FakeFlam

Saw the Cadets in person this evening. Loved hearing the kids play-- hated the narrative crap. I wonder if they'll ever resent being subject to the whims of this design obsession?

At home 2 miles from Milton High School and the weather is dicey. Heavy downpour with thunder and lightning 10 minutes ago which seems to have given way to a light drizzle presently. Fingers crossed.

There's no stopping it now, I'm afraid. As feared, legalizing amps was just a foot in the door. Maybe it will finally become "so not drum corps" that the pendulum can finally swing back the other way.

I've read about the narration off and on for many months but 'saw' it for myself for the first time last night. I now understand completely why so many fans are turned off by it. The kids who join Cadets know what they're getting themselves into design-wise. If they're cool with Hop's vision of the activity, so be it. That said, I'm glad that Blue Devils won. A win for Cadets would have been more validation for their design approach than I could stomach.

I can appreciate most years, but 1983 - 1993 is without question the sweet spot for me.

While I won't take anything from today's shows or performers, I think there was something special and unique going on during the 'Golden Era' of DCI. More than anything, the sense I got was that corps was absolutely comfortable being a niche, non-conformist artform. No special desire to attract / woo music majors, woodwinds, or HS band directors. No need to recreate a symphony orchestra on the football field -- just flat out, high demand technique, musicianship and entertainment. At some point, the focus become much more intensely oriented towards the designers. Some like it better, some not as much.

A bit of trivia: Gibson actually selected Uillean (Irish) pipes for the soundtrack of Braveheart rather than Great Highland Bagpipes which are more closely associated with Scotland.

Wedges, eh? Interesting...

Glad to have a big show in Atlanta, but not a fan of dome acoustics.

Rumor has it that DCI will be marketing Parking Lot DVDs in the near future, so I don't expect they'll be any more receptive to home grown footage.

I like it a lot as a positioning statement. After watching the ESPN2 broadcast, there's no better time for DCA to unapologetically state that they are different by choice. Bravo.

1985 Blue Devils -- thanks to them I developed a lifelong love of drum corps and Pat Matheny's music!

Maybe it was Phantom's ill-advised cymbal ride. j/k I really enjoyed both shows and wouldn't have been surprised had the scores been reversed.

As much as I personally enjoy playing traditional grip, I'm really excited to see how SCV does with this. Will they still do 'the chicken wing' with the right arm and have an asymmetrical matched grip or will they strive for total uniformity? I've always believed that Tom Float's early 80s lines killed the matched grip movement -- it will be very interesting to see if Gusseck's lines revitalize things...

Not much market for non free-floaters these days, but good luck.