VOReason

I think he is.

I sort of got the impression that one of those reasons was the feeling that their brand of entertainment was no longer going to be given the credit by the competetive DCA circuit and that they would better appeal to a broader, more mainstream audience. And with all due respect, Empire has been, and apparently remains very competetive, and it would be ashamed if their decision was even partly influenced by the frustration of not being able to win. I mean, with the exception of 2 shows, NOBODY has been able to beat Reading for the last 8 years!

Thank you! And while we are on the subject, I have an interesting question. If someone were to tie Reading's shoelaces together and stick gum in their mouthpieces, and Empire were to somehow, miraculously win the championship, would they stick around?

And how about dem Sunrisers! Breaking 70 right out of the box and beating an old time rival! Looks like DCA may be going back to the future! And as much as I have been accused of being an Empire basher, my hat has got to go off to them just based on the result. I wonder though if the scores say less about Empire and more about Cabs? It will be interesting to see the reviews and even more interesting to see the Scranton show, which looks like the show of choice this year! Should be one hell of a fight for second place!

As long as your not "overtly" effusive, it probably means nothing.

Certain folks just seem to be more overtly effusive than the norm. The fact that it happens more often at guard shows and with guard staff is likely just a coincidence.

Another fine review Kyle! So your girlfriend thought Bucs won by 30? That's hilarious!! Perhaps you should introduce her to Frank Ponzo!

And how ironic is it that almost 2 years ago, when Reading lost the core of their staff to C2, the talk was how this was the beginning of the end for the Reading run and perhaps he beginning of C2's dominance. Now we see Reading well on their way to a second consecutive undefeated championship season, and the Bucs old staff can't seem to field a complete program to start the season with a talented group of young marchers backed by a perennial DCI contender.

Very interesting! In fact, perhaps DCA can us this concept as a marketing tool and require each corps to come out with only the opener completed...or perhaps the opener and maybe half the ballad, and just stand still for the remainder. The corps can then put out the rest of their programs, perhaps 30-45 seconds for each subsequent show until all corps are complete approx. 2 weeks before finals. This would really whet the appetite of Joe Fan and surely make him want to come back for more! But seriously folks...has anyone taken notice of C2's staff roster? If this staff starts in November and can't field a completed marching band show by the end of June, that is just sad.

The Cabs show IS complete in the sense that they do march, play and spin from beginning to end. The same apparently cannnot be said of C2. From what I have heard, and seen in a short cell video of what C2 has completed, perhaps the staff designed the program to be to demanding to be completed on time with a weekend centric schedule. And perhaps the staff is comfortable with using the first 2/3's of the season as a critiqued dress rehersal and rise quickly in the final 2-4 weeks based on the strength of the program, but how fair is this to the circuit...not to mention the paying customers? And is this the "Cadet experience" that these kids bought into? But make no mistake...if the closer is anywhere near to what they have completed so far, this show will be very formidable indeed by championship weekend.

Keep on reviewin'! As flawed as some of these reviews may be (an BTW, yours was very good), they still provide a perspective for those of us who cannot attend. Just remember, that in spite of any criticism you may receive, it is just your opinion and it is as worthless as mine or anyone else's!

This sums it up better than any post I have ever read on the subject. And yes, today's corps are world's apart from their BITD counterparts, but there is still something about knowing that me and my parents could never afford for me to participate AND go to college...and that I likely could not afford both for my kids, that sort of alienates me. And while I can still relate to the skill, designs and competition, I have difficulty relating to the DCI activity.

Especially percussion! I saw video of the contest and when I checked the recaps, I had to do a double-take. And at the risk of being called a Fusion Corp hater, I predict that C2 will be leaving Fusion in the rear view from Bridgeport on out.

Actually, if you watch the Blue Devils show in a "certain state of mind", it's pretty awesome!

Understanding of course that if you put those DCA corps on the same competition field as their DCI couterparts, the results would not be pretty.

I was just kidding! Seems almost too good to be true, but certainly best of luck with this!

'82 Cadets would be positively smoked against the current World Class corps by today's standards.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Sure you may hate saxophones, but when is the last time you played a club and a young lady walked up to you and said "I think the G bugle is such a sexy instrument"?

Is it legal?

I double from a saxophone to a clarinet then to a flute...sometimes in the same piece, with no issues. So playing on a G trumpet or Bb trumpet I would think would not deter most any experienced, capable brass player.

So what is so wrong with a band? Ya'll got something against saxophones? Drum corps is an outstanding activity. It is outstanding now and was equally outstanding BITD. And sure, it is different today than it was then, but how many '75 Chevys are still on the road? And a Bb line can be every bit as loud as G....AND it just sounds better! And unless one has perfect pitch, going from one keyed trumpet to another is as simple as putting the horn to your lips and blowing.

Smoke signals.

So drum corps went from G to Bb just to draw kids from high school bands? And I have heard plenty of Bb lines that were plenty loud enough, however, if the fans want louder then perhaps we could line up 18 wheelers side by side accross the field and have them all blow their air horns at the same time for 11 minutes! And if you took a corps from 20 years ago and put them in competition today, they would be laughed off the field.