Splooie89

Don't worry, guys. We'll keep it nice for you till you see it again. It very much has become a fun sign of mutual respect between two champions. The exchange happened at our Lisle show between the Drum Majors as it should. Congratulations to SCV and all involved in this great tradition. Till next time.... Hey, oldskl3rings, it was in Michigan City in 1970 with Cavaliers 2nd and Troopers 3rd...Milwaukee was the next day, and you guys did win that, too, with Troopers in 2nd and us 3rd. I forgot you did that at our hall, but it is correct...along with the "snotty nosed left coasters" part.

What time do the coronations and executions happen after the first West Coast show? We could save SO much time and money and gasoline if we just took the survey today and ended the season now that so many experts are so sure about who will finish where! Please get out from behind your computers and go see live drum corps somewhere...some of you need the fresh air!

IM - I'd LOVE to experience a show with the roof/window open. I agree that it'd be awesome. An early/mid season show would be great. I just don't think it's practical during Finals week due to previously stated plethora of reasons. (Do you know what a 'plethora' is, Jeffe? Yes, I do, el Guapo!) Boo - Very little breeze inside, building tends to stifle that, but a little bit would go a long way with curtains and gusts would have very uncool results. As stated in review from Friday, it wasn't particularly hot Friday evening, but it got very muggy very quickly. I imagine it could be a wind tunnel if stronger continuous winds from the North (window), but haven't felt much more than a nice breeze when it's been open in the past. Last year the roof/window was never open for any of the Colts games, but was open for 4-5 games the year prior. Just luck of the weather. Point raised in a post: for all of the talk about sound, as a guard person for many, many years, the prospect of LOS versus wind, heat, sun in your eyes during tosses makes for some very attractive conditions, especially in light of all the stuff the guards are now attempting and how critical they are to the total package. I know they deal with it all summer, but that doesn't mean it's not a joy to perform in ideal conditions.

No breeze at all last night, pretty still conditions.

I was in the stadium last night for the Colts pre-season game (if you can call it a game...more like a tailgate party and a football game broke out). Anyway, I was surprised that they opened the roof and window, but they did. I sent the pictures to Mike Boo....and the sunlight thing was just an observation, not a complaint or obstacle. The look of the place, view of skyline when the window is open is amazing, but I have to say that when you see it all lit up by daylight so shortly after DCI with all the black curtains you realize what a quasi-theater effect the curtains create and really do equalize the experience of each of the corps no matter what time of day they go on. With darkness about 9:45 PM right now due to Indy being on the western edge of the Eastern time zone, that means only about the last 5 corps would get to perform after dark. Not promoting, just discussing interesting facts. The weather when they opened it was comparable to last Thursday....81 degrees, but a little more humid. Some clouds came in and maybe a slight drizzle. The NFL ref (per Indianapolis Star article this morning) demanded twice that they close the roof, then held the game till it was completed. They closed the side window prior to half-time, so it was open for about 2 hours. You guys ought to go to NFLPlanet.com and tell them their refs are wimps! Factual observations from being in an almost identical situation, which was in a suite on concert side: - air-conditioning stayed on in suite areas, restrooms, etc. - Stadium became noticeably warmer and more stuffy within about an hour after they opened the roof. - Conditions improved quickly once the roof/window were closed, but we were also only looking at a 5-7 degree difference. The humidity seemed to be a bigger factor. - Time from walking out of suite, down elevator, out of stadium to car or potentially to bar with beer in hand...7 minutes. I think everyone would LOVE to have the window and roof open..it'd be a great experience. I'm lucky to get to enjoy that. I hope that these observations are interesting to some of you. The rest are just anti-(insert list here) and will think I'm just wrong. Whatever....still think the total pros/cons were weighed by a collection of pretty smart people, including stadium/DCI/public safety/ICVA officials as well as the member corps of DCI themselves and they made/make the best decisions possible. From the feedback I've seen from most that attended and commented here, they had a pretty great time and enjoyed some great drum corps. See you next August.

After discussions directly with the DCI staff, there are three major reasons why the roof will just not be opened; 1. Curtains - (as previously mentioned). It's just not that easy to lay down every curtain in the place, especially since they're hung from the top of the building (did you look up?). It's labor and cost intensive and also takes intt account the banners and marketing issues that would have to resolved. The safety rules would probably also prohibit hanging curtains in an environment that would be exposed to a potential wind gust (see Indiana State Fair 8-13-11) and fall on fans or even on the corps. Even barring a gust, which staff do you think would stand for nice flowing curtains during their performance? (see Rose Bowl / hash marks). If you lay down the curtains to open the roof, now you've drastically changed the accoustic environment. 2. Weather potential....(the horse is dead...move on!) 3. LOS is 4 times the air volume that the RCA Dome was. The reason they can open it for football in 60 or 70 degree weather is that it takes only 4 hours or so to heat it 20 degrees. It takes THREE DAYS to cool it that much with the humidity that has to be withdrawn from the air. 65 degree temps with humidity about 50% ain't happening anywhere in August except MAYBE Denver. Minneapolis...great location, lovely stadium, one rain out and one hotter than the maroon side of Cadets show! Just an example. DISCLAIMER - I live in Indy, love it here, thrilled to see that more people are coming around to it's qualities and having fun. The people at DCI and in Indy have worked VERY hard to address every concern and make this a place our activity looks forward to coming back to. I've been in LOS for games with the roof and side window open and it's AWESOME, but in our case, the cure is worse than the disease and keeping it closed is the right decision.

Wow, I came back in here and this has developed into a really intelligent conversation...on DCP no less! Okay, next point for discussion....the line between having an identity and getting 'stale' as you put it. I happen to think this show, on the heels of Mad World, is a big break from the 00's Cavalier 'formula', but I can see your point about the bar continually being raised. Interesting views.

He does NOT like chicken. A giant killer chicken turned him into a vegetarian. See, that's negative!

That's actually about exactly where I'd have it, too. We'll see how that turns out.

Holy Babe Ruth! They're pointing at left field!

Love the ENTS comments...that's funny. Theme is not that complex. If you listen to the staff video explanations on FN, they explain that it's simply that one character's journey from Ordinary to Extraordinary. It's built on a Cirque de Soleil type of approach...with a transitional character with a simple theme going through with all this 'stuff' happening around him. If you've been to a Cirque show, you don't try to explain it afterward or question the story line, you just enjoy. That's it.

Okay...quiet down...show is starting!

GREAT! Now we have to start all over again! Nice, Tek!

I'll see the broadcast tonight at the theater and Friday's show in Muncie, so will have much better perspective then, but I just want Troopers to make finals along with Cavaliers, Blue Stars, SCV, and Madison. Why, you ask? MC40

You two just crack each other up, don't you? If this is better than TV I'm praying for a commercial break. Lights out, boys!