txorchdork013

Thanks for the history and the link

I am glad to know that you don't necessarily agree with the point you are making, because I do respect you opinions and have enjoyed reading what you have to say. I also understand booing at sporting events, but we also know that when booing happens at sporting events, the players are well aware that it is the ref who is the brunt of the boos and other colorful metaphors aimed at the playing field. In this case, the kids are the ones standing there on the field after performing to the best of their abilities....that's why that was not necessarily the arena to express one's dissatisfaction with the show. So you are probably right that it was too much for me to expect that people show "class" but I really would like to believe in expecting that soft polite applause....oh well. "It's not like they can complain to the BD staff any other way. The people booing aren't supporters of that organization anyway and definitely aren't sending checks to them." This is the electronic age and all the corps have websites. BD has a forum. Why not start there expressing thoughts on the show. Start a dialogue. Who knows what both sides might learn....just an idealistic thought from someone who is usually a pessimist. Anyhow have a good night and I look forward to seeing you around here next year, where there will be some other type of drama to keep everyone nice and occupied...

Paramount, CA...But now are we also going to pick on the Open Class also. By the way, BDB's show was amazing. Some might want to check it out on VOD because it is already up! Congrats Blue Devils "A" and Blue Devils "B" on your golds....great season. To all the corps, have a safe journey home. Already looking forward to next year!

Does it matter how it appeared? It was wrong to boo. Every corp out there worked to give their best performance tonight. If people don't like the show, then send an email to the powers that be to express your concerns about design and music choices because the performers do not control that aspect of their corps. I personally loved Crown and Blue Devil's Show, Blue Knight's and the Academy's Music, but scoring is based on what the expectation the captions of the sheet and we may not agree with results, but booing the kids. That just shows some were not taught basic performance etiquette, exhibiting a real lack of class. Congratulations to all the corps, Open and World!! Thank you for making this a very interesting and enjoyable season. I look forward to seeing and hearing what you have next year!

My daughter was 14 in 2007, her first year in BDB.

My daughter's first year in BDB was when she was 14 (her freshman year in High School) in 2007 (Trilogy). She is now 17. I would think it would be more apropo to state that many Open Class members are high school students, whereas the World Class Corps mostly consist of college students. BTW, congratulations on Forte's fantastic debut season. I am so glad to tell everyone I know that Texas now has four great drum corps!

Kudos to those kids who represented their respective corps and Open Class so well with their talent. What great professionalism and courage they displayed performing in front of a large, anxious crowd. Too the opening baritone soloist, you played magnificently as the opener. To Olivia who was at the mercy of her sound tech, fantastic performance despite what must have been a nerve racking experience To the Crusaders Bass Drum Ensemble who had to close after Star of Indiana, shout out to you for making the stage your own. You guys rocked the house. Again, Bravo to all of you.

Hi, here's a hanky for your snots. I will play the Devil's Advocate and take a nip at this: I haven't made any hard decisions on where I necessarily stand on G7 except as a woodwind player myself, I don't want woodwinds in Corps. I like the sound of brass without the winds. I can get the rest at Friday night football during halftime. Back to the subject. I believe the corps involved have pretty good business sense. I mean. the G7 corps have been in business for a long time managing successful programs. I won't make claims about the other five corps because I can't honestly substantiate the claims, but I don't see their groups suffering member or touring wise, so I would assume they are sound, but SVC and BD not only manage a WC marching organization but their open class entities which are also strong organizations within their organizations. Vanguard also has it's community programs that they run that bring in revenue through tuition. BD has BD Entertainment that produces corporate entertainment so I would assume they may have some broad knowledge on obtaining performance venues. About those extra performance by these top tier corps I could care less, not because I think it is elitist, but because the current DCI touring map is narrow and favors East and Southeast Corps. California has their mini tour through the state and sometimes they hit the tri-cities in Washington and Oregon, but then they too must travel. Northwest corps, BK, the Academy, and most open class corps must travel long distances to compete in any DCI venue. Since there is not "major" DCI event in my region, most corps drive through. The closets DCI event to this little city is five hours away. Some of DCP's members don't realize how lucky they are to live in a region where they have a choice to see more multiple corps performance. If I want to enjoy live Drum Corps, I would have to go on tour! If G7 gets their corps to show off their stuff in a broader market, they may not have problems getting venues or audience. As for DCI's paperwork when it comes to venues, it is pretty exacting. Our little city lost a rare exhibition show because the school district sponsoring the exhibition could not get the paperwork right, so even though a there were some open and world class corps in our immediate vicinity, it had been widely advertised and the venue was readily available, DCI pulled it.

Why would the G-7 kill off the Open Class when two of its members support successful open class programs, BDB, BDC and SCVC? If they wanted they could kill those two programs without going through all this trouble... I am a woodwind player and I don't agree with woodwinds in corps. To the person who, and I am paraphrasing, said woodwinds would not learn anything by being in corps and really don't want to march corps....who are you to make such a blanket statement. I wanted to march corps, but didn't. Not because of the instrumentation, I understood and accepted the requirements. I could have done pit or learned a brass, but because of finances and distance. The problem I see with DCI is that the touring route is pretty much set in stone so depending on what part of the country you live in, corps is a pipe dream that you may hear about from a band director or have seen on video. Most of the touring still happens more to the East and Southeast. Even with all the Cali Corps and their regionals, the bulk of competition touring is far away. Then there are the corps like Blue Knights (Colorado) and Academy (Arizona) that have to travel to everything. One local show for BK, drums along the Rockies. How many WC Corps from the East make it down to Denver? And we shouldn't forget our Canadian neighbors who don't come out and play as much as they used to. If you are Open Class, the touring is tough. You are playing a time game with evolving school calendars and distance to available Open Class venues. Think about a corps like Genesis in Texas. The closest competition is in Odessa. The rest are across country. I want to make it clear that I don't necessarily agree with the G-7 but the reality is, the top World Class Corps are already reaping many rewards from DCI. Everyone else works with the scraps. At least if you are a World Class Corps you get more adequate exposure through the big regionals and the Fan Network VOD's. Every one else, who is also trying to get a foot in, including the top Open Class Corps, International Corps and All-Age Corps, usually have to fend for themselves when it comes to getting people out to the shows. When DCI truly starts to give the same attention to all their representative bodies and not just the World Class, someone might be able to convince that change is not necessary.... Edited for typos....

Hi. Got this from DCI.org: Open Class World Championship Finals Friday, Aug. 14 – Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis All times Eastern Time Zone, approximate and subject to change. Velvet Knights - 10:00 AM Colt Cadets - 10:16 AM Forte - 10:32 AM Genesis - 10:48 AM 7th Regiment - 11:04 AM Legends - 11:20 AM Intermission - 16 minutes Raiders - 11:52 AM Music City - 12:08 PM Revolution - 12:24 PM Spartans - 12:40 PM Oregon Crusaders - 12:56 PM Blue Devils B - 1:12 PM Awards Ceremony - 1:30 PM

Great job to all the Open Class I and E performers on the field tonight. As for Olivia, the one color guard member, she is a fantastic and talented performer who was at the mercy of the sound tech and she gave a wonderful performance. I don't know if I could get up in front of a huge crowd in a huge stadium and do what those kids did tonight knowing that everyone is anxious for scores....remember, those are the kids that will feed into the World Class corps we have been watching this evening.

Love Hackfest.....totally hillarious :thumbup:

In exhibition, a director can opt for comments, but I have never seen scores issued...but honestly, since my daughter marched BDB and now that I have had a few years of watching some great shows in Open Class, I would love to see more respect and attention given to open class....

They would probably allotted the government rate, about $80 to $85 dollars a night.....That's what most hotels usually charge school music groups when they travel....

Thanks....they are gorgeous pictures. You got a few of my daughter in the 2008 and 2009 album

Once you add the word "judged" it is no longer an exhibition....

What a great set of performances this morning. It is so nice to start the day with corps

I hadn't seen BDB since Stanford.....WOW!!!! And a shout out to Eric!!!!!

I totally agree.

Got a phone call and missed the last score...did you get Music City's?

I liked Music City last year, and they are fast becoming one of my favorites. Great show!!! Legends - 85.25

All the first half scores: Blue Saints - 59.4 Strängnäs - 70.6 Les Stentors – 72.5 Racine Scouts – 74.5 Velvet Knights – 76.65 Forte – 81.7 Genesis - 82.0 Colt Cadets – 81.55

I am not sure I like all the programmed vocals in any of the shows...would prefer to have a corps member soloist or the entire corps sing live.....

Happy Early Birthday!

That's good to hear.