RobG

Yes, we need new judges. Too many judges have been around for the the last 20-30 years and drum corps hasn't changed at all! (sarcasm)

Hate to be overly practical, but what about cost and quality? Aren't good-quality G horns harder to find, not to mention repair, than Bb/F horns? Aren't they more expensive to buy and repair? I knew someone in the repair business who remembers trying to find parts for G horns and having trouble. Besides, at the risk of sounding sacrilegious, didn't hornlines sound better after making the switch to Bb/F?

while a number of things may be wrong with drum corps, the regard of staff for corps members isn't one of them. I think the words "chose to ignore the problem" (my emphasis on the word chose) are unfortunate. As a high school band director of a small marching band (35), I can remember a situation where a majorette blew a knee about 15 feet away from me and I didn't see it until my assistant ran on to the field to help her. Note that this girl was in front on about the 40 at the time and the group was small. It can happen. Should the response have been better? Absolutely. All of the corps and event organizers should take note to insure the safety of the corps members.

I love West Side Story

Drum corps is not a sport! Unless you can have a sport in which every participant is a winner.

"the louder you play, the softer you tongue"... still excellent advice. I wish I could remember who said that that.

I love the Scouts' show. Very emotional; very entertaining. It's my favorite of the shows I saw at Akron on 7-7. My only reservation is all the low synth. They don't need it.

Infocision Stadium is a great venue for drum corps! ... if you don't have drumlines warming up right next to the stadium ruining some of the quiet moments in other corps shows. That was an insult to the corps on the field as well as the fans trying to enjoy the shows.

Beer is like sex and pizza, it's all good!

Combination of best corps and and best show since in their history, period. I look forward to seeing them again tomorrow in Massilon.

many of our horns were very old or in poor condition. Some of us were still using valve-rotor horns in the 1986 season.

I saw Crown in Akron and they sound great. I don't think the snare hole hurts the balance. But what about the other holes? It seems like there were 5-6 holes in the hornline? It had to hurt the score some.

I saw the Scouts in Akron and think they have a great show. I get tired of other corps dicing up symphonies into 1'-30" tidbits. The Scouts treat the music that they play with respect and I hope to see them in the finals!

When I first hopped into drum corps? Try 1986 as corps member and several years before that as a fan. I am speaking from the perspective of watching drum corps for over 25 years and having the experience of being in the Bluecoats in 1987. My original point was that the bluecoats didn't peak early - in the '80's and early 90's they just maxed out their show and watched others pass them. In '08 and '09, they just didn't have good shows. By the way, the example citing the re-writing the the show to make it easier just helps to make my point.

2009: Good corps, bad show. That simple. Do you let a (slotted) score tell you what is good? I don't.