Long Time Fan

In general I have had very nice results from Season Pass. The content is more than I expected to get during major shows which occur each weekend (almost). The Field Pass by Dan Potter is worth listening to. I just wish there was a little more content between weekends. If you want to see corps pictures and you can't find them on the DCI site and you don't want to join Season Pass, then you can go to the individual corps sites. You can find their links through the DCI site. Most, if not all, have picture galleries. If you want to listen to podcast commentaries, you can find sites like "On the 50" and "This Week in Drum Corps". They are both worthwhile. The only way to get videos or MP3s is to get them through Season Pass or purchasing an APD through DCI at the Season Pass site, even if you are not a member.

Mmmm...I smell troll-bait roasting in the oven. Love it! :feednotroll:

If this is a described it is unfortunate for our activity. I have had numerous cases where corps staffs have perched themselves near me during their corps' performance. Occasionally I have been disturbed by the members. In Murfreesboro last week the staff from one of my favorite corps came up to the second level to look at the show. They stood at the walkway railing, making it impossible for the fans behind them to see the field. When I asked them to move, all pulled back to the tunnel except for two. It took an usher to get them to move. In Orlando this year, one group of staff members watching their corps talked all through the performance, somewhat distracting. These are rare cases. I can give many more examples of staffs that watch, cheer, and gesture, but never disturb those around them. If this event happened it is an aberration and should be treated as such by informing the corps directly.

There is a certain level of security in blindness like this. You have to envy the smugness that one can achieve when you focus on one item and ignore everything around you. Yes...if nothing was proven at Indy, slotting happens! Just ask several corps. And DCI instructs the judges on how to score...Certainly the trends of a closing gap between the Cadets and the Cavaliers was not seen in previous shows, or that Phantom was moving up. People don't like vocals, except for those that do. DCI loves the Cavaliers...all the DCI members...including the the Cadets...oh wait a minute, that doesn't sound right...just leave at the undefined "DCI". You are right. The Cavaliers show is easy. High school students at a clinic can march the show...and we all know that they would outscore the corps. Do you just leave your logic in bed when you start posting at this early hour in the morning? Go back to bed and try getting up with all your faculites.

If you had gone to the touring schedule for the Cavaliers you would have read the following: "High School and Fan Appreciation Night! All corps fans and high school students (middle school as well) interested in seeing how the mechanics of the show work are welcome to attend the evening rehearsal." Many of the corps will do a clinic or a rehearsal that is intended to bring the high school musician or guard member into the activity. I have noticed that the Cavaliers and the Cadets do this fairly often. If you have ever hung around one of these corps during these periods you will understand that there often is a BIG difference between the intensity of the rehearsal at one of these events versus the local high school practice field. Less is accomplished. If anything, the corps loses practice time in exchange for promoting the activity. If they gain some experience in the facility where they will play the next day (or often that evening) that is small compensation. Not all motives are sinister.

That's a subtle point. This was an efficient attempt to steal an election, certainly the Chicago style. Now if it had been Florida, Murfreesboro order would have been determined in September based on ineffective voting methods using outdated and unreliable counting processes. Please never confuse ability with ineptness.

The drill that the Cadets, Madison and Phantom are bring to the field. It seems to me that corps are really trying hard to respond to what the Cavaliers have been doing over the last few years.

Think about it! DCI decides to mess with the voting so it announces that there is a vote bot. Is that how you would do it? Why not just announce the results on Thursday that the favored corps won? Why make up a story about a bot? Why stop there? Why not just instruct the judges to make the favored corps win? It is unconstrained thought directly attached to the keyboard that brings this type of nonsense out into a public forum. Some poor fools will read it and believe it. This is not fun, it hurts. I wish some folks would think about what they write before they put it out there. Sorry to come down so hard on what was intended to be a "cute" remark. But I just get tired of the lack of responsibility that is sometimes shown.

Sarcasm turned on!!! Voting irregularities...stuffed ballot boxes...I see dead people voting...Sound familiar? Is there a corps doing a tribute to Chicago??? Could this be a tribute gone horribly wrong??? Did it go too far??? Is Jeff Fiedler's real last name Daley before he changed it??? Nah! Blame it on YEA. Sarcasm turned off!!! ( My son is a former marching member with a championship corps in 2000, 2001, and 2002. So I am going to have some explaining to do!)

They just put up an atricle on DCI saying that "Corps advancing to the Murfreesboro Masters of the Summer Music Games next weekend in Tennessee include the Cavaliers, the Cadets, the Blue Devils, the Madison Scouts, Phantom Regiment, Bluecoats, Boston Crusaders and Carolina Crown. " No SCV, rats, but great for Crown and BAC.

As far as growth is concerned...either we are growing or we are dying. We need to refresh our fan base with both hard core (corps?) fans and casual fans. I was hard core in '73. I dropped the activity after that when we moved to Southern CA. It was the '95 finals broadcast on PBS that brought me back. I started out casual, and then our son joined the Magic of Orlando in '98 - '99, followed by the Cavaliers in '00-'02. I have been hard core ever since. Look for growth...DCI is trying, and in my opinion succeeding.

Just saw it! Love getting to see it once in a while.

Me too. Haven't had any further problems since the Mandirins. Guess they took care of it.

Understand that we are looking at a webcam that covers from the 25 to the 25. Not much definition except for forms and colors. There were two cards that I could see each about 10 yards long. Moved slowly through the corps. Could not see what was written on them. Sorry....See what you're missing without Season Pass? (Sarcasm )

Now that's gonna take some postage! Before someone asks, you have to subscribe to Season Pass to see DCI Cam.

Keep trying. I've been able to get back in each time, but I've been dropped three times now. This is the first time I've seen this.

I'm getting numerous server issues and being dropped out of Season Pass. Anyone seeing the same?

I have heard both corps live, but it was in June in Orlando. The Bluecoats' version is a little unexpected when just one amped performer is doing this, but when the whole corps joins in it is very enjoyable. The overall effect was favorable back then. The Cadets had two sections (as I remember) one by a male performer and one by a female performer. Neither was real well integrated into the show at that time in the year, but the female performer had little excitement to add, just her voice being significantly over-amped. I found little to like in that. If that is Cadet-bashing then so be it, but to me it is preferring one version that is more musical and enjoyable over another that (at that time) was jarring and removed me from a very good corps performance. I know someone will read this and say "So you removed your self from enjoying the Cadets' performance because you didn't like one part!" No! Each part of a show should draw a fan into the performance. While a particular section may call attention to itself, it is just moving the focus. But when something appears that causes the fan to push back from the show and think about what he/she just heard or saw, you have broken the connection and diminished the product. Shifting focus without killing the effect is what the Cavaliers and Blue Devils have done so well for years, and what Madison is really doing well this year. Should I say something about a baton twirler...but then I would become a Cadet-basher again.

I said I was pretty happy with the service. But after getting my email on the streaming APDs out of San Antonio - its just right. I don't expect too much. I suspect that DCI and the corps never got that much from recent CD sales, due to the finals DVDs. I doubt they will ever offer a quality video product that will threaten DVD sales. Don't hold your breath for streaming video.

In one of Hopkins' blogs he said that this would be happening. He just thought that it naturally blended in with the show's theme. She wanders around asking for directions, aksing if someone knows where she should be at 9:27 (or whatever is there start time).

1 - Cavaliers 2 - Cadets 3 - Blue Devils 4 - Madison Scouts 5 - Bluecoats 6 - Pantom Regiment 7 - Carolina Crown 8 - Boston Crusaders 9 - Santa Clara Vanguard (Would this mean they would miss Murfreesboro?) 10 - Blue Knights 11 - Glassmen 12 - Mandarins 13 - Spirit from JSU 14 - Crossmen 15 - Colts 16 - Capital Regiment 17 - Southwind 18 - Seattle Cascades 19 - Esperanza 20 - Magic 21 - Troopers 22 - Kiwanis Kavaliers 23 - Revolution (Div III)

I guess I wasn't expecting that much since I am relatively happy with it. I was not going to sign up, but when I missed the live coverage that we got for free last year, I finally broke down. It is what I was expecting and I am using the streaming audio big time.

I've been to both RCA and the Alamodome several times and dislike the sound quality. But, what is it like for performing corps? Is there an adjustment? Does it change things?

I was at three of the five finals, but I know I can't trust my memory. :( I'm not sure you can trust the recordings since the microphones were placed differently in each stadium, and the crowd's seating varies. Length of crowd response and the type of response are probably the best indications. Even though I think the crowd response was hightened in the '95 recordings, I have to believe that the response to Madison is amazing. I voted for this because I know I would have been hoarse by the end along with everyone else. b**bs (Oh and I screamed even louder for the Cavaliers in 2002 because that was my son's age out and third championship.)