Rarely is the DCI champion or the judges favorite the crowds favorite.

I think in the case of the 05 Cadets. What started out as a quest to be innovative after last years " living IN the past " comments. They ( The Cadets ) realized they created a wining show. Their job then was to clean the show as best they could.

Was it a show concieved from the start to win DCI? I don't think so. A door?, A School girl? and a dream? = Championship? Naw!

I would like to think in an effort to be the innovators, everything lined up just right. The right instructors, the right kids, the right work ethic, not too many injuries and the right leadership.

[Triple Forte]

Really the big thing that could be considered "innovative" is the very careful planning of the journey of ideas they attempted to take the audience on. 

I first heard the Cadets full show during their Memorial Brass performance. The first thought that entered my mind was that they designed a show to "WIN". The second thought that hit me was that I felt that their ballad was going to be really nice.

Overall......I thought that from a "design" stand point the 2005 Cadets were 'flat'. There really wasn't an opportunity during their journey to let the crowd jump in and give it up. Sure there were a couple of obvious spots like the great quint solo and drum speak (Although a lot of folks did not applaud the drum speak) but that was about it.

If they had programmed 3 or so "GREAT and SUPRISING impact points I think that the masses would have dug this show a lot more.

Congrats Cadets......I think you accomplished what you set out to do. I LOVED your ballad.....and thought your drumline was as awesome as ever.

Triple Forte

(Phantom Regiment.....favorite D 1 corps in 2005)

[RobRoy]

I'd say this is something of an unofficial tradition with the Cadets.

It seems there are years where they go about doing what they want to do (either pushing the envelope, or pleasing the crowd, or whatever) and hope for the best. Then, if they haven't won for a while, they come back with a show that was designed to win.

I really haven't decided which catagory the 2005 show fits. When I first heard the charts I thought "This is designed to win". Then when I heard about the out house and the school girls, I wondered if they were just doing thier own thing again.

[NakedEye]

But to try to argue that it is easily accessible is foolish (in my opinion). There's a difference between a good/entertaining show, and one that is easily accessible (easily accessible shows are not always inherently entertaining), Cadets was a very good, but not easily accessible show.

Well, I didn't say it was easily accessible, I said that the inclusion of those aspects of the show that were identifiable showed that there was an attempt to mix some supposedly fan-friendly, pop-culture icons into the soup of an original and at times daring production. They could have gone WAY out there like the Cavaliers opening dance thing in '97, or Star's triangles and bare poles, but they didn't.

Whether or not everyone got it or not isn't the point. The fact that they put those anchors into the show at all shows the influence of the past five years of shows, I think.

[Guest DrumCorpFan]

For me, at least, the drumspeak section was very hard to get into - I didn't find it "goofy and fun", I found it weird and irritating.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I found the drum speak goovy and irritating. Otherwise, I liked their show.

[MikeD]

Its obvious that the championship means a great deal to them, and they worked hard this year to acheive it.  But it seems they switched gears to do that -- went back to the "innovation" formula they have been known for since the 80s, not necessarily at the sacrifice of crowd appeal, but its still admittedly harder for the average fan to understand and cope with the 2005 show on first viewing (takes a couple at least, in my opinion).  Whereas their shows in the past few years compare more like to Regiment and SCV this year than their current show. 

I guess I'd like to know, why the switch back to innovation?  Was it because crowd appeal was not working for Cadets as a winning formula, was it about winning?  Or did you honestly want to get back to your roots?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

IMO this year's show was full of crowd appeal...crowd reaction at DCI East on Saturday seemed to bear that out. Plus, I know from anecdotal evidence of the band I teach, both of our guard captains fell in love with them in early July, and the kids we took to A'town became total cadet fans Saturday night.

This show was a great mix of innovation and crowd appeal, IMO. Personally, I thought that last year's progam was FAR less enjoyable than this year's.

Mike

[acecannon]

The right instructors, the right kids, the right work ethic, not too many injuries and the right leadership.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

almost. there's this one other thing. it's there from the beginning, or isn't at all. it always comes as a surprise. you can't turn it off.

[sobe]

almost. there's this one other thing.  it's there from the beginning, or isn't at all.  it always comes as a surprise.  you can't turn it off.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Their show just didn't do anything for me this year.

I've seen cheesy mic moments and props before at BOA shows.

Maybe if they added those few impacts mentioned above, I would have been entertained.

But even then, I don't know.

[Cardman]

Sobe, you just proved the point that people should not say whatever just pops into their heads without thinking first...

7. The hilarious drumspeak section (when you listen to some of the over-the-top inflections they make with their voices..especially the third pair of guys...it's very goofy and fun)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Personally, I hated the Bjork speak. I thought it was just stupid. (and I'm a Bjork fan who has heard the original song...) LOVED the ballad, but the rest of the show did nothing for me. Please note that my only viewing of Cadets was from the cinecast on Thursday. I plan to get the dvds and watch their show over and over until I love it! (except for the drumspeak/Bjork speak segments, and narration...those things I will just never like.) Just my opinion here... B)

[elphaba01]

IMO this year's show was full of crowd appeal...crowd reaction at DCI East on Saturday seemed to bear that out. Plus, I know from anecdotal evidence of the band I teach, both of our guard captains fell in love with them in early July, and the kids we took to A'town became total cadet fans Saturday night.

This show was a great mix of innovation and crowd appeal, IMO. Personally, I thought that last year's progam was FAR less enjoyable than this year's.

Mike

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

"Cadets 2005 'Fan Appeal'":

It speaks volumes that at the "Semi Finals" the Cadets "Championship Effort" was rewarded with what only can be termed "Polite Applause", and the closer presentation of the Hawthorne Caballeros Alumni Corps program drew (at least) four enthusiastic & spontaneous "Standing O's" from a crowd that was/is not all that familiar with senior and/or Alumni corps activities.

Elphaba

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