Photographer Jim

You need to copyright this quick, charge royalties, and start planning that grand vacation in the Bahamas that you've always dreamed about.

I'm not a fan of elaborate pre-shows. If it is not totally clear where the pre-show ends and the real show begins without the announcer telling me, or if the pre-show includes music and drill done by the corps which could conceivably be lifted and dropped into the regular show, then the pre-show has gone too far for me. A pet peeve of mine for the past few seasons, and (alas) it continues this season as well. I know, it IS tough being an old curmudgeon sometimes.

My gut tells me that it is due to The Academy"s relative success compared to the other corps mentioned. I think that in a very short amount of time The Academy has become perceived as a bigger threat to grab the coveted 12th spot for finals from one of the "traditional" contenders and therefore receive more flak (something to be expected when you are a new kid on the block who has the potential to shake up the current pecking order, I guess).. Were PC or Mandarins more consistantly challenging to make finals, I'm sure they would be getting the same criticism.

This is scary. I haven't had my first cup of coffee yet and this STILL made perfect sense! How'd you do that?

Check the drawer to the left of the one with the silverware. Sorry. I'll go back to my corner now.

I'm assuming that there was just a typo here, but I had it that Crown was ahead of BD by only .05 not .5? At this point, I wouldn't be ready to declare Crown the clear 2nd place leader hot on the Cavies back. I think there is still a great deal of DC to go this season, with lots of possible outcomes

I always thought it was a 200lb gorilla. But hey, the best I ever did was a C+ in biology!

My apologies. I accidentally hit that red minus rating button (iPad to small, fingers to fat!).

I'm thinking that the reason this whole issue seems to drag on is the two polar opposite camps: their tour schedule puts them at an advantage over other corps (more practice time, lessened strain old travel time, etc.) vs. their tour schedule puts them at a distinct disadvantage to other corps (fewer performances, less judges exposure, etc.). This, to me, is where two diametrically opposed positions can be ultimately true. They do have the advantage of more practice time, but it is with the disadvantage of being practice without critical feedback. Ultimately, from a competition stand-point its a wash either way. To me, the only thing that is really important is that this is a young organization (ten years of existence, seven with a drum corps, five in WC) that is steadily building something of real value in the Tempe/Mesa/Phoenix area (the organization offers other programs beside just the D&B corps). They are doing so within the rules as defined by DCI, and they are doing so by providing a worthy product on the field for our enjoyment. I personally can't ask for more from a corps; they have my complete support.

I'd buy this idea with the following stipulation. If Academy "should" return to OC until they either decide to operate with financial recklessness, and/or are willing to tour a "complete tour" as defined by DCP pundits ( rather than by DCI), then all those corps who tour a full tour by DCP definition but who also field shows inferior to that of The Academy's ALSO be asked to return to OC until they "can get it right". I thought we had pretty much talked this one to death last season, but I guess not. (sigh).

Numerical awards given in competitive performance events. But that's not important now. And don't call me Shirley.

Either that or a Peter Frampton show, complete with synth altered vocals.

Ah, go ahead and do it. You know you want to. And you'll like yourself more in the morning!

Numerical awards given at the end of a competitive event. But that's not important now. And don't call me Shirley!

Wish I'd said that!

I think where you went wrong with all of this is when in your original post you said, "So, for the judges to award Blue Devils the win tonight over Phantom, they place impulsive pop whimsy above women's profound sense of self determination". The comment implies a classical syllogism of DC shows based on "more meaningful" themes should always defeat shows with "lesser" themes. PR's show has a more meaningful theme than BD's. Therefore, PR should always beat BD (given their present shows). There are two obvious flaws with this argument. First, the first major premise ignores the fact that DC shows are judged on many factors other than thematic content. And therefore a corps can quite easily be beaten by a corps having less meaningful thematic content if that corps' performance is "inferior" in other aspects. Having seen both shows live, and head-to-head, PR's performance was simply not up to the quality of the BD's performance, and thus, the judges were correct in scoring BD above PR, regardless of the importance one places on thematic content. Secondly, the premise also ignores the fact that thematic content is not currently a judging criteria. You may not agree that this should be the case, but to use the phrase you have been fond of using, "it's a fact". Beyond that, insistence on thematic content being the criteria for judging and placement in Drum Corps competitions becomes arrogant, self-grandizing, self indulgence. Yet another flaw in your rants, is the idea that because many of us do not accept your basic premises, we are incapable of understanding or appreciating a corps use of "meaningful themes", and that we don't consider them when thinking about any given show. We're quite capable, thank you very much, we simply don't agree that that factor is the only one worth focusing on. And like it or not, disagreeing does not make us "ignorant", nor does it make us "lunkheads" or "shallow". It does, however, make us less concerned with our own self-importance. Anyway, not to end by being dismissed for not answering your "freakin'questions": Lasting importance of BB medley on history: doubtful you'll agree but as posted on the BD web-site, so I assume this somewhat reflects BD's design team's thinking. "On an almost daily basis, Burt Bacharach and his incomparable lyricist, Hal David, sat in a windowless cubicle and saw the outside world in intricate time signatures, diminished chord sequences, soaring melodies and thought provoking prose. Taken instrumentally, Bacharach's music screams with passion. From the mightiest orchestral swell to the quietest keyboard glissando, you are always made to feel as if you're either about to be loved or about to be left. Whether it's that first glance or the last door slam is of little consequence. You feel a part of something - something big." — Serene Dominic from his book Burt Bacharach Song By Song So, I take that as a musical appeal to the emotions involved with love found or love lost. But, hey, that's just me. Memorable or impactful about a BB medley? For me, Bacharach's music is very intertwined with life events I experienced at the time he and Hal David were composing/writing. "Meaningless" to you, but highly significant to me. (and yes, I do have a college degree. Several in fact. In multiple disciplines actually.) Significance of obelisks etc. to the tunes? Literal correspondence to lyrics in AHINAH. How do tune's themes relate to corps member's lives? I'm not sure that they do, although I can't really speak for current corps members. But then again when I have discussed past BD shows with corps members (their more avant guard shows at that) they were mostly concerned with "the music is sooooo cool", and "the drill is killer". I guess sometimes a cigar really is just a cigar. It really too bad that rather than offer up what might be a very interesting discussion about the purpose, place, and impotence of thematic content in drum corps, or a discussion about how it might be used in judging corps performances, you chose instead to lecture the lunkheads on DCP and insult those who did not agree with you. Oh well. Have a nice day. (And to think I wrote all of that using one finger on a mobile device! Hmmmmmmm ................. Maybe I Am A lunkhead after all!)

Nigel Tufnel: The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and... Marty DiBergi: Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten? Nigel Tufnel: Exactly. Marty DiBergi: Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder? Nigel Tufnel: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where? Marty DiBergi: I don't know. Nigel Tufnel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do? Marty DiBergi: Put it up to eleven. Nigel Tufnel: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.

Oh my. I won't even try to describe where you had to have gone in order to get back into the city without re-crossing the Bay!!!! Better you not know.

To what extent is the strong amplification (read: excessively loud) of the pit making using mics for soloists a growing necessity? Just asking.

Sorry to hear of your travel difficulties, and hope it didn't spoil your visit to our fair state. I'm glad you enjoyed the show and appreciate your comments about the nature of the crowd. There usually is a good " vibe" for this show. However, lest others in distant parts of the country get a false idea, Stockton is not really a "small town". The city has a population of 300K and is the 13th largest city in the state. What you experienced may be more easily attributed to the fact that this show dates back 32 years, and it's location is close (hour drive) to the home turf for BD, SCV, and Mandarins. Go back a few years and the show was also within a short drive for Freelancer and Commadores fans. There have been a lot of good drum corps come through this stadium, so there are many long term fans who return each year. Many of us date back to the days when Jim Ott was a local instructor for the Stockton corps. The magic you experienced may be less small town novelty as it is a well established appreciation for the activity. I guess we're just lucky that way. Again, glad you enjoyed the show and hope your trip ended well. Join us again next year! And by the way, that Denver corps is doing a very enjoyable show - best they've done in years. Hope BK continues to get the crowd support they deserve this summer.

I have to agree with Lance on this one. Preface to say I have liked the props used in the past; thought the chairs worked nicely, loved the effect from the mirrors. This year I feel like BD may have "jumped the shark" in terms of prop use. I had great seats for the Stockton show last night (way high up on the 50) so I think I got the best look that I would be able to get. My reaction was that the props were a major distraction which continually took my attention from the corps total performance, both in terms of music and movement. There was a sense of clutter rather than integration. I was also bothered by the sense of scale: the props dominated the field rather than the corps doing so. I DO get how the props fit into the show - literal translation of AHINAH lyrics. Conceptually sound, but it just didn't translate into the field show as effectively as hoped. This is too bad because musically this is a great show, perfect for BD. Unfortunately, BD has made the commitment to these props for this year and I don't hold hope that they would be able to re-design things enough to mitigate the props' (IMHO) negative effects. [side note]. Positive use of props goes to Cadets with their gold/silver flashy staff thingies. Really great effect that fits into the show very effectively and elegantly.

Cadets 78.8! BD 77.25. PR 76.05 SCV 74.55. BK 71.45 I think

SCV. This show is much better than comments I'd read led me to believe. But see how music might not work for some. PR. Most elegant brass. Delightful My problem is drill. Guard not prominent when need to be

BD. Brass is soooooo good. I see the complaints over this years props. I get them but they hem them in on the drill. But musically - wow. Battery going. One last post after scv and pr

Cadets. WOW, just wow. More later