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joeybabay

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  • Your Drum Corps Experience
    Madison Scouts 1979-1981
  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Minneapolis MN

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  1. No offense, but my seats in Minneapolis at TCF were $40 tickets on the 40 yard line. Hardly the cheap seats. I was just expecting to get a full grasp of their show and not snippets. Has nothing to do with the quality of the performers. But in my mind it is sort of like buying opera tickets and having some of the cast performing in the green room downstairs even though they are miked and I can hear them. Interesting concept, however failing in the result.
  2. After watching the DCI MN performance live, I have to admit I felt very shortchanged on the show. Not on the content of the show, but some of the design choices; We all know that much of any show design works towards the Finals performance. I think we get that it can result to acoustics in a dome, or staging elements from a press box vantage point. But I was put off a quite a bit by the "access" of Cadets' show. I enjoy sitting in the lower tier so I am able to grasp some of the performance elements up close from the individual members and connect to their energy. Many attempts have been made in the last decade to define the field with large props, scaffolds and stages. But with Cadets giant towers, I think it was the first time that major portions of the show were not even visible to me. The opening statement (since I was sitting on Side 1 and not Side 2), the drum feature on the back hash, the emergence of the orange flag backfield. Even sections that were happening directly in front of me masked everything behind the columns. On and on - several major moments. I guess I felt cheated and am wondering if anyone else has felt as much on live viewings? Especially in smaller venues that are not a major stadium like TCF. Sort of like buying a high end ticket to a Broadway show. You are at least told when you are in a seat with an obstructed view. Judges comments will not likely ever mention this. But for any audience person in the lower tier - there are major portions of this show that aren't visible unless you are in a cushy seat center in the press box. This will also include Lucas stadium in Indy. Thoughts?
  3. Here is a thought to chime in on - hopefully with perspective and not taking sides in the heated argument. I think possibly the judges can be overly qualified..... In an ideal situation, each of the panel should look only at their specific task at hand. Give the numbers per caption based on the very specific criteria on the sheets. Then if the system is set up to succeed - placement should be determined by the cumulative total of all captions. But judges are all expected to cross captions from show to show over the course of a season. And I think it can be difficult to unlearn and remain at task. It becomes second nature to look at the whole, the big picture instead of the single component at hand. Possibly everyone reverts to the Effect??? I know that I judge Regionally and every small band and color guard circuit has tried to craft their own language. Most are similar, but there are some small and significant changes from one to another. As much as I try to really read the language in B&W before me and rate as charged and paid, it can be easy to fall back to defaults and the general.
  4. Looking for just a Semis ticket - if they have been split and still open.
  5. Mailed you back earlier today, but for some reason the thread is gone in my message box. Assume this means they are gone??
  6. I am indeed looking for Semis tickets yet - have mine for finals. Could use the single; two other firends could possible fill out the other two

  7. And if it was a "well oiled machine" all the parts should run separately to operate as a whole. Your example above could be viewed as a great "bump" on the GE sheet, but then torn down on the Visual sheet as bad construction. If working correctly, the corps on tops should be the one that factors in each caption for a whole. But when looking at most ordinals, you can see a commonality factor. (Although I give much credit that this year has not played out nearly as rote.) I'd agree that some captions can blend over into another. But the point should be that each is a unique facet of the show and therefore should stand on its own. Guard and Percussion seem to easily stand on their own and buck the "trends". But often, the others tend to rank across the board. Could be because some judges do multiple assignments and do not easily adjust their roles??? I know I do a lot of judging myself and a recent conversation some of us had; regarding high school bands. There are so many different sheets for various regions, that it is indeed a hard task to deliver on the exact intention of the words on the sheet. You can only base it on what you know and then try to define by the semantics/ details in B&W before you.
  8. I just made a post on a new similar thread concerning the GE language that expounds a bit on the new sheets. Not from personal perspective, but from actually looking at the sheets and a few of the new terms. Maybe give it a read...
  9. A few thoughts: The early days of Effect came into being when drum corps started to evolve from being merely a military activity to a creative one. Not just in terms of tossing a flag vs an honor guard. But asymmetrical drill, pit voiceings, (yes) electronics, et al. The argument back then was how to compare "demand" which was on a technical sheet vs. playing it safe and marching a block drill. So the concept of how "effective" something was, then added to give credit for those that began to think outside the box of that time. Flash forward years ahead with huge creative forces and the GE has become the driving force in judging what is now considered a "pageantry" art form. The new sheets are an attempt to move forward, yet also gravitate back to some of the original intentions. Proficiency and Visual are looking at things from mainly the old aspect; how clean, training and well designed is the show. BUT, they are have actually added a small reference back in regarding "audience engagement" to both GE sheets. (I know DCA has also been really pushing this component with a whole subcaption devoted to connection and engagement that is separate and stands on its own.) I'm sure the intent is that shows have gotten to the point where there is so much content squeezed in - that needs to be given credit - that the audience/ entertainment factor has gotten overshadowed. You see the same equivalent being argued in figure skating and gymnastics of content vs. art. We have all seen it where there is an incredible WOW factor, but you wonder why???? So with DCI trying to really analyze how to keep both the corps growing while maintaining an audience in the stands, the new language comes into play. The trick though is how to interpret that? The wall of sound? The audience on it's feet? A dramatic theatrical moment? Most would say it is this obvious "connection" thing live at the actual event. But that could and will be argued for years. It is going to take a while for the judges to both unlearn and apply this new criteria on a consistent basis. But we need to give them credit for trying...
  10. Sent you a Private Mail and did not hear back. I assume they are sold?
  11. sent you a Pvt mssg. Check your mail box and reply back. Thanks.
  12. checking into the semis tickets. There is a last minute contingent from MN looking for 3 tickets and noticed your posting. Let me know if still there this late in the game

  13. How about this: Introduce it at one of the Tour of Champions events. The original intention of these was to expand the horizons of the activity and give fans a more 1:1 connection to the "super" corps. Maybe bring in a different panelist for each event from a different background; just to see how it adjusts the outcome. I think that was part of the concept to begin with - think outside the box and bring a new experience to the activity. Don't open it up to audience votes like many of the television shows. When the American Public gets involved, the credibility goes down the tubes and it becomes a popularity contest. But if an outside person came in, they would likely have no allegiances to any corps, so they would certainly look at it with fresh eyes. My thoughts.
  14. I kinda like the concept... It is certainly bound to get grumbling and dissent. But how many reality television shows do the same thing??? SYTYCD, American Idol, Dancing w/ the Stars..... You can criticize them all for not being a true art form; but much of what it comes down to as well is finding an audience, marketing a product and gaining exposure. Which DCI seems to be committed to the last few years. And with the "new sheets' in mind; Audience Engagement is supposedly a viable means of scoring in some contribution on both GE sheets. I think it would be an interesting twist and add yet another element of surprise. We all know that the final week comes down to a precarious amount of variables that can go a number of ways on any given evening - whether it is the audience voting, or the determined judging panel that forever changes the way it is recorded in the record books. I'd certainly feel like a more valued part of the process. Championships protocol is always in flux and nothing should be ruled out. Last year, the open enrollment at Quarters changed the way it plays out and we were all game for that adventure..... Just saying.
  15. And of those 103 vids - only 3 of them are from the Crossmen of their standstill preview. None of the other posting are even from the current season, but all rehearsal camps. :( All the others are teaser clips from DCI and none posted from the corps themselves.
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