mrk

But first, bring back functioning Caps Lock keys and the non-excessive use of exclamation points.

1984 Cadets. As a young trumpet player, I went to shows to listen to horn lines. Prior to this show, an 11-minute stand still would have been okay by me. I was in college in 84 and for the first time, I became captivated by the drill and how it allowed a gifted corps to enhance the experience of listening to live music through movement on a stage as uniquely large as a football field. For me, it was less about the visual, but more about how I experienced the sound. (In Whitewater I also witnessed first hand what could happen when the drill went amiss). There are too many other memories to list here. I think it's the consistent, cumulative effect of all of these emotional moments that have kept me a close follower and advocate of this activity from my pre-teen years to my early 50's.

Hahahaha. You said, "most of you". Kudos to @pudding for your creativity and for the inspiration this create this thread. Even if your final paragraph hadn't been hidden, I suspect the results would have been similar.

Not sure any one can be "the best", but an outstanding final minute or so that I haven't seen mentioned yet: the 2011 Scouts - Empire State of Mind.

I'm loving BD, Bloo and SCV this year. That I'll see each show at least three more times in Indy (and I expect I'll see BD or SCV a fourth time) will make for a great end to a great season. Throw in another Flo-cast tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday in Michigan City and the SCV Alumni Corps Friday night - my drum corps cup runneth over.

Not bad at all. The closer your seat numbers are 1 (than 20), all the better.

Seems odd that the Mandarins are permitted to be in the end zone for the duration of the Colts show. Aren't they technically on the field?

Granted there have been a plethora of drum corps related fundraisers going on - that and folks are spending discretionary dollars on show tickets and travel expenses - but it's still a little disappointing that they're not yet made it 10% of the way to the goal. I'll kick in another donation, anyone else?

Seems to have improved the audio.

Read on the Troopers Facebook page that they are looking for brass players in each section due to chronic medical injuries.

Thanks for the posting this. I followed your lead and likewise made a donation through PayPal.

Conceded. Not sure what my concession to this point has to do with our original difference of opinion, but I'm happy to admit I agree with your last two posts in this thread!

This.

Sure. I'll take one last shot as well. Once again, my primary quibble is with your final sentence. You're suggesting that the path to entertainment (for the Cabaret show) was by way of education. I disagree. Many a show (or song, or book, or piece of art) I've enjoyed (found entertaining) immensely with no advance knowledge of source material, intended theme, or designer intent - including Cabaret Voltaire. Sometimes I just like what I see and hear. Likewise, on occasion, no amount of context or content is going to change the fact that it's just not my cup of tea. But as I've said previously, that's okay. Someone liked it.

Speaking of classical music attempting to educate and entertain. EnQue: An App to Help You Decode the Symphony as You Listen: http://mentalfloss.com/article/502362/app-help-you-decode-symphony-you-listen

Okay? I think we may agree more than we differ, with the exception of your last sentence, the intention of artistic designers and the definition of audience. I'd agree that many show announcements and descriptions in recent years have been verbose and to some, borderline pretentious (I believe a few catapulted over that borderline into the realm of self-important artspeak-babble). I disagree that it is universally an attempt to educate the wider audience. In the case of the Spartacus libretto - it seems clear the goal was to provide information to the fans in the stands - hence handing them out at shows. With the "post Y2K" trend, I'm simply not convinced the intended goal is to generally push education onto the wider audience - the fans in the stand - but that they are instead communicating to a different, much narrower audience.

I have trouble with the "push by artistic designers to educate the audience" premise. Perhaps I'm too cynical, but I don't believe the more esoteric shows that have been given as examples had anything to do with designers prioritizing the education of audiences. At worst, the last part of your sentence may be true in some cases, they were "promoting self-interest agendas". At best they were taking honorable, creative risks that the average audience member was not quite ready for. It brings to mind the scene at the dance in Back to the Future. Marty, after his guitar solo brings everything to a screeching halt, "Well, I guess you're not ready for that. But your kids are gonna love it."

As a high school student, I had never heard of Khachaturian. As I attended DCM/DCI shows in 1981, I was given a one-page libretto by Phantom Regiment to better understand their Spartacus show. Without the libretto, I was still entertained. With the libretto, I was entertained AND better educated. There have been some design choices over the years that no amount of education or explanation was going to result in me be entertained. That's okay, I'm certain others liked those shows. The flip side is the many more shows entertained me before I had the slightest clue about subtle nuances and/or the design team's intentions or motivations. Seems consistent with subjective reactions to most any art form - music, art, movies, literature, etc. Some things I like. Some I don't. Some things I'm willing to learn more about. Some things I'm not. As for "widening audience disconnect" - hasty generalization?

Recaps up: http://recaps.competitionsuite.com/27bab4af-bd0d-414f-8ebe-501fe59fae8d.htm

I noted on other platforms that several people had delivered or planned on handing over checks tonight. May be closer than the fundraising page is reflecting.

Full disclosure, I made the "anonymous" donation with the "DCP's Stu sent me." comment. It wasn't meant to be savage, or critical, it was meant to be an acknowledgment. I followed the thread most of the day and in all honesty, I respected and agreed with most of Stu's thoughts on this situation. Unlike a theft, accident, or some other unexpected calamity that might create a sudden financial hardship for a touring corps, the circumstances as presented in this case seemed to me at first glance to be the result of poor decisions made by adult leadership. At first, I thought making a donation would be essentially enabling those adults. I was reminded of a sign on my bulletin board that reads, "Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency for me." I then began thinking about the members. The more I did, the more the negative connotation associated with "enable" faded. It was replaced with the positive notion of enabling members to finish the season. They've done everything that was asked of them and deserve to complete the season. As I was making a second donation, it occurred to me that had it not been for the debate on this thread, kept alive in large part by Stu standing his ground, I might not have taken time to reflect on and modify my initial reaction. I appreciated his consistent reasons for why he would not donate. In the end, I simply came to a different conclusion. I'm tired of young people suffering the consequences of poor choices made by adults. I'll be in Michigan City and at Lucas Oil Stadium for Championship week as I have for the past several years. I'm happy to know that it now appears that the 147 members of Legend will not be denied that experience.

1 Carolina Crown 87.400 2 Boston Crusaders 84.700 3 Blue Stars 80.400 4 Crossmen 80.350 5 Mandarins 76.750 6 Madison Scouts 75.900 7 The Academy 74.800 8 Colts 72.700 9 Troopers 72.700 10 Genesis 66.700 11 Jersey Surf 62.250 12 Pioneer 60.200

Flo to DCI scores tabulator: "You had one job."

Does anyone think the tarps add value to the show visually or otherwise? I'm not finding any.

Agreed. I'll enjoy every note an outstanding hornline plays, but will happily yield to a great percussion feature.