Blue Devils' show has lively pacing and innovative drill moves, but no overall meaning. The theme is so broad that by the end, the audience is looking for that branded depth underneath-- but there is none. Previous years' shows had well-reasoned thematic arguments and clearly defined subject matters.
Metamorph told the anniversary story of the corps's humble beginning, with missed "step-offs", the forms continually adjusting to a "dress-right", and by the end, the corps morphs into a polished, highly-exposed horn book, taking flight with virtuoso quality soloists, a symbol of their growth as an organization, and their impact on the hive of the marching arts.
Nighthawks views Hopper's painting as told by the character who is typically dismissed as a whore or trophy wife. Her character drives this version, a plea for all of us to take a second look, a feminist look, at classic art, ending with Natural Woman, by a composer whose birthday was the year the painting was completed. That's a powerful social commentary.
Ghostlight asked viewers to look at drum corps as theater, asking life's bold questions. Not cowering from high stakes premises like this year's shows do.
This year, the corps is doing a collection of tunes loosely tied around the subject of the etymology of the word blue, and the history of blue pigment and its migration across various continents. Huh? For example, the Yeats poem has a theme of money and religion. Its verbiage includes an off-handed reference to "blue cloths", but its tying into an overall theme beyond that color? Nope. No audience member on earth would be able to decipher that theme on viewing the show, let's be honest. This year's corps relies on mid-level gimmicks to entertain audiences, who at the end shrug and say, "Am I missing something?" And, "What was that about?"
Blue Devils' show has lively pacing and innovative drill moves, but no overall meaning. The theme is so broad that by the end, the audience is looking for that branded depth underneath-- but there is none. Previous years' shows had well-reasoned thematic arguments and clearly defined subject matters.
Metamorph told the anniversary story of the corps's humble beginning, with missed "step-offs", the forms continually adjusting to a "dress-right", and by the end, the corps morphs into a polished, highly-exposed horn book, taking flight with virtuoso quality soloists, a symbol of their growth as an organization, and their impact on the hive of the marching arts.
Nighthawks views Hopper's painting as told by the character who is typically dismissed as a whore or trophy wife. Her character drives this version, a plea for all of us to take a second look, a feminist look, at classic art, ending with Natural Woman, by a composer whose birthday was the year the painting was completed. That's a powerful social commentary.
Ghostlight asked viewers to look at drum corps as theater, asking life's bold questions. Not cowering from high stakes premises like this year's shows do.
This year, the corps is doing a collection of tunes loosely tied around the subject of the etymology of the word blue, and the history of blue pigment and its migration across various continents. Huh? For example, the Yeats poem has a theme of money and religion. Its verbiage includes an off-handed reference to "blue cloths", but its tying into an overall theme beyond that color? Nope. No audience member on earth would be able to decipher that theme on viewing the show, let's be honest. This year's corps relies on mid-level gimmicks to entertain audiences, who at the end shrug and say, "Am I missing something?" And, "What was that about?"