Granny Smith

Yay George! You know I love you with your golden locks blowing in the hot summer night as you pace the front sidelines! I haven't gotten a chance to say thank you this year for such an entertaining and well performed show. You catch a lot of heat sometimes, but the past several years have been absolutely wonderful drum corps shows. Last year's (2011) show made me actually wet myself (not a full-out drench the front of my skirt mind you, but just a little dribble) and was one of my all time favorite shows. Our relationship is like the one I had with my first husband. Even though he pulled a lot of crap and we had some serious disagreements, I still loved the cranky 'ole S.O.B. He had this really sweet, passionate side to him that was sometimes lost in his quest to be the best. Thanks George for your contribution to drum corps and for giving us so many thrilling moments. P.S. Now that your bust is in the hall of fame (do they do that in drum corps?)...don't go pulling any stupid stunts with our activity that causes me to grab you by the back of the neck and shove my cane where it don't belong (hint hint).

Okay, so anytime I get a chance I have to say that this is my single favorite show in the history of drum corps. I flat wore out my VHS tape not to mention I received a number of noise complaints from the other residents when I would be watching this late at night (around 9 p.m.) with the volume turned way up and me cheering at the top of my lungs reliving the moment.

Now I'm all emotional. I'm serious when I say this to all of you... Thank you for posting these. (notice I used a very pretty font to express my gratitude.) Drum corps is such a beautiful activity filled with beautiful moments. All of these are food for my soul and I hope you continue to post them. I will be bookmarking this thread to go back to when I need a little pick-me-up.

This is simply a place to put drum corps video clips that give you goosebumps (or do you say goose pimples?...because I don't). Anyhow, I"m seriously expecting my plus button to get hit many times for this one:

Okay...so...I'm about ready to step in it, but please remember when your teacher used to say, "There's no such thing as a stupid question." I saw two shows in particular this year that really seemed to fail to connect with the crowd generally. The first was the Troopers and the second was the Blue Devils. After both corps left the field there was a collective, "uh. mmmm. not sure what that was." I am not comparing the execution of these two shows, but Cesario says in the article, ". One of the biggest interests is making our shows “COMPELLING”. We want to present convincing, persuasive programs---things that grab the fans and find a way of bringing them to the Corps." Please forgive me for this lame question, but as it relates to this "Grab Effect" are there similarities between these two shows in this area?

$75 seats and the sound is horrible. I am not understating this. One big gooey reverberish mess of sound. I literally cannot pick out parts. I'm sure...in the middle prime seats the sound is better, but outside the 20s in the 300 section is bad.

Troopers beat Open Class by .45 phew.

I whole-heartedly agree. Scoring should be an indicator of your progress plain and simple.

Troopers = sigh

Can someone tell me if corps are required to use members to do the voice overs? I was struck by how so many sound like a highschool drama tryout. Why don't corps pay a little to hire a professional voice over?

P.S. Before I get a bunch of private messages, when I say to follow "My Tweeter" that is NOT a double entendre.

Yippee Skippy! I'm going to Finals. Unfortunately, I will miss Prelims because I had already committed to the annual Gin Rummy tournament here at the home, and since I'm the reigning champ I didn't want to simply forfeit my belt. Before you ask, I'm sad to say they won't be streaming the tournament or playing it in theaters. I will be pulling out Friday Morning with a couple of my grand babies (my stinkin' son-in-law said he couldn't take me because...get this...he said he has to work! What a lousy bum). Anyhow, I signed up for one of those tweeter things where you twit people. I'm planning on twitting along the way with my smart mobile telephone, so if you want to be one of my followers you can go here: My Tweeter

What would you be willing to pay for a ticket to the theaters for finals night? What would you be willing to pay to stream it on your computer?

sigh. I guess I better make a run to the liquor store and get a bottle of gin. If I can't rant and berate, then I suppose I'll just get hammered. Better yet, I might as well call up my lousy son-in-law and have him drive me over to Indy and then I can catch some shows and stalk George. That sounds better. Of course I'll still need the gin. Indy here I come!

Yep. You heard it here first. I love what George has put on the field again this year. I really like Christmas and I really think that the Cadets are really wonderful and I like how they are all working so hard. If you disagree you can just stick it.

I'm with you Mr. Fat Brass Boy! Who else is with us!? Join the movement and let's kick some Garfield butt!

dada

Dear Mr. Boo, Is this an official invitation? I have always wanted to get into that blogging stuff on the world wide internet web. I'm sure you can pull some strings and DCI could publish some of my ramblings and thoughts. I promise to clean up my potty mouth and I also promise that I won't bring my personal life into my writings unless it is directly related to the activity and how it impacts the performances of certain corps.

Mr. Flammaster, I'd appreciate it if you didn't hijack a simple thread about how sucky the Blue Devils are to go off topic about me and Mr. Hopkins. While I am happy to proclaim my adoration it just doesn't seem right in the middle of this important discussion.

why stop there?

I think I may be missing your point, but there is evidence. It's called Tour of Champions. I have been going to the Rockford show for years. While it is always successful, it is HUGE now. In fact, I don't see how they can keep it at Boylan High School any more. If they moved it to Northern Illinois (just down the road) they could potentially put a lot more butts in seats. I'm guessing of course.

Interesting because one of the best in the business wrote that Bon Jovi show. So now that blows a hole in everything.

I would propose that entertainment isn't as subjective as some like to make it out to be. If it is then why does a show like Spartucus make virtually everyone orgasmic? (sorry...I tried to think a better descriptive, but couldn't).

I think Brasso is spot on. So many of your are much better at articulating what I want to say, but can't. Thank you. I think some corps are hardwired to pursue the score, while others are hardwired to pursue the crowd. This is what I mean by embracing your DNA. The Troopers do themselves and the activity as a whole a disservice when they chase the score. I am specifically talking about what motivates an organization. It doesn't mean that entertainment and competitive are mutually exclusive, but it does mean that when the perception is you are trying to be something/someone you're not that people lose interest. The Troopers are the best corps to be the Troopers. The Troopers are the worst corps to be anyone else. Let the Glassmen be the Glassmen. Let the Colts be the Colts. If the Troopers attempt to be like them (which will only happen incrementally) they will be a lousy replica. Nobody can replicate the Troopers. Nobody. And people LOVE the Troopers...so... Come back to us Troopers!

That is a good summary and well thought out post. Thank you. I must admit that during shows there are certain corps I have always looked forward to because I knew they were going to touch my emotions and often raise the hair on the back of my neck. Whereas there are other corps that I looked forward to because it was a chance to go get a hot dog. The Troopers were always a corps that I knew would put ME first! I'm not so sure anymore. It seems like they are attempting to play to the judges the past few years. Now...that sounds a bit selfish...but I guess when I'm paying for the ticket I'm going because I want something. So, for example, when I heard Battle Hymn I would accidentally wet myself just a tiny-little-bit because it was so moving. I just have to admit to you all (and I know this will dash your impressions of me), but I'm really a simple lady who doesn't really find much satisfaction in "deep", nuanced, dissonant shows. I don't want a show that only ever resolves itself in the last ten seconds. I want a show that makes me cry, make me spontaneously stand up and shout, or makes me clap my hands.