Photographer Jim

Blue Knights. Bravo. First standing O of night. Very good show. Lots of built in high points, very nice flow, keep you with them. They sell it well. Best I've seen them in a long time. They will have a lot of crowd suport this season

Very pleased with PacC. Nice tease into first big hit, like the ballad, drill moves along nicely. Mandarins equal musically. Not liking guard uniform being so close color wise to corps proper, they disappear. No color until flags near end. Show ended abruptly on drum segment!

I enjoyed Revolution - got stronger as they went along. A bit heavy on the electronics for my taste, but I've heard worse. Good showing for a corps this size

BDB - Powerful! Guard a bit off early on but very strong show overall

SCVC- solid. Very nice tone to brass liked drill.

Renegades just finished - marched with a number of holes but did just fine. BDC up

Current projection is high 80s at first step-off with mid-70s at show end. Winds 8-12 mph NE deminishing over the evening. We'll see. Will attempt to tweet a few photos/ comments if I can figure out Twitter! (hey don't laugh - I'm an old guy!). Twitter username JimThePhotog

Oh bother. Last post referred to Stockton show BTW.

At last check it is projected to be about 85F at first step-off, dropping to low 70's by the end of the show. Winds 12-8, which should not be a problem. Leaving for show in just a bit. Always love this show - very good venue. Even better this year in that it is a great show line-up. I'm not very familiar with Twitter, but I do have it on my phone, so I'll try to send out a few photos and comments. Twitter Username: JimThePhotog

Uh, ... If this logic holds up, wouldn't we expect SCV to place 2nd with about an 80.5?

Well, we have Stanford and Stockton shows this Saturday and Sunday. I'll make a mental note to post something Sunday night before I leave UOP stadium to stir up a West Coast Inflation brew-ha-ha then. After all, this would hardly be DCP without it, would it?

Oh but Candlestick can get sooooooooooooo cold and windy. I can remember seeing pitchers literally blown off the mound when the Giants were still playing there. As much as I'd love to have finals close to me, that is not the venue I'd choose. The retrofit/remodel of Berkeley's Memorial Stadium should be completed by end of 2012. Might be a good venue (although traffic, parking, hotels would be a problem). San Diego would be great and certainly my choice.

I have to admit, sometimes reading the threads on DCP is a lot like having bees live in your head.

OK, I'll jump in here for a second. When I briefly studied statistics one thing I learned was that correlation does not necessarily imply causation. Especially in cases where the numbers are unclear. Its one thing to go check attendance records and see if, in fact, DCI has lost 40% of their fans in the past four years. That can be done. [i think we might find out that that 40% figure, while true of Finals in Indy, may not hold true for local and regional shows to the same extent.] I doubt, however; that we could get any agreement as to how many fans have actually walked away from the activity because they have an issue with show design without some sort of reliable polling of the fan base, something that hasn't been done to my knowledge. At this point there is simply no way to determine if that correlation even exists, and certainly no way to determine if it has any statistical significance. But, assuming just for a minute that it actually does exist, and fans are in fact sending a message to show designers, I have to ask myself which designers are they speaking to. One? Two? All? I guess I just can't accept the viewpoint that the show designs of ONE corps (most mentioned target - BD), in a period of 4 years, can drive off 40% of the entire activity's fan base., abandoning, if you will, all of the remaining corps whose show design was just fine. I can't see ANY corps show ever being THAT bad. No, it seems only logical to me that it would have to be a case where nearly all of the show designs are considered to be without merit. The total package of drum corp would have to be seen as being without enough entertainment value to warrant interest. I sure can't buy that as a possibility either. I don't see any change or trend that has come about in the past four years that has so turned the activity on its ear as to be able to explain any fan exodus. Personally, I'd really like to know why any fan actually turns away from this activity, as I am sure DCI would. What I don't believe is that show design is going to turn out to be the significant factor.

I can't see BD's show (or their approach to shows over the past few years) as being any threat to drum crops becoming a "smaller niche activity". The implication is that viewing one show (as in the case of your friends) that is an obvious diversion from the others is enough to sour new comers on the entire activity. I just can't see that happening. The other possible implication is more along the lines of the old chestnut "Because BD is winning with this stuff the other corps are all going to become BD clones and that will spell the end of drum corps as we know it". I don't really see that as happening either. (I mean I can not get my head wrapped around PR sitting down this winter and saying "Well, BD beat us again. Guess we better write a show of the most esoteric, avaunt guard jazz we can find ... oh, and add some giant appliances on wheels for props"!) Corps are going to continue to follow their own personal creative ideas, and (hopefully) stimulating diversity will reign -- regardless of what BD has been doing, or will do in the future. I'd submit that in reality, efforts to grow the activity have always and will always depend on corps breaking away from the current "norm", even to the point of "crossing over the line" of fan expectations or preferences, even to the point of "alienating" some of those fans. I think it is a necessary component of all art. Artistic boundaries don't ever expand unless somebody is willing to risk testing how far those boundaries can stretch. If nobody does that, the art form will stagnate, and that is by far a greater threat to "becoming a smaller niche activity" than even the most "out there" controversial corps show could ever be. BTW, I would never interpret your comments as being those of a hater. A hater openly expresses a desire that a particular corps should never, ever, ever win a competition under any circumstances .... ever. Kinda like me and the LA Dodgers! )

Thank you. Thank you. Tell your friends, we'll be here all this week. Thank you.

I think this is a very astute and reasonable observation. It also explains why I usually chuckle inwardly when I hear people rant about the imminent "death of drum corps". Creative activities must have cycles of innovation (agree - maybe not the best word, but its working in the conversation so far) where some artist(s) strikes out to explore a creative thought line (formula, if you will), go with it as far as they are able, or until another artist takes things in another direction. Thankfully, each "formula excursion" usually provides something of value for following artists to adapt and incorporate into the next fresh new thing. It will be interesting to see what aspects of BD's recent approach are the most influential on the activity down the road.

I AM NOT A VAMPIRE

Thanks, but please, please stand up!. Like I said in another post ... I guess I'm just getting old! I've simply had more time to be a fan than a lot of other folks! The reality of it all is that I would much rather that part of those 50+ years had been spent actually marching a corps. But, alas, I have no (zero, zip, zilch, nada) musical ability, hence my screen name. I'm decidedly visually oriented. I mean, I did take drum lessons once, up to the point where the instructor told my parents that I might have more success using my sticks to feed myself Chinese take-out. (OK, he didn't really say that, but would have been justified if he did.) However, my Dad was a musician (had his own little Mickey Mouse dance band when I was a kid) and started taking me to drum corps shows in Patterson, NJ when I was only 6 or 7 years old. Additionally, he was a volunteer fireman. Back then, there were constant summer fireman's picnics/parades, and our local company would always hire a drum corps to march behind them so they would have a solid cadence for their competition. So, much of my childhood was filled with the sound of Blessed Sacrament, Caballero's, Holy Name, Saint Anne's, etc. When I moved to CA I eventually settled a mile away from the Blue Devil's practice field and continued my love affair with drum corps. How I loved the local shows which included BD, SCV, Freelancers, Velvet Knights, etc. As a teacher, I have been lucky enough to know many high school kids who were involved with corps (primarily BD or SCV), so I've also been fortunate enough to listen to and discuss their experiences, which has simply made my love and respect for the activity that much stronger. Drum Corps always has been, and continues to be an important pleasure in my life. Which is why I occasionally will weigh in on discussions about happenings in the drum corps world. I'm both a traditionalist AND a progressive as far as show designs, musical scores are concerned. I love "old school" but get completely excited when corps attempt unique or new approaches, and believe very strongly that diversity and changes help keep the activity healthy and interesting. But hey, enough about me ....

I'd agree with the basic thought of this (I have followed corps for 50+ years. I'm kinda ..... old! So I'll discretely ignore any references to dinos. ). Striking out in a different direction from the pack, and ultimately having that vision become more generally accepted, does require that the "renegade" be in a position to have people who care take notice. And in the drum corps world, that generally means you need to be "a contender". Otherwise its probably just going to result in a reaction of "Uh-huh. Now, where was I?" You may be right. Maybe BD is the only corps that currently is of the talent quality AND is thinking in ways that are significantly divergent enough to shake things up enough to be a catalyst for (as of yet) unseen future changes. Yes, maybe, somewhere out there, there is a current or future show designer who will latch onto one or more critical components of what BD has been doing and spin them into something so totally new, so dynamic, and so crowd pleasing that even the present day BD would be saying "WOW. Would you listen and look at that!" One can only hope.

Next week on 24: "Jack, I think you had better take a look at these. I just got the satellite surveillance photos from the terrorist corps' camp. It appears they have a new contra player. Jack, ........................ its Tony Almeida". (quick cut) "You've changed, Tony. You used to care about what happened to the fans. What changed you, Tony?" "Its was the acoustics, Jack, the acoustics. That, and the incessant thunderous goo!" (quick cut) "We were friends for a long time, Tony. You know me well enough to know the kind of things I'm capable of doing when I have to. So. I'm going to ask you for the final time. WHERE DID THEY HIDE THE SYNTH PLAYER?" (quick cut) "Chloe, I'm about five minutes out from the stadium. When will they have the perimeter sealed off?" "Five minutes, maybe more. The tactical team has intercepted the souvie trailer before they could clear the parking lot. But Jack, there's a problem. .................. Its the stadium roof, Jack ....................... its still closed!"

To follow up on my original line of thinking, I think that that quote would be applicable to most any discipline of art., not just drum corps. Change, especially change which appears rather radical in the context of its time, is often going to be met with a significant amount of opposition from those who have found a comfortable connection with what has become accepted as the "traditional" form. "Can you say Cubism?" [$1 to Mr. Rogers.] For many, what is traditional ("pure" if you will) is the end all, and large, noticeable changes can diverge in such a jarring way from traditional forms, and grate so heavily on comfort levels and expectations, that they become viewed as threats that will ultimately destroy the art. They seldom do. I'm not saying that change for change's sake is necessarily good, nor is tradition for tradition's sake necessarily bad. (I think to change JUST to be different is often an excursion into arrogance or ego massaging, as is blindly holding onto tradition as "the one true way".). I think that significant or important changes come from those who have a vision of expression which they are compelled to explore, and who do not allow the constraints of tradition to prevent them from exploring those expressive avenues. I would place the current day Blue Devils in that category. Only time will tell if their vision has lasting contributions to the drum corps arena as a whole. [edited for typo] But, to come back to my original take on things, the different approach to shows that we have seen recently from BD is, IMHO, basically 'irrelevant' to BD; in their absence SOMEBODY else would be doing something that would be just as much a departure from tradition, and would be considered just as radical. It just happens that BD is the current messenger; they won't be the only ones, nor the last to shake things up with shows that challenge our comfort levels.

I have been a drum corps fan for well over 50 years now. Over the past three years I have followed the activity here on DCP, and read the many many posts debating the merits and demerits of BD's shows and the constant comments about what BD should or shouldn't do with their shows in the future. For what its worth, I'm going to chime in here with my take of how I view this whole debate. I fully believe that if BD did not exist in its current form, there would be some other corps which would be exploring the same (or at least similar) avenues in show design and musical arrangement. If the current BD did not exist, some other corps would be stepping in to fill that void. I say this because I am a firm believer that in the arts (be it music, graphics, stage plays, photography, ...) there will be (indeed MUST be) individuals or groups who insist that visions other than traditional ones be explored. This is a necessary factor (built into the dna of art, if you will) for keeping the art discipline from becoming stale and/or irrelevant. Somebody HAS to push against the traditional boundaries, and many times this must be done to a point which is beyond the comfort level of the "audience". Evolution in the arts does not always come in small, gradual, logical (?), comfortable steps. Sometimes the changes take very noticeable, even glaring jumps. Sometimes the changes are accepted quickly, other times the changes are met with harsh criticism and disdain but accepted over time. Sometimes the changes last for a short time, are ultimately rejected, and then disappear completely. Regardless of the scenario, (or which scenario will ultimately apply to what BD has been doing these past few years) changes MUST be explored or the art will wither and die away. I'd submit that the Blue Devils are neither the first, nor will they be the last, corps to try an approach to their show that is controversial and results in heated debate as to its place within the drum corps art arena. I would expect that in the coming years we will see some shows that attempt a shallow copy of what BD has been doing, but I have no fear that drum corps will become a series of BD clones either. However, I do believe that there will be future shows that examine and thoughtfully incorporate aspects of BDs current approach in ways that evolve drum corps in exciting ways. {Sidebar: Personally, I have been fascinated by BDs use of props over the past two years. For me, it seems they have found ways to use props in very non-static ways, where the props have become almost MMs in themselves, not just stage dressing. I expect other corps will find unique and stimulating ways to play with this concept in the future.} I also anticipate that in the future (a year from now, 5 years from now, in the next decade) some other corps will hit the field with a show that is as non-traditional and controversial as BD's have been lately, and the evolutionary process will continue. Somebody has to be bucking the tide and striking out in directions other than the currently accepted "norm"; its inevitable. And I for one, look forward to it.

I'm not absolutely certain on the dates (corps alums can help here), but I am pretty sure Jim Ott arranged for The Stockton Commodores from 1968-1972, the Blue Devils from 1973-1977, and Spirit of Atlanta from 1978 until his untimely passing in 1980. To this day, his arrangement of the Navy Hymn is the most beautiful brass I have ever heard.

Bravo and thank you DCI. After watching quarters in the theater, semis on the webcast through my wide-screen, it was great to close it all out with a live viewing of the awards ceremony. SO much better than just waiting and reading a list of posted scores! Please, do this again in the future.