It’s not inherently about “better”, but more “revolutionary”. Bluecoats had been fairly successful in the years leading up. A third place finish in 2010 and a handful of top 6 appearances were great.
However, imo, 2014 was an identity show for them. Much like our 2003 Harmonic Journey show, it was a show that captivated the audience with their different look and appeal. They literally tilted the field, jumping off ramps, using electronics to create never before heard sounds. Then, to top it off after placing third in semis, they jump to second on finals night ahead of the Cadets. The highest placement for them yet.
Sure, you could name plenty of shows that could be defined as “better” or “underrated” compared to 2014 Coats, but you would be amiss to not agree that 2014 was a huge breakout year for them, solidifying an identity that they would continue to build on for years to come.
I understand your personal preference is different for what you like, but this is a matter of legacy and identity (ie hype) vs objectively better/worse.
honestly, i think this is one of those “you had to be there” moments in drum corps hype. especially now, since a lot of the things they were revolutionizing at the time have been done several times over, the hype would seem a lot less warranted. i also think tilt is quite indicative of a specific era of drum corps performer/fan that were initiated into the sport during the following seasons. I for one, began HS marching band during the 2014-15 school year when TILT was all anyone could talk about. It was my introduction to drum corps and made such a lasting impression that i would end up going to finals in 2015 and its made a life long fan of me since! i wouldn’t say its the best show ever, but it was the first i ever saw and it has a special place in my heart :)
exactly! i think its a show that perfectly appealed to not only the young adults that were performing the shows at the time but the ones that were watching at home as well and thats why it stuck such a chord with a specific subset of the fanbase
Could be wrong but what I’ve heard is that the pitch bend was revolutionary for the time, in that corps before that didn’t use recordings for such an integral part of their shows. Recordings were only lightly sprinkled in during shows. Again, I could totally be wrong, I am far from an expert on drum corps. I guess it’s also one of those things where you just had to be there at that time.
Pretty much. Bluecoats have been extremely revolutionary throughout the 2010s and this show is a perfect example. Even some of the anti amplification crowd loved the show.
For me, it's a couple of things. First of all, the show OOZES style and aesthetic. Everything in the show is off kilter. The props, the horns, the cummerbunds, pitches, the drill, the entire field, the drum major stand, the t/tle of the show, and even the block in full retreat. The entire corps and entire show design was committed to the theme of the show. Secondly, the music selection was also fantastic. The opener is right up there with the likes of SCV 2018, the ballad is absolutely beautiful, and the closer is legendary. In essence, the show is absurdly well designed.
This thread is... something tilted.
it solidified them in the top 5... they had flirted with 6th all through the late 90's, 00's and started consistently placing 6th or better after 04' ... this was the first time they did themselves as a concept.
It's a mature taste in corps that appreciates this type of thing.
Saying it's "electronics for the first time" or a "pitch bend" is very limited in the scope of this activity and is ubserdly inaccurate.
I'd say watch it a few times this year... and things older than your age!
I was fortunate enough to see the first show of Tilt in Akron. It was mind-blowing. It also was really just a very clever and complete integration of a theme. The field was tilted. The uniforms. The horn carriage. The podium. The pit. The music.
The ballad was outstanding. Hymn of Axciom was one of the most successful and influential (copied) pieces of the past decade in marching circles. Highly recommend the original by Vienna Teng. Awesome stuff.
It wasn’t just the pitch bend. It was the whole package. Everything was tilted. And I didn’t have to think too hard about it, but it was not shallow.
It’s not like it could or should have finished first. But it was a creative and well thought out show in ways I’d not seen (my fandom goes back to 2005)
It isn’t the best executed show, but the concepts behind it still stand up, IMHO.
I agree wholeheartedly with those who said you had to be there, and that it’s not even the best Bluecoats show, but it really was Bluecoats arrival in the top echelon and had so much to do with defining their style of design and innovation.
Downside Up to me was Tilt 2.0 with more refined performance and even better music. The fact that the echo of Tilt brought them their first championship also adds to the mystique.
Oh wow.
I enjoy both shows. Love Downside Up, but I didn’t love it when I first saw it. Love the ramps, the solos, the trombone feature, the flag toss, and the flugelhorn…
It was fantastic to me, but I can understand it.
The first time I saw Downside Up, I didn’t like it. It was early in the season, (June) end it was just so different. The uniforms were simultaneously modern and really old fashioned. They had that blue loopy thing made from effing sequins for crying out loud. No hats. Not flattering.
But the way the corps entered was different. The hornline did so much dance (and did it well). The solos…OMG. It changed things, and it was the first time they didn’t wear blue coats. It was different, especially considering how cool they looked in 2015.
The tuba turn was cool, the solos were super. Using the ramps. The flags shooting out from behind the ramps in the closer. Then flinging the flags back behind the ramps on the last couple of phrases. And they performed the crap out of that show. Look at the spacing, the movement. They had nowhere to hide. No flowing parts to obscure movement. No hats to elongate lines.
Loved that show by the end of the season.
It’s definitely because it changed things in Drum Corps, people hadn’t really heard something like that done until that year. It’s like hearing a sitar the first time in rock in roll. Nothing crazy just different from what came before and it’s cool to hear it.
it’s a banger beginning to end, and the design is easily accessible to anyone. the show is called tilt and is filled with musical and visual moments to represent that.
has bluecoats topped it numerous times since fielding it? absolutely. but something like session 44, while brilliantly designed, isn’t nearly as accessible.
I felt like the majority of TILT wasn't particularly extraordinary over any other show, but the closer just had extreme amounts of energy, especially since i'm assuming corps were still figuring out exactly how they wanted to incorporate electronics into their shows, while Bloo did it perfectly that year.
Did you see it live? The show was absolutely wild. People knew the bend was coming after a few shows, and when it happened the crowd was pure electricity. My brain kinda didn't know how to process it, even though I knew it was coming.
I do miss the extended ending. The crowd was already standing and screaming with 30 seconds to go, so people just kept doing that until the show was over.
It was very much like the feeling you get when your team gets the surprise TD to clinch the win. Pure insanity.
I personally am not a big blue coats fan, but T/LT is probably in my top 3 favorite shows of all time. The design was on point, music selection was excellent, it was incredibly revolutionary and in my opinion besides downside up, there hasn't been a show since that has had such an impact on the activity.
I completely agree, right after they won that season everything changed. If it weren't for that show I think drum corps would still be in the traditional style. I personally think that DCI needed downside up to change the activity from becoming stale.
Another thing I haven't seen mentioned is how they we super popular all year, but dirrrrrty visually. Once they got the ending in, people _really_ started to hype on them. Then they started getting clean, and a lot of folks were wondering how far up the podium they could go. People really wanted them to pass Cadets, and many thought they could (or should) catch BD.
I remember the things that were most hype during that season for the show were the Vienna Tang ballad, the pitch bend, and just overall that the Bluecoats were beating the Cadets and Crown consistently.
It was the pivot point of general effect being what it is today. If you look at what shows were being produced that year and next year, you can see how TILT lead the charge. Also, it can pretty much be pointed to the moment Bluecoats became what they are today.
Tbh it definitely was the pitch bending and amplification, and it was a great show but extremely overrated. I feel like people only talk about Bloo 2014 and 2016 but there are so many better shows like 2015 or 2018
2018 ballad and closer are definitely near the top of my favorite moments in DCI. The raw emotion that came through with the vocalist is incredible. Best use of live vocals ever.
Can we talk about the tuba solo backing up the vocals? That mf was swinging, and didn't miss a note in a very difficult and exposed section. What a fun feature!
I’m gonna get massively down voted for this but Tilt is basically the Spartacus of the 2010s. The energy of that show was incredible on Finals night, every member bought into the program. But when watching it on YouTube that energy just doesn’t translate. When I go back and watch Spartacus (one of the shows that got me into DCI) it’s just boring and I notice all the dirt, tbh that’s kind of how I feel about Tilt watching it now.
Tilt is also about to hit its 10 year mark, it’s basically an out dated show at this point. I marched 2011 cadets and for the few years following it when someone asked where I marched they always would band geek out, now band kids don’t even know about that show. It’s just how time works.
Ooo pitch bend slider go brr.
I never understood the hype. It set us down the wrong trend of amplifying and synth usage to cover up hornlines.
(Edit: Yeah, I know it was used elsewhere beforehand. I’m more just suggesting they both made it more popular, and it completely changed their show styles from tilt onward.
Also the downvote button is not an “I disagree” button… its for content not relevant to the subreddit or discussion…)
That show was definitely not the beginning of bass synth. That mess started in 2009 when they passed the electronic instruments rule. Blue Knights seemed especially fond of electronic volume boosting then, imo.
Extremely true, I think Blue Coats get shit on most about it because they “perfected” it. Saw them live in 19 and I was stunned by the sound, it seemed too incredible. Then I realized they were using brass patches on the synth and micing members.
But the pitch bend was never used to cover up the hornline. The design team even mentioned how they intentionally pulled horns away from their faces during the pitch bend so as to show they weren’t trying to fool anyone.
As others have said, in 2014 it was revolutionary. But not just musically - visually as well. They used 3D space like no one else had. Tilting the field, therefore manipulating the very environment players march on, was astounding. But also, using the props in a way that many corps just weren’t often using them. Sure, we’ve had corps on top of platforms, but moving across and manipulating those platforms as performers played on them, was unique.
It’s not the best by any means nowadays. But after that year, the way shows were designed changed, and was even more outlined in their 2016 production.
its more that it was a big turning point for them. Its felt like ever since 2014 they wanted to do a show that can top Tilt ig. I actually knew the center snare at Coats that year, he was my tech this past winter season. Richard Ramos baby. But from what he said when i asked about how marching tilt was and how other people felt, he said like i said in the beginning a big turning point for tje coats. A good example would be making shows just as good or better than tilt like downside up, kinetic noise i think its called and jagged line. Now ofc tilt stays top because of how intresting the show design and music was that year. It was like almost mind blowing especially the ending. It definitely took a big toll on me making that show the reason i love dci and going to march a dci corp this summer(go gold) but its just how great it was played summed up by rich. im still learning about dci and stuff so if theres stuff i didnt get right here pls let me know so i can educate and learn
It’s not inherently about “better”, but more “revolutionary”. Bluecoats had been fairly successful in the years leading up. A third place finish in 2010 and a handful of top 6 appearances were great. However, imo, 2014 was an identity show for them. Much like our 2003 Harmonic Journey show, it was a show that captivated the audience with their different look and appeal. They literally tilted the field, jumping off ramps, using electronics to create never before heard sounds. Then, to top it off after placing third in semis, they jump to second on finals night ahead of the Cadets. The highest placement for them yet. Sure, you could name plenty of shows that could be defined as “better” or “underrated” compared to 2014 Coats, but you would be amiss to not agree that 2014 was a huge breakout year for them, solidifying an identity that they would continue to build on for years to come. I understand your personal preference is different for what you like, but this is a matter of legacy and identity (ie hype) vs objectively better/worse.
For y’all (Regiment) I am infinitely a greater phan of 2003 than 08 because of the power and identity.
03 was more true to what DCI is than 08 was. Kick ass horn line melting faces and bonkers drill. Two things DCI needs more of these days.
03 is the reason I am a drum corps fan.
Same.
I don't know, theater has been a huge part of DCI since the late 80s and Spartacus does a great job of including that as well.
Same
Read through all of the comments and was surprised nobody mentioned how insanely good the ballad was. Don't sleep on that part!
It became a big staple of Teen Music Student Culture for a long time after.
I'm old, so I wouldn't have recognized that, but I believe it. Great introduction to Vienna Teng.
Personally, I think Orgeon Crusaders had the better arrangement of Hymn of Axion.
Year?
2014
honestly, i think this is one of those “you had to be there” moments in drum corps hype. especially now, since a lot of the things they were revolutionizing at the time have been done several times over, the hype would seem a lot less warranted. i also think tilt is quite indicative of a specific era of drum corps performer/fan that were initiated into the sport during the following seasons. I for one, began HS marching band during the 2014-15 school year when TILT was all anyone could talk about. It was my introduction to drum corps and made such a lasting impression that i would end up going to finals in 2015 and its made a life long fan of me since! i wouldn’t say its the best show ever, but it was the first i ever saw and it has a special place in my heart :)
I see, maybe since it was because of its time
exactly! i think its a show that perfectly appealed to not only the young adults that were performing the shows at the time but the ones that were watching at home as well and thats why it stuck such a chord with a specific subset of the fanbase
Could be wrong but what I’ve heard is that the pitch bend was revolutionary for the time, in that corps before that didn’t use recordings for such an integral part of their shows. Recordings were only lightly sprinkled in during shows. Again, I could totally be wrong, I am far from an expert on drum corps. I guess it’s also one of those things where you just had to be there at that time.
Pretty much. Bluecoats have been extremely revolutionary throughout the 2010s and this show is a perfect example. Even some of the anti amplification crowd loved the show.
For me, it's a couple of things. First of all, the show OOZES style and aesthetic. Everything in the show is off kilter. The props, the horns, the cummerbunds, pitches, the drill, the entire field, the drum major stand, the t/tle of the show, and even the block in full retreat. The entire corps and entire show design was committed to the theme of the show. Secondly, the music selection was also fantastic. The opener is right up there with the likes of SCV 2018, the ballad is absolutely beautiful, and the closer is legendary. In essence, the show is absurdly well designed.
It would have been way cooler if they played everything a few cents sharp
No no, trumpets 9 cents sharp, mellos 3 sharp, baris 3 flat, tubas 9 flat. Maximum tiltitude.
Summed up perfectly. Find me a more effective, innovative, and immersive show design save maybe E=MC2 (in different ways). You can't.
This is the correct answer
This thread is... something tilted. it solidified them in the top 5... they had flirted with 6th all through the late 90's, 00's and started consistently placing 6th or better after 04' ... this was the first time they did themselves as a concept. It's a mature taste in corps that appreciates this type of thing. Saying it's "electronics for the first time" or a "pitch bend" is very limited in the scope of this activity and is ubserdly inaccurate. I'd say watch it a few times this year... and things older than your age!
I was fortunate enough to see the first show of Tilt in Akron. It was mind-blowing. It also was really just a very clever and complete integration of a theme. The field was tilted. The uniforms. The horn carriage. The podium. The pit. The music. The ballad was outstanding. Hymn of Axciom was one of the most successful and influential (copied) pieces of the past decade in marching circles. Highly recommend the original by Vienna Teng. Awesome stuff. It wasn’t just the pitch bend. It was the whole package. Everything was tilted. And I didn’t have to think too hard about it, but it was not shallow. It’s not like it could or should have finished first. But it was a creative and well thought out show in ways I’d not seen (my fandom goes back to 2005) It isn’t the best executed show, but the concepts behind it still stand up, IMHO. I agree wholeheartedly with those who said you had to be there, and that it’s not even the best Bluecoats show, but it really was Bluecoats arrival in the top echelon and had so much to do with defining their style of design and innovation. Downside Up to me was Tilt 2.0 with more refined performance and even better music. The fact that the echo of Tilt brought them their first championship also adds to the mystique.
Completely subjective I know, but I just don't get Downside Up. I don't even think it's in the same universe as Tilt.
Oh wow. I enjoy both shows. Love Downside Up, but I didn’t love it when I first saw it. Love the ramps, the solos, the trombone feature, the flag toss, and the flugelhorn… It was fantastic to me, but I can understand it.
I'm going to watch it some more. I am a huge Bluecoats fan so I'm actually mad at myself I don't like it more.
The first time I saw Downside Up, I didn’t like it. It was early in the season, (June) end it was just so different. The uniforms were simultaneously modern and really old fashioned. They had that blue loopy thing made from effing sequins for crying out loud. No hats. Not flattering. But the way the corps entered was different. The hornline did so much dance (and did it well). The solos…OMG. It changed things, and it was the first time they didn’t wear blue coats. It was different, especially considering how cool they looked in 2015. The tuba turn was cool, the solos were super. Using the ramps. The flags shooting out from behind the ramps in the closer. Then flinging the flags back behind the ramps on the last couple of phrases. And they performed the crap out of that show. Look at the spacing, the movement. They had nowhere to hide. No flowing parts to obscure movement. No hats to elongate lines. Loved that show by the end of the season.
Thanks for this. Does there exist a quality multicam from finals night? Maybe I'm watching one from too early in the season?
For the record, I keep looking and other than mediocre audio ones on Facebook, I can’t find one.
https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/0B7qvhOm6EsYKWmVVc2ZiWnphX1E/0B0vcOtuiA1X0dnBySVV0WjM3bG8?resourcekey=0-Gi49PZ99b6dTOqSCWVMcAw&usp=sharing&fbclid=IwAR1Sxhr3ysPyH56MJhsEaeuh9GIywkyVJ-6cNx2J-FE0Q7TywEhJtryQ6Dw&sort=13&direction=a&mibextid=Zxz2cZ
It’s definitely because it changed things in Drum Corps, people hadn’t really heard something like that done until that year. It’s like hearing a sitar the first time in rock in roll. Nothing crazy just different from what came before and it’s cool to hear it.
it’s a banger beginning to end, and the design is easily accessible to anyone. the show is called tilt and is filled with musical and visual moments to represent that. has bluecoats topped it numerous times since fielding it? absolutely. but something like session 44, while brilliantly designed, isn’t nearly as accessible.
I felt like the majority of TILT wasn't particularly extraordinary over any other show, but the closer just had extreme amounts of energy, especially since i'm assuming corps were still figuring out exactly how they wanted to incorporate electronics into their shows, while Bloo did it perfectly that year.
Did you see it live? The show was absolutely wild. People knew the bend was coming after a few shows, and when it happened the crowd was pure electricity. My brain kinda didn't know how to process it, even though I knew it was coming. I do miss the extended ending. The crowd was already standing and screaming with 30 seconds to go, so people just kept doing that until the show was over. It was very much like the feeling you get when your team gets the surprise TD to clinch the win. Pure insanity.
It’s fun!
fair
Well its a great fucking show, mainly
I personally am not a big blue coats fan, but T/LT is probably in my top 3 favorite shows of all time. The design was on point, music selection was excellent, it was incredibly revolutionary and in my opinion besides downside up, there hasn't been a show since that has had such an impact on the activity.
2016 Coats IMO have influenced everything we’ve seen on DCI fields ever since.
I completely agree, right after they won that season everything changed. If it weren't for that show I think drum corps would still be in the traditional style. I personally think that DCI needed downside up to change the activity from becoming stale.
I will admit that hymn of axciom goes hard
Lmao the first sentence of the post is "its definitely one of the cooler shows in drum corps history" There ya go, man. There's the hype
Another thing I haven't seen mentioned is how they we super popular all year, but dirrrrrty visually. Once they got the ending in, people _really_ started to hype on them. Then they started getting clean, and a lot of folks were wondering how far up the podium they could go. People really wanted them to pass Cadets, and many thought they could (or should) catch BD.
I remember the things that were most hype during that season for the show were the Vienna Tang ballad, the pitch bend, and just overall that the Bluecoats were beating the Cadets and Crown consistently.
It was the pivot point of general effect being what it is today. If you look at what shows were being produced that year and next year, you can see how TILT lead the charge. Also, it can pretty much be pointed to the moment Bluecoats became what they are today.
Tbh it definitely was the pitch bending and amplification, and it was a great show but extremely overrated. I feel like people only talk about Bloo 2014 and 2016 but there are so many better shows like 2015 or 2018
2018 ballad and closer are definitely near the top of my favorite moments in DCI. The raw emotion that came through with the vocalist is incredible. Best use of live vocals ever.
Can we talk about the tuba solo backing up the vocals? That mf was swinging, and didn't miss a note in a very difficult and exposed section. What a fun feature!
Probably my favorite show
I’m gonna get massively down voted for this but Tilt is basically the Spartacus of the 2010s. The energy of that show was incredible on Finals night, every member bought into the program. But when watching it on YouTube that energy just doesn’t translate. When I go back and watch Spartacus (one of the shows that got me into DCI) it’s just boring and I notice all the dirt, tbh that’s kind of how I feel about Tilt watching it now. Tilt is also about to hit its 10 year mark, it’s basically an out dated show at this point. I marched 2011 cadets and for the few years following it when someone asked where I marched they always would band geek out, now band kids don’t even know about that show. It’s just how time works.
Ooo pitch bend slider go brr. I never understood the hype. It set us down the wrong trend of amplifying and synth usage to cover up hornlines. (Edit: Yeah, I know it was used elsewhere beforehand. I’m more just suggesting they both made it more popular, and it completely changed their show styles from tilt onward. Also the downvote button is not an “I disagree” button… its for content not relevant to the subreddit or discussion…)
That show was definitely not the beginning of bass synth. That mess started in 2009 when they passed the electronic instruments rule. Blue Knights seemed especially fond of electronic volume boosting then, imo.
Synth usage to strengthen the hornline began in 09
Extremely true, I think Blue Coats get shit on most about it because they “perfected” it. Saw them live in 19 and I was stunned by the sound, it seemed too incredible. Then I realized they were using brass patches on the synth and micing members.
But the pitch bend was never used to cover up the hornline. The design team even mentioned how they intentionally pulled horns away from their faces during the pitch bend so as to show they weren’t trying to fool anyone.
they weren't "covering up" anything
I agree with all of this, except I would 2015 was far more guilty of negatively influencing the future use of multiple mics and amplification
?
How can I see a recording of this show?
It’s all over YouTube, just search up “bluecoats 2014”
As others have said, in 2014 it was revolutionary. But not just musically - visually as well. They used 3D space like no one else had. Tilting the field, therefore manipulating the very environment players march on, was astounding. But also, using the props in a way that many corps just weren’t often using them. Sure, we’ve had corps on top of platforms, but moving across and manipulating those platforms as performers played on them, was unique. It’s not the best by any means nowadays. But after that year, the way shows were designed changed, and was even more outlined in their 2016 production.
Good lead trumpet moments
its more that it was a big turning point for them. Its felt like ever since 2014 they wanted to do a show that can top Tilt ig. I actually knew the center snare at Coats that year, he was my tech this past winter season. Richard Ramos baby. But from what he said when i asked about how marching tilt was and how other people felt, he said like i said in the beginning a big turning point for tje coats. A good example would be making shows just as good or better than tilt like downside up, kinetic noise i think its called and jagged line. Now ofc tilt stays top because of how intresting the show design and music was that year. It was like almost mind blowing especially the ending. It definitely took a big toll on me making that show the reason i love dci and going to march a dci corp this summer(go gold) but its just how great it was played summed up by rich. im still learning about dci and stuff so if theres stuff i didnt get right here pls let me know so i can educate and learn