turfviking

Kewl! How in blazes did u break that into that 4 box quote thingie?

Very nice review! Thanks for sharing.

My hearing aide works just fine, thank u...hehehe. Actually, I was 50 yard line one row down from the press box in C.R. In Lisle, 45 yard line near the top. I'm no sound tech but I know enough about sound boards and mixers to tell u there are volume controls, high end, low end, etc. Perhaps a volume level of 2 instead of 8 would prevent the overkill. The sound CAN be tastefully done.

Ok, I didn't comment on the Lisle show thinking a few bugs had to be worked out. However, after attending the Cedar Rapids show last nite, I just have to vent about this pit amplification. It is far TOO LOUD. My ears are still ringing from some of those dings, clangs, and dongs. If amplification is needed, please turn down the volume. Oh, and 86 the feedback. Zeeeez! Simple solution: retract the DCI ruling allowing this nonsense in the first place! <**>

Whoops, wrong button on 1st response. Sorry for the rant, but I know my feelings are shared by some other drum corps fans that were there with me. Hehe, u must have been sitting next to that no good brother of mine.

[ Thank heavens for SCV and their opener, so it's still OK to open the show with energy and blow back the stands a little? The judges must hate that, not artistic enough I'm sure. So they were definitely my favorite of the night, but still not enough to really get me out of my seat. Now if we were going to have a symphonic band concert in the fall, I would probably have enjoyed this more. But it's summer and I want to have fun and have my face blown back and yes, gosh darn it, be entertained. Guess that's not allowed anymore. Too bad, because the talent, drive and commitment of the kids is a constant. I'm sad that for a corps to be competitive, the shows have to live up to some pretentious, homogenous standard that has sucked the very life out of this great activity. Some of us still remember a time when every corps/region had a distinct personality, now you could swap uniforms and do the shows and no one would know the difference. Well almost. As SCV prepared to enter the field, you knew exactly who they were. The way they carry themselves, their styly of walking, the very presence they bring, well I don't care what year it is, they lived up to their very proud tradition. They should feel really good about that. Now I'm sure there are going to be many that disagree with me on this. Fine, if you can be entertained by these shows, good on ya mate. My point is, can't modern drum corps incorporate a little of what made it great in the first place (hype, energy, incredible musical/show moments, personality) and still be successful? Guess I'll just have to get my fix at a DCA show. Sorry for the rant, but I know my feelings are shared by some other drum corps fans that were there with me. So what was the best drum corps moment of the evening? Listening to the 1975 DCI finals on the way home.

But what does crowd response matter? Seems to me that factor went out with the tick system. Oh, well, ladders and doors and vocals and amplification and whistles and bells and oga-cha-cha's and all this other hullabaloo just don't make it for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a die hard drum corps fan but these corps are just so dang good that they could do without all this garbage on the field IMHO. Very nice review, btw! Cy'all at the Naperville show. I hope it cools down a little by next week. ~~~toif~~~

Great show (excellent brats at the concession stand) with a few early glitches as noted above. The crowd humming the SSB was chilling...don't think I've ever been to an event where this has occured. There was a little congestion at the main gate with the corps pit crews entering just beyond the gate and people trying to get in and out of the stadium but not a big problem. I still question the lineup...should have been, maybe, Colts, Blue Knights, Phantom, and Madison to capture the big buildup. Blue Knights just didn't make it going on last. Colts had a great performance...awesome guard, great field coverage, ok drum line (someone needs to write some rudiments, spelled RUDIMENTS, into alot of these corps drum books), and a rather blase horn performance. This show MAY return the Colts to the Saturday Nite Big Show (crosses fingers B)). Madison was incredible...wonderful, wonderful horn line, drum line was hot, drill was excellent...lacking in the guard department...it's hard to see those dudes in the blue tops on the right side of the field vs. the dudes in green on the left and they didn't do much... and where was the usual about 150 man rifle toss? Carmen didn't do a whole lot for me...seems like 85 years or whatever of Scouts tradition tossed right out the window with a "gurl" on the field. And, as noted above, Carmen was a major distraction but maybe that's the point...dunno. I'd already seen Phantom in Lisle the week before...much improvement in a short time. Phantom is totally straight...no electronics, no garbage on the field, just in-ur-face drum corps! The horn show still lacks emotion and they should bring that great snare line upfront more often...those dudes cook. Blue Knights were ok...should have been on earlier. Nothing really exciting about this show but...'tis early in the season. All in all, a great show for the first time in Cedar Rapids in a long, long while. My hat is off to all the volunteers who worked in almost 100 degree heat to make this a success. CU in Dubuque and Naperville and maybe a few points in between. ~~~toif~~~