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What exactly makes a show "esoteric"?


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I like BD '95 more than Madison '95...

Now this is esoteric. '95 BD's show was written around a concert band composition commissioned by Dr. What's-his-name at Fresno State (you FSU peeps will remind of his name, I'm sure). It happens to be one of my favorite shows of all time (nice solo work Scott).

See, not all esoteric music is bad. BTW, I like the Scouts show from that year just as well.

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I know plenty of "normal people" that listen to those groups and others like them. Infact, they were the ones that introduced me to them!

Can we keep the vulgarity to a minimum please? I don't want this thread to get locked. All I did was state a fact of the matter. Besides, there's nothing really to interpret, just listen to the show, have fun and go on with your life.

It won't get locked as long as you keep the veiled jabs to a minimum. The reason you know what the title of the opener is because you have OBVIOUSLY visited corpsreps, unless you were at a show and happened to pick-up a program. Hmm...that must mean that the show was esoteric. Only certain people know what it means. :P

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Now this is esoteric. '95 BD's show was written around a concert band composition commissioned by Dr. What's-his-name at Fresno State (you FSU peeps will remind of his name, I'm sure). It happens to be one of my favorite shows of all time (nice solo work Scott).

See, not all esoteric music is bad. BTW, I like the Scouts show from that year just as well.

Umm, actually I didn't even know that. I haven't seen/heard BD 95 in a while, I think I subconciously ignore 95-98 shows because the recording quality was so bad <**>

Now that I look at the rep from that year, I've never even heard of this composer or the music (besides Day Danse and Conquistador of course). Doesn't matter though, still a great show.

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Umm, actually I didn't even know that. I haven't seen/heard BD 95 in a while, I think I subconciously ignore 95-98 shows because the recording quality was so bad <**>

Now that I look at the rep from that year, I've never even heard of this composer or the music (besides Day Danse and Conquistador of course). Doesn't matter though, still a great show.

The guy is another director somewhere on the east coast. Without looking it up on corpsreps, I think it was Dr James Sochinski in Virginia or somewhere close to there.

Edited by ravedodger
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It won't get locked as long as you keep the veiled jabs to a minimum. The reason you know what the title of the opener is because you have OBVIOUSLY visited corpsreps, unless you were at a show and happened to pick-up a program. Hmm...that must mean that the show was esoteric. Only certain people know what it means. :P

I forgot where I saw it, I just happen to know it was titled "Alarm Clock", that and it sounds like one anyway (to me).

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Yeah, I never knew that Scott had more solo after the rest of the corps came in until a 95 BD vet started griping about the recording quality when we happened to listening to it one day.

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I agree! and just as Carl306 not trying to be rude. But, IMO the shows have just become too complicated and for what? A show that is done right should leave you no doubt what is going on. I am all for finding hidden and deeper meanings in varying art,....but why in drum corps?....Drum corps sold ( not saying it does not sell today) and got it's start with it's simplicity and power. I love entertaining shows, but I prefer to have fun and get chills, as opposed to having to use extra brain power....I get enough of that at work!

Not eveyone feels the same way.

Yes, drum corps can communicate simple ideas effectively, but taking those simple concepts and tying them together into a larger story and theme is just not something that can be done effectively in our medium. And by "effectively", I mean capable of being percieved by a significant portion of the audience on a first viewing. There is a tendency among some staffs to blame the audience when they don't design a show that effectively gets across what they're trying to.

...It should be about achieving a profound connection with the audience, and at the present I feel that the visual and musical vocabulary we have to work with is not capable of communicating some of the concepts that staffs are trying to cram into their shows.

To be honest, that is an incredibly arrogant statement. Who are you or anyone else for that matter to tell us what drum corps "should be about". Just because you or another fan thinks that the emotional connection id priority, is completely irrelevant to what anyone else thinks. Music by itself is art, and so is drill and guard work. So combined it is most certainly an artform. And tht being said drum corps can ABSOLUTELY convey any idea a good enough designer can think of. Maybe some people like simple shows. That's awesome. I happen to despise them. The feeling I get when I watch a show like Pathways or Frameworks is almost like I have a part in the show. I like thinking about stuff. I like NOT getting it all from 1 viewing. I like seeing something new 6 months later. That is fun. It's like the show isn't over.

People in general need to stop assuming they know what the audience likes and understands. Does anyone here honestly think drunken NASCAR fans who happened to wander into a stadium really make up a larger proportion of the audience? I don't. I bet there are a lot of alumni, band kids and parents. And I bet each one of those groups not only smart enough to understand the show, but will probably see it at least more than once.

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Now this is esoteric. '95 BD's show was written around a concert band composition commissioned by Dr. What's-his-name at Fresno State (you FSU peeps will remind of his name, I'm sure). It happens to be one of my favorite shows of all time (nice solo work Scott).

See, not all esoteric music is bad. BTW, I like the Scouts show from that year just as well.

Well, why do you find it as being esoteric? I don't think it's so. The ballad represented death (and I'm pretty sure the title, "Coronation of a Dead Queen," gives an allusion to posthumous existance), and then the upbeat (Day Danse) ending was musically and visually representative of embracing death, and the "night," which is symbolic of it. Hence the title, "Carpe Noctem" - "seize the night." I'm just curious, why would we know his name? Just to clarify (maybe you're misinterpeting the acronym), FSU = Florida State University, both of us....not Fresno State. Unless your "east coast" statement indicated that you were already aware, in which case I apologize.

Although I didn't see it live, I think (for the record; its pretty off topic, though) I'd pretty easily be able to tell that the beginning of SCV '01 represented an alarm clock. The serene front ensemble arrangements, even as Brandt Crocker was announcing the corps on the field, represented sleeping, and the startling entrance symbolizes being jolted out of bed. Also, the usage of "Metropolis" in the show title (which is announced at shows, as you're well aware of) would lead me to assume that the show will in some way represent the course of a day in the city. Bluecoats '02 (URBAN Dances) features a serene morning and a "sunrise" as well.

Disclaimer, to Dave: if any of my post comes across as condescending or as if I'm speaking down to you, it's not meant to be, really. I didn't think Galen was trying to be either, but maybe that's just because I didn't look too into it because it wasn't directed towards me. In my opinion, the "dude" thing was unnecessary, because I know that he wasn't trying to insult you with that. That's just how us kids talk sometimes. :)

Revolution's shows are DEFINITELY esoteric. I didn't see last years, but I remember '03 being very much so. Seeing it from the sidelines, I never had any clue of what was going on other than that I hated the music (sorry, people who marched that year). My only guess, from what little I remember of it, was just that the corps started out devoid of color and by the end was visually and musically displaying a full spectrum of color. Like BAC '04, minus the boxes and talking. I could be wrong, though.

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Not eveyone feels the same way.

To be honest, that is an incredibly arrogant statement. Who are you or anyone else for that matter to tell us what drum corps "should be about". Just because you or another fan thinks that the emotional connection id priority, is completely irrelevant to what anyone else thinks. Music by itself is art, and so is drill and guard work. So combined it is most certainly an artform. And tht being said drum corps can ABSOLUTELY convey any idea a good enough designer can think of. Maybe some people like simple shows. That's awesome. I happen to despise them. The feeling I get when I watch a show like Pathways or Frameworks is almost like I have a part in the show. I like thinking about stuff. I like NOT getting it all from 1 viewing. I like seeing something new 6 months later. That is fun. It's like the show isn't over.

People in general need to stop assuming they know what the audience likes and understands. Does anyone here honestly think drunken NASCAR fans who happened to wander into a stadium really make up a larger proportion of the audience? I don't. I bet there are a lot of alumni, band kids and parents. And I bet each one of those groups not only smart enough to understand the show, but will probably see it at least more than once.

I think intelligence has nothing to do with it C-Gym....I think it is the height of arrogance to compare those that do not "get it" to a bunch of drunken NASCAR fans....come on! I think your reply to my comment is right on...."not everyone feels the same way"...but to say it has to do with some type of intelligence factor is just a little,....I mean a lot arrogant!

Edited by felixh
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