FlamMan

Great post. You summed up my feelings perfectly. What I cant figure out is... everyone involved in the drum corps activity is aware of these criticisms. The powers that be in DCI surely must talk with people either formally in a fan focus group, or informally at shows, etc. They know that many fans have left the activity because of the ridiculous rules changes & current show designs. Personally I have disposable income that I could spend on drum corp...but I will not spend $50 for a ticket to have to sit through shows that make my head hurt like this years BD & SCV shows do, along with many others. The Drum Corps activity needs a movement towards a more traditional, vintage & classic style of drum corps which will attract & allow more local kids to join corps.

I agree 100%. The Blue Devils show makes me want to jump off a tall building. SCV's show makes me want to jump out the top floor window of the same building. Both of these shows are prime examples of what is wrong with modern day drum corps, with show coordinators & arrangers writing high brow music that perhaps impresses some music majors & other corps arrangers, but the average fan neither gets it of enjoys it. I think I'll watch 1976 BD now...

There's always next year...

Does this years BD show get any standing O's? Does the crowd get into their show? Can you hum or whistle any of their music? How does this BD show score any GE? DCI needs a scoring caption for crowd reaction.

By famous tag ending do you mean "The Way We Were"?

I'm a Scouts homer & here is my take on this years show. It is the most enjoyable & crowd appealing show on the field this year. Horn line is nowhere near as loud as I expected. Drum book is nothing special, & I expected more. CG is much improved. I love the drill. I don't care if BD's show has more demand. Wake me when their show is over...same goes for nearly every other corps. Stop writing music for music majors & start writing music for the crowd. The Drum Corps activity would benefit tremendously if there was a movement to return to a more vintage show design where the MUSIC matters most, & everything else is secondary. I want spats d a m m i t !

That's not the point. This uni just doesn't look right without spats. My understand is that the Scouts took delivery of about 150 pair of spats a few months ago. Are they waiting to unveil the spats?

Where are the Spats???

I'll approach this from an on the field perspective, both while in the Scouts. I have two moments that stand out. 1. Madison Scouts, August 8th, 1981 DCI Midwest, Warhawk Stadium, Whitewater, WI. This was one of the first shows where all of the big DCI Corps competed together. We were in 3rd place after prelims. Our finals performance was our best performance of the year & we won the show beating BD by 1.15 & SCV by 1.5. When scores were announced, the crowd went berserk. This is the show that appears on the legacy DVD's since DCI was in Montreal that year & there was no PBS broadcast. 2. Madison Scouts Alumni Corps, August 11, 2006 DCI Championship Semi Finals, Badger Stadium, Madison, WI. From the beginning to the end of our performance, the crowd was on their feet going nuts. This was 13 minutes of pure bliss & joy.

I prefer easy & entertaining to difficult & not entertaining.

So the Scouts did in fact move to Bloomington?

I agree. This years Blue Devils show makes my want to hurt myself just a few minutes into it. I don't get it at all. Frantic abstract note playing is not musical or enjoyable.

The home show advantage theory is ridiculous. The judges don't care where they are or who's show it is.

I completely agree. Today's Corps music is neither memorable or musical. Sure the high brow music majors may appreciate it but the average fan doesn't. I really hope that the Scouts returning to a traditional show rubs off on a few other corps.

I love SCV. But I watched the 2010 Family Day show on You Tube & quite honestly I have no idea what in the world the show designers were thinking. Non stop avant garde mayhem without any melody just doesn't do it for me. Gosh I miss Appalachian Spring.

Shouldn't the star on the uni be blue?

As goofy as this sounds, the Cymbal line was the heart & soul of the Scouts. They got more attention & laughs than any section in the corp. The Madison Scouts, along with every other Drum & Bugle Corp should march a Cymbal line.

Really? No standing O for the Scouts?

No. This uni looks strange without spats.

I believe what we wore were US Navy spats. The Scouts used to buy them from a surplus store in Wisconsin I think.

I thought the Scouts received a shipment of 150 pair of spats a couple of Months ago?

The #8 Snare needs to work on his posture!

The short sleeves look bush league. The uni is in desperate need of color & a red sash & hat band would be just enough. Lets hope they make some modifications soon. Whats up with no spats though??? Are they waiting until the drill is clean??? This uniform must look awkward without spats.

What about the largest, loudest & cleanest alumni corp???