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Just a side comment to that mostly brilliant rant: electronic "music" is not effortless to produce. Someone, somewhere had the skill and knowledge to produce an electronic sound that matched what they invisioned in their head. Reproduction, however, is a different story. I don't know the ins and outs of the rule... do they just push a button and the whole electronic phrase plays from what essentially is a recording? Or do they physically have to play the part in full on a keyboard? The latter takes skill on the member's part. I totally agree that the question of what's real and what isn't does ruin the overall effect to a degree. But let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. If there is skill by a corps member involved in reproducing those sounds, let's not short change them.

It's comfortable up in the 400 section. Maybe a tad on the warm side.

I'm in 441. That's the upper club level and I'm seated on the left 30 yard line.

Here's the scoop. I'm at LOS now, there is only a curtain over the back stands. Window and roof is closed. It's perfect outside so I don't anticipate them having the roof open, ever, based on the decision today. I don't know how anyone could describe the sound in here to be excellent. I'd say good, considering it's indoors. It's not the same head splitting echo that RCA had, but there is a definitive low frequency rumble and reverb that is distracting. That's my 2 cents.

Yes, I assume they didn't want to disappoint the crowd so they performed just as if it had been in competition. The only difference was they had a dozen or so holes in the drill, a missing soloist (in the trio leading up to the drum break), and no score.

I was thinking the same thing this morning..... SCV seemed flat/off whatever last night. Say they earned a 92.85, is that really such a big deal? When they are healthy and on at quarterfinals they should score a 95+ or whatever. Pulling them out indicates to me that there is a fear that the judges would think the latest score of 92.85 is typical and bump them up from there rather than scoring them to the sheets as they should. The only other explanation is protecting the psyche of the corps. Don't want them to feel under-appreciated! Frankly, I don't want to believe EITHER of these scenarios. I can understand pulling them out of the show for rest or doing a standstill for reduced exertion, but having the corps performing as they normally would (sans a dozen members or so) and having the judges standing right there...... just put a dang score to it! It hurts no one. (theoretically )

"Erring on the side of caution"? That implies to me, we're skipping the show and going to get some rest. But, that's not what they did..... they still performed. The judges were still there. Why not just go ahead and score it? Fear of a large score drop? Who cares?

I still don't get the whole reason behind the exhibition...... the corps was there, the judges were there, why not put a number to it??

I too drove a couple hours and bought a ticket right at show time just to see Vanguard. They haven't announced anything in the stadium... We're at intermission now and they just said we'll start back up at 9:18 with SCV. Check that, they are pushing their pit out onto the field right now. The news article said something about an exhibition performance. We'll see how this works in about 15 minutes.

Quick Question: Does anyone remember what the venue was for Drums Along the Rockies in 1995? I know it was some high school in Denver since Mile High Stadium was booked, I just can't remember which high school.

If you can find a metered spot on the street, it's free after 6 on weekdays and all day on the weekend.

true that..... it's all good!

Hey, I didn't say I wouldn't go! I'll let DCI know how I feel and then pick up tickets out of a corps fan block, Ron Gunn, or eBay next summer.

I've bought tickets, many times at the super premium level, every year since 1998. They've finally priced me out of their game. A $100+ contribution just for access to a $300 seat is borderline extortion in my book. I'll buy my tickets elsewhere. Sorry DCI, you can only squeeze so much out of me.

It's hard to say what will happen, the judges sure seem to love this show. This really reminds me of '02 when the Cavaliers were way out front all season. Every time it seemed someone was closing the gap (different judges at different shows) they 2 pointed the field at a major regional.

Anyone know the timing for tonight (performance times) and who's doing the encore?

DCI should come out and say right now if they plan on releasing this year in Blu-Ray. If I shell out $139 for their World Class DVD and then they decide next year or the year after to release the shows in BR retroactively, I will be P.O.'d. Period. They let the cat out of the bag..... they may as well go all the way with it right now.

I'm having issues here too. By the end of Madison's show they were about 2 seconds out of sync with the visual. Lots of audio drop outs toward the end too. The rest of the shows have had pretty good audio but visual freezes regularly (every minute or so) for about a second. Honestly, I remember the quality of the feeds being much better that last couple of years.

I'd like an answer to this as well.... I've got Sec 441 seats 19 and 20. I suspect that puts me on the 30 yard line side of the section, although I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be closer to the 40 yard line! Anyone who knows please help! And why this kind of information is rarely on seating charts is beyond my comprehension.

Agreed. Regiment is SO strong in GE, yet that isn't being reflected in the sheets. They should be dominating in spite of their visual performance. Besides, what they are attempting out there is just crazy. Scoring is supposed to be a blend between demand and execution. They aren't getting enough credit for demand, IMO.

How Regiment isn't winning and running away with it is truly beyond my and many other peoples' comprehension. If they are announced in 2nd (or God forbid, worse) tonight, will DCI have a riot on their hands? I predict a chorus of boos that will put any of the '90s Madison boo-birds and the 2000 announcement of a championship tie.... AGAIN... to shame. At least this isn't being broadcast out to the world, LIVE, so no one will ever know it. If you're going to the show tonight, don't forget your spears and shields for the post-show shenanigans! *crossing fingers hoping none of that will be required* Regiment for the win!

Those who ordered multiple-event tickets (meaning Super 3 packages) in the past should have received an email a week or two ago with the order form for 2009. I received my email on July 22. It's handled exactly the same way as last year, via the mail only, and forms need to be postmarked by August 7. The email stated that this same package (now the Fantastic 5 - just like 2008 tickets) will be made available to the general public at this years Championships event. It's not clear whether you just needed to by the Fantastic 5 for this year to be eligible or if you needed to show a consistent trend of ordering the multi-event ticket package. I've been ordering the Super3/Fantastic5 as early as it comes available, including standing in line at the event headquarters early in the morning, since 1998. Maybe that got me bonus points?

More often than not, SCV and Cavaliers have had the best drills on the field this entire decade. This year I say SCV is #1.... I was just mesmerized by that opener and it never really let down from there.

OK, I've been reading a lot of negativity surrounding SCV's closer.... Last night was my first viewing of it and I admit I was left a little flat by the very end, but all in all I thought the closer as a whole was very intriguing and well written. We all know that the "finale" of a top tier (actually for most tiers now-a-days) doesn't come until the final weeks of the season.... SCV is in fine shape. All they have to do is add the tag ending and tweek a couple things here and there and they'll be in the thick of the hunt.

Ditto what PRAng said.... I didn't care for the pricing options vs. features last year, but this year $69 for access to all the webcasts on demand is a STEAL! I can go out on the weekends and still see all the shows.