smj02 Posted July 17, 2006 Author Share Posted July 17, 2006 Question.Did they have the same miserable chain smoking old guy show anouncer they had last year? By the Spirit/Madison mixup, my guess would be yes. I wasn't there last year (moving at the time) but I was there in 03 and 04, so I assume I'm thinking of the same miserable chain smoking old guy...but no, it actually wasn't him this year. This guy was younger and more tolerable, except for the miscues. That old guy was the worst show announcer I've ever seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smj02 Posted July 17, 2006 Author Share Posted July 17, 2006 Nice review. I was there as well and although you don't actually emphasize it, the allusions were there...So I will posit the question; Is this a bad year for melody? (again :( ) When I hear a corps like Madison who has always championed strong melodic lines, come out playing a show which is more a collection of harmonic and rhythmic statements and so bereft of compelling melody, I am saddened. <snip> Even Spirit's show which was supposed to bring back some old memories, I found the melodic lines so drowned in harmonic and rhythmic "cute tricks" leaving me more frustrated than satisfied. <snip> Boston's show to me was a total enigma. Sure I could appreciate the strength of the musicianship, but I feel the designers are leading these kids astray and arranging for their own musical egos while losing site of some simple entertainment values. By way of further illustration, the next day I played in exhibition with Mighty St. Joe's Alumni in Buffalo. We performed right after Madison. <snip> The ear to ear smiles and ovations were wonderful! What were they responding to? Certainly not our overwhelming musicianship or technical excellence, nor just nostalgia (though that helps), but powerful and straight forward melodies. First of all, I don't feel quite as strongly about the need for "melody" - I've played some pretty weird stuff, stuff that's far too weird to translate to the field. There have been very few corps programs that have bored me on first listen, and even those have grown on me over time. I do agree, though, that Madison has discarded coherent musical composition this year in an attempt to pick up points in Music GE...and that the end result is much less appealing than their typical show. I'm sorry that you don't enjoy Spirit, because I think that's by far one of the melodic books out there this year. Sure, it's not what it used to be, but there are plenty of familiar tunes with the melody floating on top, sustained in one voice (like the mellos in Waltz of the Mushroom Hunters) throughout the show. As far as Boston's show, I found it interesting that the show could have so much variety and still flow so well. I don't really see how the designers are leading the kids "astray", though. They're performing music that the kids might not experience otherwise, and I'm sure that having a relatively "abstract" musical book doesn't affect the quality of education that the members are receiving as far as horn and marching technique, the stuff they'll take back with them after the summer. If anything, they may be abandoning the fans with a less straightforward program than their typical fare. From what I've seen, there are plenty of strong melodic programs around DCI this year - at this show alone I thought Dutch Boy, Memphis, Magic, and Spirit all had shows that a fan who had never seen a show before could get into. Yes, DCI has changed as the visual assumes a greater proportion of the development and creative aspects of a show, but there's still plenty of music there. Plus, I catch DCA's every year now to get my fix of a more "melodic" style of drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geneva Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 First of all, I don't feel quite as strongly about the need for "melody" - I've played some pretty weird stuff, stuff that's far too weird to translate to the field. There have been very few corps programs that have bored me on first listen, and even those have grown on me over time. I do agree, though, that Madison has discarded coherent musical composition this year in an attempt to pick up points in Music GE...and that the end result is much less appealing than their typical show. I'm sorry that you don't enjoy Spirit, because I think that's by far one of the melodic books out there this year. Sure, it's not what it used to be, but there are plenty of familiar tunes with the melody floating on top, sustained in one voice (like the mellos in Waltz of the Mushroom Hunters) throughout the show. As far as Boston's show, I found it interesting that the show could have so much variety and still flow so well. I don't really see how the designers are leading the kids "astray", though. They're performing music that the kids might not experience otherwise, and I'm sure that having a relatively "abstract" musical book doesn't affect the quality of education that the members are receiving as far as horn and marching technique, the stuff they'll take back with them after the summer. If anything, they may be abandoning the fans with a less straightforward program than their typical fare. From what I've seen, there are plenty of strong melodic programs around DCI this year - at this show alone I thought Dutch Boy, Memphis, Magic, and Spirit all had shows that a fan who had never seen a show before could get into. Yes, DCI has changed as the visual assumes a greater proportion of the development and creative aspects of a show, but there's still plenty of music there. Plus, I catch DCA's every year now to get my fix of a more "melodic" style of drum corps. I would agree that the kids' musical education experience is great with any of these shows. It just seems to me that there could be a little more musical coherence. Granted most of these programs are still maturing at this point of the season and, yes, Memphis Sound, did present a very listenable, lush, and colorful performance. This is the only live junior show which I have seen this year and from what I have seen from video clips of Blue Devils and Bluecoats, these are melodically strong shows. I have been a little let down by Phantom relative to the spectacular show of melodic coherence they presented last year. I would cite that as a great model show of the style to which I am referring. That was wonderful integration of visual and music. It was an effortless listen, the type of show which flowed so well that it seemed to end too soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 But as for the visual ? Well, that's a different story altogether for me.. Best not to discuss elements of the visual, as that's where St. Joes leaves a LOT to be desired, in my opinion. PLEASE! Let's try to remember why many of the members of an Alumni Corps are out there. In my case: 1) Not enough free time to commit to a competitive drill. 2) Physically unable to do same. 3) Want to play MUSIC, not a series of exercizes from a trumpet book while doing gymnastics..... If pressures continue to build for a group with average age over 55 to do "DCI drills", then we'll kill Alumni Corps.... So far, seems like the PAYING audience likes MSJ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdon15 Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 Question.Did they have the same miserable chain smoking old guy show anouncer they had last year? By the Spirit/Madison mixup, my guess would be yes. The old guy died last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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