DCIroxx

A little birdie told me that Boston has the encore tonite.

Yamaha?

Kind of a light crowd, huh?

Allright Skimannc1! Last year Kevin Gamin set a high bar for realtime updates during the show. We're all counting on you!

Let Mike pack the food truck with a new delivery of supplies...in the heat & humidity of Houston in July...while trying to prepare dinner.

About 3 yrs ago, when the neighbors started complaining. It's nice to be at a location now where you can have a full brass ensemble outdoors until 10:45PM, without complaint.

That John Psathas piece is hot! Also looking forward to seeing the guard doing the Dance of the Maenads. Maybe a dulcimer in the pit this year?

Give me a friggin' break.... It was 89-90 during the day at DCI Orlando. During tour this year in TX & KS the heat index was 98 - 110 every day. 3 yrs ago I remember DCI Kalamazoo being 110+ degrees on the field, and I also remember so many members of Cap Reg affected by the heat in Pittsburg, KS that same year that the authorities told everyone to get back in their air conditioned buses and wait for the sun to go down. I remember 2 years ago in Tempe, AZ having to hang out indoors all day because it was too hot to go out and rehearse. Florida's days are pleasant compared to many of the other places you have to tour during the summer. Yeah, it rained in the afternoon, but it was a beautiful evening for the DCI Orlando show. During the 1st two weeks of the tour this season in OH, MI, & WI it poured almost every afternoon, but also cleared up just in time for the show that evening. Made it nearly impossible to get good on-field rehearsals for nearly 2 weeks. You didn't rehearse in the swamp, and you didn't actually see any alligators (unless you went to Gatorland during your free day, which was not that far away from your hotel in the heart of Disney tourist-land). In Clifton, NJ this year BAC was warned to stay inside of the school at night because there was a mama black bear rummaging in the dumpster and staying with her cubs in the nearby woods. Or, did you forget about the few corps that had your housing site ripped off or were you one of those robbed on your way back from a fast food joint by the local "vultures", during last year's Championships in LA? My point is that your 2 days in Orlando were probably very pleasant, when compared to other days around the country during your tour this year. As other folks have said here, poor financial management significantly contributed to failed corps in FL. However, well-run corps like Boston and Teal locally, as well as many other corps like the Cadets (and Blue Stars), have benefitted greatly in membership and staff from Floridians. Like others have pointed out, music and marching is strong here. However, corps management and alumni loyalty and support are not strong.

To me, "Pulling a Lynn Johnston" is just a current replacement for "Pulling a Tom Clancy". ...but I (we) digress... Didn't last year's "This I Believe" come pretty close to nuking the fridge?

Just curious ... what director doesn't have significant or even total control of the program? Isn't that ultimately the primary responsibility of the "director"? Anyway, I would expect the next few years on DCP to hear a lot of "... that was a lot like Boston's 200x show ...". Can't wait to see the B'stars tabletop arm position...

I don't know, it feels like "I've Been This Way Before" with INT's announcement. I might sound like a pessimist for saying that. But so what, "I Am ... I Said" that every INT show turns out to be same stuff - different venue, and they always prove me right.

No way! TBA seems mysterious and gets everyone wondering what they're going to do. But they're so predictable - they never show up to the event. Another corps always ends up taking their place.

I heard a rumor that INT has already started working on a difficult part of their 2009 show, where the 2 rack-guys in the pit take guard rifles and jazz run out to midfield. Then while each stands the end of the rifle on the ground, they put their foreheads on the butts of the rifles and synchronize spin around them 10 times (how they do this to a Neil Diamond tune, I don't know). Then they jazz run back to the pit & hit their gongs in unison at a critical hit in the music. It's all very tricky and timing is critical. I know it's early yet, but it sounds like they're really having problems with the 2nd jazz run - seems like one or both are always falling down and missing the hit. .... but, I'll bet the audience will really jump out of the stands when they successfully put this on the field.

Shouldn't Boston's guard have tossed bones into the air during Also Sprach Zarathustra?

Bullseye!

Wasn't a knock on Boston's show last year that the guard had too much going on? I seem to remember it even being highlighted during the ESPN2 show. Kinda gave me the impression that maybe that cold have held Boston back last year.

Listed in reverse order of performance Bluecoats - Canton, OH Santa Clara Vanguard - Santa Clara, CA Blue Devils - Concord, CA Boston Crusaders - Boston, MA Spirit - Jacksonville, AL Blue Stars - LaCrosse, WI Mandarins - Sacramento, CA Troopers - Casper, WY Step-off: 7:00 PM I didn't see INT listed - I hope they're ready if called ....

I saw their Pittsburg show. It incorporated changes made after San Antonio & Denton to address judging critiques. It was their best show to date - the score was deserved. They also had a huge crowd boost, most of them being HS band campers who participated in an afternoon clinic with BAC. The corps was flying high when they came off the field. One thing I noticed is how fast their drill moves from one form to the next. Just look at the Atlanta Cam video. You don't see BAC's forms held as long as most of the other corps. It seems to me that they're always on the hairy edge of getting into their forms on time. I think the rookies, as talented as they are, might be having a tough time with simultaneous responsibilities, letting one responsibility go while concentrating on the other. Maybe they feel they're late getting to their next spot so their musical performance suffers while they try to make up the distance. Maybe they're concentrating on a release that they've had trouble hitting, and are late on their next move. There's a lot of demand in this show, and maybe they're not experienced enough to know how to personally clean up their part of it. To exacerbate the problem, they may clean up one part, but then have problems with another part. The thing that I'm having a hard time understanding, something that I've seen and also heard from other reviewers, is how their show has been starting out flat and then picks up about halfway into Kingfishers Catch Fire. They've had the Also Sprach music and drill on the field since January, and the first half of Kingfishers since February. Neither of these have had significant changes made since the season started. It would seem that these parts should be automatic to them, yet they still have problems getting these rolling and keeping them clean. Maybe someone could explain what could be affecting them, from a performers point of view. Is it complacency? Or boredom? Hopefully, they get a good score in Allentown tonite. It'll pick up their spirits and carry them into finals next week.

Well, the 86 in Pittsburg was their high, 3 days before Atlanta. With the exception of the big drop in Atlanta, it seemed like all of the captions were trending up. Now it looks like their music captions were holding them down in the last couple of shows. We'll see when the Lawrence recaps are posted. Could it have something to do with 2/3 of their corps being rookies?

Just heard that 1 of the BAC snare losses was cleared by doctor & may be returning this wknd. Hope he's OK to march.

Good point on the VR suggestion - I realize that the "know-it-all" sitting behind me in the stands, constantly explaining drum corps to those around him really annoys me when I'm trying to watch a competition. So how do you do it, Kevin? Head down, listening, constantly typing? Anyhow, nice job - really enjoy your play-by-play.

Boston had 8 snares, 4 tenors, & 5 bass in Orlando. Lost 2 snares to illness between San Antonio & Atlanta - out for remainder of season. No changes in the rest of the battery.

Yeah, he did the same for an early season show in Ohio or Michigan. Really spoiled those of us starving for performance details. I know he hears what's going on, but must miss a lot of the visuals while he's typing (unless he's got voice recognition working for him). Frankly, the next logical step in the fan network should be webcams at every event & we choose which one we want to watch online. I'd pay for that.

Yep, lost 2 for rest of season due to illness. Not sure how they could add a 7th this late - they have no alternates and already closed the drumline holes before Atlanta. Nice to see they're still holding their percussion scores up.

Yeah, baby!!!