Someday...(about BD 05)

[dbc03]

The long term liking-factor looks like it'd happen more with The Cadets 2005 more than Blue Devils 2005...

Agreed.

[FrankA]

the only annoying thing to me is what ever the girl says before the drum feature

drum speak wasnt that bad although it still would have been cooler if they played it

[perc2100]

Funny. I read people just worshiping Star of Indiana 1993 all the time on this website. So many people talk about how amazing that show was and how it was one of the best shows ever done. No doubt, it was way ahead of it's time from a design standpoint.

BUT, some of you might be totally surprised to find out that in 1993 it was the most mocked and made fun of show of the year. Oh, yes. Guilty. I too can remember making fun of all the body movement at opportune times during BD rehearsals. But, now? Everyone looks back at it and loves it. Including many of the people who at first made fun of it (I being one of them).

Might I challenge some of you to the remote possibility that the 05 Blue Devils show might have the same long term results. And you know? The more I think about that, the more I wonder just how much more appealing that thought really is. Ask yourself a quick question. Would I rather do a show that is quickly loved and quickly forgotten about - or a show that grows on everyone a little bit at a time until 10-15 years later everyone talks about how awsome the show was? Longevity baby! Everyone wants it, only a few ever experience it.

Just some food for thought.

No offense, but that seems like a fairly absurd, WAY out there theory. 1993 Star of Indiana was insanely clean, revolutionary in almost every way, and something the drum corps community (marching band community in whole) had NEVER seen before. It was one of those shows that at the time I wasn't a big fan of, but I appreciated what that corps and design team was pulling off. As others have said, Star 1993 changed drum corps and sent the activity down a path that is still being followed. You can look at most successful show designs from 1994 to 2005, and see a pretty direct influence from '93 Star. Not to mention the fact that the show was barely defeated (but .1). Also keep in mind that Star 1993 was a show designed to be debated and cause drum corps fans to be angry (see Mr. Cook's old Star website that talks about how that show design came to being).

BD 2005's show, on the other hand was one that was performed well, but not near perfect like 93 Star. They scored a solid 4th in every caption (though tied with Bluecoats in GE). They took an idea that was used recently with a WGI guard (i.e. not original). There show was the type of show that was "fun" at best, and 'lame' at worst. IMO, there is really nothing about that show that gave me any type of reason to want to view it again.

I vividly remember 1993 Star of Indiana because it was the first year I really started getting into drum corps. I went to a ton of shows, and got to see Star's show blossom into the innovative show it became. My favorite show that year was still Cadets, but I was always in awe of what Star was doing. Watching them at finals, I new I was watching the future of drum and bugle corps. Watching Blue Devils last year, I new I was watching a show that will more than likely be remembered as Blue Devil's 'off year.'

I'd like to add that I am commenting mostly on the design of 2005 Blue Devils, and it's not my intention to offend any members or alumni. Obviously some people liked the show, and I'm sure the members enjoyed performing it. However, I see absolutely NO correlation between 2005 Blue Devils and 1993 Star other than they were both Top 5 drum corps.

--

doug

[flammaster]

Well I have heard exerpts from the Godfather Opener and it is really hacked up.

You can hardly recognize it as the godfather theme. but as ;long as they don't put in a bunch of cheezy (and I mean Cheeze Food) crap ;like they did last year I'll be tempted to go see it.

IMO think the whole problem is letting Scott Chandler be the program director so you better get out the Cheeze Wizzzzz cuz it's gonna be a real shamltzy ride the next few years until they wize up and get rid of him!

[Lance]

From what I've heard, they play the theme in it's entirety at least once in the first couple of minutes of the show. It's pretty easy to recognize, and it's obviously the climax of the opener. Paying any attention to people on this board as far as who to fire would be the most unwise move BD could make. Of course, they're far too wise to do that.

[mutant]

Think I got lost, wrong thread maybe… sorry.

Edited June 23, 2008 by mutant

[liebot]

I don't know, I still think that BD 05 was the most effective use of amplified voice we've seen so far. Their production was a lot more mature, a lot more believable than any other corps so far.

Boston 04 - Trying to sound really intelligent, just coming off as sophomoric.

Crown 04 - Sorry, but the "Loooooooooooooove" just made me laugh, as did all the rest of the beat poetry. And "Seasons of Love" was pretty weak too.

Cascades 05 - Just bad. I feel bad for the member that had to perform those lines.

Cadets 05 - The Bjork-speak girl made me laugh and some of the drummers swallowed the mics a bit. Also, the narration at the beginning was useless. I thought the theme was pretty obvious anyway.

Bluecoats 05 - Probably the second-best use of amplification as far as I'm concerned. The only reason I put BD above it is because BD's was a much more central part of the show, Bluecoats' didn't really make much sense from a thematic perspective (hmm... maybe they could've used some narration to explain what they were doing... jk)

That said, I still firmly believe that the best amplified voice is no amplified voice. Hopefully it'll die out in a couple of years and we'll look back at these couple of years and laugh about how foolish they were. But if amplification is the new route of DCI, I will personally view BD 05 as the first somewhat successful experiment.

Edited February 28, 2006 by TTitans909

[Jeff Ream]

fan irritation to the new extreme is successful?

[tubamann]

Crown 04 - Sorry, but the "Loooooooooooooove" just made me laugh, as did all the rest of the beat poetry.

That was the intention..didn't you see the guy..he hammed it up!!

Ooops.

[Matt_S]

I have to agree with you, I first joked and made fun of The Blue Devils show. By time I saw them at the Medowlands, they had grown on me. I enjoyed all three shows at Foxboro. Now they are one of my favorites of 05. I enjoy watching the Devils show on DVD very much. All I have to say is, Some get it, Some don't.

That's largely how I feel. I didn't care for the show at all when I first saw it, and now it's one of my favorite shows to listen to from '05. I assume that they tweaked the show throughout the season, but I think the show that ended up on the field in finals was pretty effective. If they made a mistake, it would probably be attemption to so obviously go backwards chronologically.

IMO, I think the original poster of the thread is on to something, and I've felt this way for a while now, actually. Certainly the example of Star '93 isn't an exact match, but I think I have an explanation for the difference. I wasn't around for Star, so I can only surmise based on what I've heard and seen of the shows before and since. Maybe someone who was around can comment on what I have to say...

Someone above me pointed out how successful Star was with their approach. Star revolutionized the activity, but their show was so tremendous and so uniquely designed that other corps were playing catch-up. Star didn't just go in a new direction, they went so far in a new direction that no corps really ever followed completely. They were the outlier that shifted the balance of design, pulling the rest of the activity with them.

The Blue Devils have the chance to be revolutionary, but in a different way, perhaps more akin to what Cadets did in the early 80's. What the Blue Devils have done is opened the door to further possibilities. They've shown us a glimpse of the potential that amplification has, and the potential for drum corps to further engage the audience with show design. I don't think their show was another Star '93, but maybe they took the first steps on the path to another show of that caliber. I don't know quite what it is yet, but when I listen to BD '05 I get the feeling that something new is being discovered - even moreso than with Cadets '05. The Blue Devils may not have mastered and refined their discovery, but perhaps they've started the process so that one day someone will.

By itself, no, Blue Devils '05 isn't revolutionary. But just as ideas are improved on over time, I believe the seeds have been planted for a landmark show. Let's see who takes the idea and runs with it.