Farmboy

Copied from the other thread: My 'discovery story' went more or less like this: Email from son (forwarding email from high school band director): Hey, there's this summer group I might want to audition for. My teacher thinks it's a great opportunity. Thoughts? Me: Huh? Son: It's called drum corps international. Me: drum what? Son: Oh, and there's an audition in four days. It's only a 400-mile drive. Me: (after cursory reading on websites) It sounds like the Army. Weekend drills, boot camp, and you'll be sleeping on gym floors and riding 11,000 miles in a bus. Is that really how you want to spend your summer? Next thing I knew, I'd been cc'd on an email from son to high school band director: "Hey, my parents agree that this sounds like a great opportunity!" And the rest is history. postscript: In another life, 17 years ago, I helped organize a conference in Indianapolis and hired Bill Cook's charter bus company to ferry some of the participants back and forth from the airport. At the time, I was told that the bus company was founded to provide transportation for Mr. Cook's "marching band," which struck me at the time as an eccentric hobby. After a few months on DCP, I made the connection to Star of Indiana. I wish now I had asked a few more questions at the time about that "marching band."

My 'discovery story' went more or less like this: Email from son (forwarding email from high school band director): Hey, there's this summer group I might want to audition for. My teacher thinks it's a great opportunity. Thoughts? Me: Huh? Son: It's called drum corps international. Me: drum what? Son: Oh, and there's an audition in four days. It's only a 400-mile drive. Me: (after cursory reading on websites) It sounds like the Army. Weekend drills, boot camp, and you'll be sleeping on gym floors and riding 11,000 miles in a bus. Is that really how you want to spend your summer? Next thing I knew, I'd been cc'd on an email from son to high school band director: "Hey, my parents agree that this sounds like a great opportunity!" And the rest is history. postscript: In another life, 17 years ago, I helped organize a conference in Indianapolis and hired Bill Cook's charter bus company to ferry some of the participants back and forth from the airport. At the time, I was told that the bus company was founded to provide transportation for Mr. Cook's "marching band," which struck me at the time as an eccentric hobby. After a few months on DCP, I made the connection to Star of Indiana. I wish now I had asked a few more questions at the time about that "marching band."

I heard it got run over by one of the buses earlier in the season.

The pianist did that.

Apologies for the minus one. I was trying to hit plus on an iPad, and Im a butterfingers with this virtual keyboard. Now I can't figure out how to undo it. In any event, I concur entirely with your sentiments.

It poured on Crown and the end of BD. Cleared up during Cadets--home field advantage

bad link, Eric

"Encore" looks all new--unbelievably exciting. There's a Free Bird "guitar" solo now (played by the pianist) with super fast drill on the field--towers taken down by the guard, rifles flung across the field, then Herbert stands on the piano platform and smashes a guitar. It was a little hard to take it all in on first viewing. Looking forward to seeing it (not in the rain again, hopefully) tonight in East Rutherford.

I thought it was fabulous. Nothing like seeing Herbert smash a guitar. Too bad about the pouring rain--didn't seem to affect the performers but the scramble for ponchos was a bit distracting.

My $.02 on the crowd reaction (as seen from Section K): Blue Devils were superb. I love the show, and have been a huge Bacharach/David fan for years, so it was almost like a show personally designed for me. So, yeah, I clapped enthusiastically and gave it a standing O at the end. The crowd was not overtly hostile; they were in fact polite. But I don't think many were as moved by what they were seeing as they had been by Cadets, Crown, and Boston. And I don't think they're just haters. I think the show's designed that way. It's like a fine wine--you sniff it, and swirl it in your glass, and admire it and sip it slowly and savor it. It's not a Slurpee that you guzzle down in ten seconds on a hot day. So my question to the OP is this: at what point in the show was the average fan in the stands supposed to be welling up with emotion and barely able to stay in their seats, and saying, give me more of this. As I say, I love the show, but I don't think it has as many of those moments as a lot of the other shows have.

I'm just hoping Saturday show doesn't get rained out. The forecast looks ######.

It's one of the Bacharach songs they play, "A House Is Not a Home" (lyric by Hal David). Probably a self-referential joke, in part, when you consider the first verse: A chair is still a chair Even when there's no one sitting there But a chair is not a house And a house is not a home When there's no one there to hold you tight, And no one there you can kiss goodnight.

Anyone see the show tonight? Curious to know if the ending was changed yet.

If you play Rach Star backwards you see enraged musicians/fans bodily remove the piano player and carry him from the stage.

There were a couple of reports in the Hattiesburg thread of phasing/tears in the ballad last night, which probably affected the brass scores. It ain't over till it's over!

Congrats to Aaron Spevak, Blue Devils' timpanist extraordinaire, whom I was privileged to hear several times in the lot last summer when he was playing with the Carolina Crown front ensemble. 98.5!

Tip of the hat: fastest full review I've ever seen on DCP. Are you a newspaper reporter in your day job? :)

That's how it still worked at the shows I saw this year--Glens Falls, Quincy, Lynn, Bristol. Actually, at Lynn I think they didn't even stamp but just said to hold onto my half of the ticket stub.

When I heard PR was doing Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, I was really, really, really hoping to hear some of this (alas, no): http://bit.ly/mOKDlg (clip should start at 2:11, the good part runs through 2:48)

I think the real surprise came because eight days ago Crown guard beat Cavies 16.5 to 16.2--tonight Crown was down .3, Cavies up .9. I know, I know; different venues, different judges, and in Crown's case quite a different show from their last competition. I didn't see either show in person, so have no idea if either one, or both, of these results is outlandish in any way. But I'm not sure an "average over the last 3 weeks" is very informative compared with a trend over, say the previous three or four competitions.

Ahhh-right you are. That's what I get for not hitting the refresh button all afternoon!

I'm not sure we've seen all of the new ending yet. That vid over on the other site is from Saturday night's rehearsal at EKU. Over on the Crown thread, Eric Sabach said there were a lot of changes added after that . . .

I hear Herbert's tears cure cancer. And when he tosses his rifle, you can count to infinity--twice--before it comes down.

Herbert!

that formation looks great--not a perspective you see at the Bristol show!