84chief

Keep us posted on how your drive went. I'm driving up from DC tomorrow!

I agree with quite a bit (not all) of what you wrote. That said, I think this is one of the most well-thought out, incisive and, yes, enlightening posts I've ever read on DCP. Kudos and thanks.

Not a review, just some quick observations and bits of information about this show before I hit the hay: I drove through a very intense rainstorm for about 5 minutes about 10 miles out from the stadium. It had stopped by the time I arrived. Looked like it was clearing up but started to cloud over again before sunset. The show started on time and there were no rain delays. All of the corps performed in dry conditions until after intermission. Drizzled on and off during Crest & Colts and started to rain steadily about halfway through Bloo. Rain started to let up again before Devs and just about stopped by the time they started, then started to drizzle again during their show. Due to the rain showers, Devs performed their entire show without wearing their hats. Plenty of drops by Bloo and Devs guard, I assume due to wet conditions. This show has traditionally been held at Fauquier H.S. in Warrenton but was relocated to Liberty H.S. in Bealeton (just down the road) 3 years ago. They announced during tonight's show that it will be moving back to Warrenton next year, as Fauquier H.S. has been renovated. Liberty looks like a fairly new school, with a nice football stadium with artificial turf and colorful end zones. The road which passes behind the bleachers is apparently a major truck route, with lots of noisy engine braking/downshifting going on throughout the show. The rain really opened up during the encore presentation by the USMC Drum & Bugle Corps and they had to cut their show short. They hurriedly brought out the DMs and announced the scores as people were running for their cars.

Chester tonight, Warrrenton, Allentown (fri & sat), & the theater.

I didn't see the anthem. Were the drummers in the halftime show the same as the ones from pregame?

Jersey Surf, BD, and INT probably got rained on the most, but the skies never really opened up on any of the corps during their shows (except Bridgemen). Everyone in between more or less escaped. Most of the show ended up being performed under a dry sky. When it did rain, it was mostly stop-and-go (which caused people to put on and then take off their rain gear at various times throughout), and when it did rain for any length of time it was usually no more than what I would call light-to-moderate. It started to pick up about halfway through BD's show, and then really opened up just after they ended.

That crowd pic is deceptive - most of those empty seats are well outside the goal lines on either end. The stands there wrap almost halfway around the end zones.

Somebody post a pic of the field from section F, row 34, seat 20, so I know what my view will be like tomorrow!

I'm sorry, but without a mention of Josh Early Candies, this thread is one big FAIL!

GMU hosted Drum Corps in Fairfax the last couple of years. Their stadium is not much better than Wakefield High's in terms of viewing experience. There is a very wide track between the stands and the sideline, the setting sun is directly in your eyes when you try to look at the field, and constant smoke from the barbecue grills in the concession area creates a persistent haze. I'm glad they decided to become Drum Corps in Fauqiuer again and return this show to Warrenton - I'll gladly drive the extra distance for a better viewing experience.

i was walking back to my car after Crossmen's (fabulous) encore and heard a big cheer. I thought to myself, "I guess Madison must have won!"

I'll be there. If you are looking for something convenient to eat, by the way, the Five Guys on the corner of Route 7 and Beauregard Street (within walking distance from Wakefield High) is the original location. Anyone know where any of the corps might be rehearsing today prior to the performance?

Does anyone have any recommendations on where to obtain decent-quality pictures of the album cover art for the various DCI World Championships CDs? I'm in the process of importing all of my CDs (1978-2009) into iTunes, and would like to have the album cover art depicted as accurately as possible. Thanks!

1) Blue Stars 2) Madison Scouts 3) Cavaliers 4) Santa Clara Vanguard 5) The Cadets 6) Carolina Crown 7) Boston Crusaders 8) Phantom Regiment 9) Blue Knights 10) Blue Devils 11) Bluecoats 12) Glassmen

Wrong. There were absolutely no blue dots or any other visual problems at my theater (Tysons Corner, VA). Sound was great, too. Sorry your experience sucked, but mine was fantastic!

Did we lose the live feed?

Will we get the full retreat and announcement of the scores on the webcast?

Beautiful job on the ballad. It's almost as if Elgar had drum corps in mind when he wrote Enigma Variations.

I'm especially looking forward to the following corps: The Beer Devils The Beer Knights The Beercoats The Beer Stars The Beerston Crusaders (one-track mind...)

Did I hear Colts' mellos quote from Phantom's 03 Pachelbel closer?

Nice body movement from the tubas. Must be hard to do while holding those big instruments.

Nice flag work at the end, too. I predict that those plain white flags will take on some colors and patterns by the time they get to Indy!

Surf is selling it! What a huge leap from late June when I saw them in Arlington! They are really playing and marching with confidence, and I am diggin' the new unis - very apropos for the theme of the show. So nice to see such marked improvement.

I'm getting nice sound, but same thing as you with the picture - pre-recorded videos look significantly better than the live feed.

Glad to hear it's not just me - I paid too much for this new iMac with the spectacular display!