skywhopper

Yep. Nine shows is nearly a third of the season. There've only been two shows so far this year that included the entire G7: Murfreesboro and Atlanta. Theoretically you can count Allentown and San Antonio, but just barely. That's at least five shows each the G7 won't be doing with non-G7 corps. And given the typical show lineup of just one to three of the top 7, that amounts to 15 or more shows next summer that won't feature a top-7 corps thanks to this plan. If the G7 is right about their audience drawing power, that's a lot of money that the Blue Stars and Glassmen and Pioneer won't be seeing.

Yeah, there's no reason for them to follow DCI rules. "World Series" tells you all you need to know. Woodwinds are the new designated hitter!

Direct from G7, although I don't know where the document came from or who its intended audience was. I think, like the original powerpoint, this was not intended for fan consumption. It's on page 2 of this thread: http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/inde...t&p=2874994

I think the divisions are too complicated. How about how many shows would I like to see again, and how many I could live without ever seeing again? See again: 17 Move on: 6 That 10 of the top 12 are see-again worthy is pretty awesome, though. I'm very pleased with 2010.

Sometimes maximizing your abilities means cooperating with others who are less able.

My understanding was that most of the net income from ticket sales goes to the performing corps, and some goes to DCI which spreads it around. I could be wrong. Regardless, fewer shows that pair Mandarins and Cavaliers means less money for Mandarins.

That's true, and they certainly are within their power to set up such shows. Short term it will probably help the G7. Long term if they undercut DCI, they are just hurting themselves. Small-scale part-time drum corps can survive on member contributions. The G7 might survive on their own. The middle ground will disappear fast without the top-end sharing the wealth. And when it does, the G7 will have a far smaller talent pool to draw from. There are now nine shows on prime dates that other corps can't be a part of. These aren't additional shows. They are replacing shows the G7 corps might otherwise have attended. The revenue from the world series shows will all go to the G7, not DCI, and therefore not to any other corps. The audience at competing non-G7 shows will be smaller, as well. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see how that can't hurt every other corps.

Rather than changing DCI from within they are creating a situation where they don't have to share the revenue from these shows with the rest of DCI. If that weakens DCI or other corps (how could it not?), then the power grab is accomplished, whether the board voted on it or not.

I don't really care for that show, but it does seem to be organized by DCI, and it's based on current-year placement. Anyway, a single show is one thing. Nine shows that rely not on current-year scores is quite another. Because Pioneer, The Academy, and Mandarins are going to be hurt quite a bit by this.

I think it's all the "new ideas" that people dislike about the current state of DCI. And the new ideas don't go away. Just look at amps. Can't get rid of them now because the corps have invested so much into them. In fact, Hopkins has used the existence of amps as an argument for pushing electronics and amped horns. Just read his rules proposals and you'll see the creeping rationalizations.

This frightens me. Umm, how does that work? What does this even mean? Dancers? Actors? Poetry slam?

This is both depressing and confusing. Depressing that these corps obviously feel DCI is a sinking ship. Confusing in that I don't understand their logic at all. All the stuff about Facebook friends and marketing databases is just meaningless. How many Facebook friends and email addresses do the other 16 WC corps have "in aggregate"? Plus, if they are going to do a series of shows, they are insane for not doing a west coast leg. I realize that's incredibly expensive for the five midwest/east coast corps, but how much pent up demand must there be to see Cadets or Phantom or Crown in LA and SF and Seattle? They could sell out those shows easily. But in general, I don't really care for the top 7 approach. I like the typical shows with 2-3 open class/all-age corps and 4-5 WC corps with a variety of skill levels. It's better for the health of drum corps in general. As they say themselves, two or three G7 corps will draw a lot of folks who wouldn't come to see the rest of the bill, but may well end up becoming fans of. An all-G7 show, though, would kill attendance at all-non-G7 shows in the area. Personally, I'd prefer to see these organizations that are so incredibly well run sharing their expertise and money instead of hoarding it. Not to mention that SCV and Phantom are suddenly going to become the bottom of the barrel in this new tour (at least this year--Crown and Bluecoats are most likely to drop back to 6th and 7th or worse of the rest). Eh, just a bunch of disjointed thoughts in response to a "proposal" that makes no sense. I mean, if these corps can organize the events, what's to stop them? Why compare themselves to DCI at all?

It was great to read through all the love for this year's show again when this thread popped back up. I actually didn't care too much for Le Tour or The Factory, but this show totally won me over from the beginning of the season. I do have an observation/question about the mello book, though. Have they simplified some of the runs? The Allentown VOD was pretty overwhelmed with their amps, but from what I could hear, the mello part in Nixon in China was not quite as run-filled as I remember. Am I on crack?

I, for one, think it is interesting to see how people react to different shows. I'd like to see "Do you like Crown's show" etc as well. I also think it's entirely reasonable to be disappointed when a show you don't enjoy is running away with the contest. Likewise, it makes total sense to be proud when a show you love is running away with the contest. It makes less sense to complain when people talk about how they like or don't like the show and why. It makes even less sense to say "get over it" and "just look at the scores". And of course it doesn't any sense at all to rage about a show you hate that's losing, but that didn't keep me from anger over Cadets 08...

The micing was terrible. Most corps were overpowered by their amps. Crown was the notable exception to my ears. And there was a lot of coughing and talking noise as well. So yeah, the ensemble suffered.

Hmm, how many times have you watched it? Because I keep trying to enjoy it and I'm just not getting there.

Now that I've seen the Allentown VOD, I am happy to say I enjoyed the rewind addition to Crown's show.

Good point. And for Jeffrey, since he's so interested in rifles, maybe we should introduce him to the Cavies' guard this year.

Does anyone have any insight into how the video performance downloads on the Fan Network compare in quality to the legacy DVDs? If I'm looking for high quality versions of some old school shows, is the VPD quality significantly better than the VOD stream? Is it significantly worse than the corresponding legacy DVD? Thanks for your opinions.

Oh wow, for some reason I thought they couldn't/wouldn't change the roof configuration while the stadium was in use, and it was going to have to be a day-by-day decision made well ahead of time. I think they should commit to leaving the roof open or closed the entire time for all the corps. I think the point by SCV is correct that changing the acoustics during the competition (either during a single night or between nights) isn't really fair. I personally would prefer they open it, just to find out how much better the sound will be, because last year's sound (on the recordings--I wasn't there) was horrendous.

Hopefully the video quality will be better than last year's VODs. Or maybe it's just how low the camera was.

Wow, the scores from tonight's show seem a little nuts. Glad to see the Blue Stars surging. But Cadets and Crown tied for second is not what I was expecting just a week ago.

Crown in 2009 extended a lot of the big hits at various points in the show throughout the year to great effect. Puck in particular evolved from something that built to very little into just an amazing thrill ride right around Atlanta as well. The musical selection this year doesn't lend itself quite as well to that kind of extension I don't think, although I like what they've done with the end of Danzon, but I wish it could go one more notch or something.

Wow, I'm in Illinois and our daughter's school doesn't start till the 30th. High school here doesn't start till September 1st. Do the early starters get done in mid-May? Or do you have a long winter break or what?

There are lots of things I might change about DCI, but what this poll makes me wonder is, what is the *problem* that everyone talks about without defining it? Is it the decline in the number of corps? It's been pretty dramatic, but it's happened over decades, and I get the impression that anyone who wants to participate in a drum corps has plenty of places to go. Is it the (uncertain) decline in attendance? Shows I've been to don't seem to be doing poorly at all attendance-wise. Is it a decline in quality? I don't see that at all. Is it money? Are any of the world class corps in danger of going bankrupt? Or do they just feel like they spend too much time fundraising or what is it exactly?