By Marcus J. Hopkins

For several years now, Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps has been leading the way in unique and innovative approaches to show design during the DCI season.

From their revolutionary reshaping of the field in 2014’s "Tilt" to doing away with standard corps uniforms in 2016’s "Down Side Up" to bisecting the entire field with a gigantic jagged line in 2017’s aptly named "Jagged Line," The Bluecoats have shown themselves to be a driving force in DCI when it comes to changing the way the game is played.

Bluecoats Indoor is the natural evolution of that movement, and in their freshman debut, the Coats didn't fail to impress.

The Design

Their first-year offering was entitled “Sound Check,” and what makes this show unique was not just the moving scaffolding but also the fact that the recorded track is piped out of different sets of speakers on the floor and scaffolding, rather than through the overhead speakers like other groups.  

Each of the four stages is rigged with two wireless speakers, along with two large speaker stacks on the back sideline that serve as the “house speakers.” During various points in the show, the track is pumped through the wireless speakers aimed in different directions and the performers respond to that directional music, which is REALLY cool live… however, the subtle nuance of which can be easily missed in recordings or streamed broadcasts.

The design of the show is an obvious callback to the 1990s revival of the 1960s mod fashion and music, popularized in no small part by the "Austin Powers" films, themselves an ode to the music, fashion, and swinger lifestyle of the early-to-mid-1960s. 

The uniforms are strictly mod, which was typified by skinny and slimming dresses, slacks, and shirts with black and white patterns—pinstripes, polka dots, and checkered patterns.  

The floor and flag designs hearken back to the early-to-mid-1990s, with the sharp contrast between black and neon pinks, greens, yellows, and oranges. (Trust me, if you were alive and consuming culture in the early to mid-'90s, this color scheme is all too familiar.)  The neon colors on the floor are the visual representation of sound waves and are used to indicate which direction the music is coming from when the stage pieces are moved to them (e.g.—in the yellow segment of the show, the stages sit behind the yellow soundwaves, indicating that the music is pointed in that direction).

The music, itself, is from a late-'90s big beat and jazz fusion band, Propellerheads. The track, “History Repeating,” is from their lone full-length album, "Decksandrumsandrockandroll," and features the sultry voice of Shirley Bassey (known for her music in the James Bond films—again, an Austin Powers throwback, of sorts).

The Performance

The show opens by making use of the wireless speakers as the track is pumped progressively across the floor from left to right, “activating” the performers when their speaker sounds.  

The opening choreography is similar, in many ways, to some of the staging, style, and movement that typified Independent World guards in the late-'90s. (Blue Devils come to mind—which is where I believe the “History Repeating” comes into play.) The ensemble dance phrase is reflective of the group dance scenes in several 1960s movie musicals and the Austin Powers films.

The introduction of the neon yellow silks is the beginning of “History Repeating,” as a track, and as the stages are moved to the yellow sound frequency visualizations on the floor, indicating the directionality of the sound.  

This transitions into a big beat jazz section, along with a Moog Synthesizer and drum set, with the flag and rifle lines performing in a circle facing in toward the stage, ending pointing over to the lone stage on Side One, where a dancer performs on top.  

After a brief break in the action, the flags and rifles go back to their work as the stage is reset to a straight line on the 50, with the speakers facing out toward the end zones, indicated by the orange waveforms.

The guard then breaks into two halves, with rifle and dancers on Side One and sabres and dancers on Side Two. Most people would refer to this section as the “breakdown” section, in which there's a drum break and the performers dance and spin all out to the beat.

After forming a diamond in the center of the floor, most of them gather to perform a dance which relies upon precision of movement and staging effects while moving toward the front of the floor (similar to Pride of Cincinnati 2001). 

This transitions to a “Four Corners” section, where the speaker is placed on the neon green waveforms facing toward the four corners of the floor. Three weapon performers per corner perform their individual recording, and the flag line performs a beautifully lyrical phrase in the center of the floor.

The performers coalesce into a straight line on the 50, which then breaks apart into another four corners section, this time with the stage in the center of the floor.  The performers begin an add-on canon with neon pink flags around the floor, starting in the back-right corner, in groups of five and six. Eventually, this ends in an ensemble flag statement that faces out from the center "X" and rotates around the perimeter of the floor while the stages are reset to their opening position behind the pink waveforms.  

We are treated to an ensemble flag statement, after which the performers throw away the silks and perform a movement exeunt. Both of these statements rely heavily upon precision in the drill, which can make or break the moment as performers weave in and out of straight lines into staggered sets. As the track ends, the performers finish on the floor in repose.

Marcus J. Hopkins has been involved in the marching arts as a performer and instructor since 1985. He majored in music education at West Virginia University and was a performer with Dobyns-Bennett Scholastic World Indoor Drumline (2000), The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps color guard (2001-03), and Ad Astra Per Aspera Independent World Winter Guard (2005).