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I think expecting the Big 7 Corps to bail another corps out of financial difficulties is not reasonable. The Big 7 aren't all operating on huge margins, raking in the bucks and hiring hookers for staff in the off-season, catering the party with lobster, filet mignon and the finest Columbian. If you look at the public financials of the big corps, they struggled over time, tend to be run cash-in-cash-out, and have a reserve intended for their own marching member. It would take major realignment of priorities and a dictate from the DCI level that all corps have a reserve to bail out other corps. And they won't vote that. Requiring a reserve of X% of total operating budgets on a corps-by-corps level would be reasonable -- I don't think that's currently the case, but it'd be prudent.

BD's show designs are almost clinical. But they perform them brilliantly, and the design hooks right up with how score sheets are tallied. Don't hate the players. They treat DCI as a competition, and they come in to win. They aren't the first corps to downplay audience response. Many have prior, and many will in the future. I can think of years where Cadets basically flipped a bird to what most audiences thought of their program, and hell, Star of Indiana much?

Right now, they're doing several things really well. They're getting better talent in the corps, they're putting together entertaining programs, and they're giving the corps members really good tour experiences. All while performing at a solid top-12 level. Championships aren't everything. Yes, yes, they're nice. But right now, the Scouts are running a good drum corps. These days, that should mean a lot.

At the end of the day, the scoring sheets have a tendency to favor High Minded Art, the likes of which BD does impeccably well, over flamboyant, in your face, entertainment value. How many people fell out of their seats with shock when PR won a few years back? Crown's in that position this year. They could win, certainly, especially if the drum effects clean up (and the roof is closed at Lucas). And they mostly play music people recognize, which is another crowd factor. BD know they won't be a crowd favorite. The kids who march BD are okay with this.

I think one of the big problems with the Cavvies show is the design. A giant dollar sign? Seriously? That has all the design subtlety of your roommate coming home and vomiting all over your bed by accident because of tequila-head. It's also the kind of thing a college marching band doe while playing Pink Floyd at halftime, horsing around. "LOOK NOW THESE PEOPLE HAVE 15 MINUTES OF FAME SEE THE DOLLAR SIGN?" I can't speak to the musical scores, but even when shows go literalist, they can do something, well, less cheesy than that. PR's Spartacus of a few years back comes to mind. That was bloody literal, literally. I think the kids marching Cavs deserved a better show to march.

Present prediction is sunny and warm. Or, to be more honest: Sunny and OH MY GOD. Present prediction locally is 93 degrees on Saturday, and 98 on Sunday. So don't expect it to cool down a lot as the sun goes down. I don't think TCF has air conditioning in the concourses, but I've never had to really ask. It's a midwestern football stadium, which are generally not built with a lot of climate control outside the management offices and locker rooms.

Scouts were going to bring back spats this year, but they had a supplier problem and the delivery weren't of a consistent color of white and would have looked dreadful.

I would suggest that there are many parents who would rather have their children marching in Pioneer's prayer program than, say, in BAC's guard last year, or there was a guard (BK?) in the last few years you could tell the color of their underwear under their white guard uni from the stands. Just sayin'.

Keep in mind that when you talk about in-state and even in-region recruiting, Pioneer has a number of corps within a 4/5 hour drive of them. Depending on the point in WI (or nearby state), these corps may be even closer to potential recruits: Madison Scouts (1 hour) Blue Stars (3 hours, more or less) Phantom Regiment (2 hours) Cavaliers (2 hours) Colts (might be as many as 5, as getting across Sconnie from Milwaukee is slightly weird) Wisconsin has 3 WC corps, and there are 3 more in neighboring states. It's a strong region for choice for students who want to stay 'local' for drum corps.

At DCI contests and etc., it's not free distribution via an Internet site. It's got a far more limited audience with selectivity, which matters a lot under copyright law. Copyright isn't just about making money.

Cancellation insurance (that refunds event fees and pays for the other costs) is going to be an entirely different case than being able to guarantee the event for the next day in the same location. I think the two concepts are getting jumbled together. If you have the second day reserved just in case, it's going to have a variety of additional fixed costs. Stadium staffing can't be done on 12 hours notice. I don't believe these kinds of costs would end up being a piece of an insurance policy so much as they would become an unwieldy piece of event planning fixed costs.

The insurance policy might still be pretty cost prohibitive. That could be a significant factor. I know the idea of insurance has been thrown around a lot, but I think the actual pricing on such a policy, particularly where it applies to the venue and staffing for a top-tier college or pro stadium (versus a high school venue) might be a lot steeper than anyone is really factoring in.

That DCI has a stinky mobile site puts them in a highly elite group of 1 billion web sites that suck on mobile. Seriously, 98% of all big brands fail out significantly if you try to access their site on mobile. This isn't exactly a big DCI-specific thing.

It wouldn't surprise me if the University would not be open to using Williams Arena for such purpose. This may not be an option for the organizing committee. While they do have event facilities at Williams for various things, such as weddings, I don't know that they allow ANYTHING that isn't a sporting event on the floor there. The equipment and miscellany of a DCI show may not be something U of M allow near the floor.

What with show delays in Minneapolis and all that, we heard (from Jeff Spanos at DCI Minnesota Souvie booth) they couldn't put their buses on the road last night. Came in late from LaCrosse to Osseo (outside Minneapolis), went on late at Minneapolis, went over to the Metrodome for more practice. Drivers weren't rested enough to have them driving to KC after Minneapolis, so they did a day of practice up here in Minnesota and are leaving tonight for KC. Today was by no means a free day. We stopped by practice and caught a few blocks working on parts of Rhapsody!

Executive Directors aren't permanent fixtures. If one isn't taking a corps where it needs or wants to go, it's the job of the BoD and the alumni to influence things. If nepotism is impacting music, once again: BoD and alumni.

As far as bumping corps to put a 'good' corps ahead of them if the weather looks dodgy... good has a lot of meanings. For some people, it may be the corps they marched with, regardless of the scoring or present ranking. For the people in the row behind you, it's the 'marching band' their nephew/grandchild is marching with, again regardless of ranking. At DCI Minnesota last night, the family behind me was about as novice a bunch of event-goers as you could hope to find. While a few people nearby were giving them stinkeye when they kept calling corps 'bands,' a few other people around them helped explain the difference between Colt Cadets and the small junior corps, the DCA all-age corps, what the heck was going on with Bones during Crossmen, and all that. When their relative ages out, they may or may not ever attend an event again. 'Good' to them was 'the group their boy is spending his summer on a bus with.' No more, no less. Someone is always going to be disappointed somehow.

From one of our local papers and weather dudes: "It was classic Kansas weather, meteorologist Paul Douglas said. "We had one super-cell thunderstorm track all the way from near Long Prairie all the way to Watertown, just southwest of the Twin Cities. That's typical for Wichita, a little odd for Minnesota in mid-July," he said." As far as moving to the arena, not sure if U of M would be cool for that, even as a stand-and-blow. They recently replaced the main floor, and I'm also not strictly certain the building has air conditioning.

We ducked out for home when they pulled Phantom. Up here at home (north metro) there are trees down all over the roads. It is definitely not a night for brass or beast. I haven't seen them formally call the show yet, but it may just be to try to keep people from leaving. As we left, BAC were coming up University to the stadium, and Bloo were doing a parking lot warmup. I hope when it opened up, Bloo weren't in no-man's land!

I know there's been some confusion/dismay about having DCA corps mid-session, but let's all remember as we enjoy this amazing show in an amazing stadium how much Minnesota Brass has done to help make this show possible, and give them MASSIVE PROPS for their performance as a corps and as hosts for this show! Note: I'm not associated with MBI, but I recognize how much work is involved in being the local hosts of ANY DCI event, let alone one of this size. Let's all make sure they feel some love out there!

MBI is the local host corps for this event, and plays to a very high standard. Many members and family are heavily involved in the logistics of this show, and a more central performance spot reflects the fact that they are not just performers and spectators at this show and are involved with other tasks, particularly at the start of the day. I hope all out of town visitors for this show give MBI full appreciation for their performance, both as a corps and as hosts!

Pro tip: Do not use a debit card. There are still some issues with debit card use, and especially since you're on the road right now, best bet is to use a credit card and save the angst. (Account holds for bike deposit on debit card = ouchie.)

I would bet weather-related event insurance is going to be wildly variable depending on event location - for instance, there's all the stuff in tornado alley.

Accuweather: Saturday: Hot sun, windy and sticky. Strong/severe storms possible by late afternoon/evening. High: 91 Saturday night: T-storms likely, torrential rains possible, slight chance of flash flooding up north. Low: 71 Summary: May be hiding in the bars instead of watching Devils by the end.

Don't overestimate how much of a corps' expenses are paid via camp fees and dues. It's a fraction of the total cost per marching member, especially once you factor in various pieces of the infrastructure corps need (trucks, buses, etc.). Similarly, DCI doesn't financially back all of the local events, or even produce them. It's local orgs putting it on the line to produce and host DCI events.