MikeRapp

No, but I have covered literally hundreds of major sporting events. Live event fan expectations have totally changed since HD tv and the Internet.

But if half are, that’s infinitely more than those who saw shows more than once, anywhere, even a decade ago.

DCI is a very unique concept. There’s really nothing else like it. You have a preset potential maximum score, a de facto preset floor, and the goal of judging is to get the last show rankings correct. Every show before finals is judged on the previous shows placement, with the goal of slowly “gliding” each corps to the “right” final score. More important, far more important, is the fact that historically final placements are almost always lockstep with the average age/experience of the corps. I would agree that this is a self fulfilling prophecy, nevertheless, it stands to reason that if you are marching 120+ college kids with 4-6 years of experience, vs 120+ high school kids with little to no experience, you’re going to win every single night. Finally, I will close with what two Time college basketball coach of the year Eddie Fogler once said when asked if officials cheat: ”Every official knows who is supposed to win.” DCI is not pro sports, or even college sports. It is not a level playing field, and likely never will be. I don’t care for it, but I also don’t have a solution.

Btw every live event is experiencing the same thing. Pro sports is totally different in the age of television and the Internet.

Ironically, it may well be that the audiences most plugged into DCI are the ones least likely to be impressed with what they see on the field. Imagine showing up to a show, today, and having no clue what any corps is performing. Id say this is what dci was before the Internet. Now, in Broken Arrow, I’d guess the vast majority of that crowd has seen almost all of these shows at least once, possibly more than once. its kind of how we now judge Star Wars films. Everything is measured in the context of the greatest sci fi films of all time. Imagine seeing the latest Star Wars film 30 years ago!

You latter point is definitely accurate.

I think you assume everyone is like you. I have never seen a WGI event. I dare say a huge number of attendees are like me. If anything, DCI shows are now NOT all the same. The pace of change has quickened in the last five years, due largely to the shows Bluecoats are doing. I see things every year I have never not ever seen before, and now it isn’t some rifle toss or flag design or marching sequence. It’s entire show concepts and prop concepts that have never been done before. There is now SO MUCH being put on the field that it is hard to focus enough to have a reaction.

It could be that, because of the internet, audiences are becoming more capable of evaluating and dissecting shows, and are therefore harder to please.

The internet culture has changed the drum corps experience. In the past you would likely see a show one time all year. Now shows have to be designed to evolve over the season or you risk “peaking too early.” As a result you have esoteric and dark themes that lend themselves more to introspection rather than a one time show experience.

And this is how and why Bluecoats (and to a much lesser degree Academy) have taken the activity by storm in the last five seasons. Other corps could learn something from them (Scouts I’m looking at you!).

If SCV is indeed 50% rookies, does anyone know where they came from? I know they had huge age out numbers last season, so it’s shocking to see them achieve at this level in 2018.

Didn’t Down Side Up lead wire to wire?

I would say that Blue Devils, directly and indirectly, made drum corps equally guard and music. They decided to treat both “sides” of the corps with equal attention, to design, performance, and contribution to concept. The guard are actors on a stage and as such every single “thing” they do on that stage matters. They also took some of the things that made Cavaliers a powerhouse and molded them into their concepts, especially marching members doing play acting without even holding instruments. Whee BD has traditionally lost fans is in the intricacy of performance at the expense of what actually communicates to the crowd. Historically, though less so recently, they have intentionally cared much less about what the crowd gets and much more about the experience of performance itself and how the judges see, rate, and experience those performances. So while you might totally appreciate the cleanliness of BD (which lets me honest has a lot to do with the age and experience of their members), esp if you marched there, that often doesn’t really translate or matter to the crowd. As is always the case, BD’s success created opportunity and room for other corps to fill gaps. Crown basically became the corps that high school bands feel best matches their experience, but on a level they might never be able to reach. They connected with crowds in ways BD didn’t. That fueled their rise to tier one status. If you are an age out, you might want to go to BD to win a guaranteed medal, but there was real equity in aging out with a Crown once they found their groove in brass and guard. Bluecoats rose to power by becoming the big sound and big show corps that cares mostly about the crowd experience, while remaining entirely focused on execution. Where Crown could be viewed as sterile and predictable, and BD is intricate but esoteric, Bluecoats became “live” and unpredictable. They play fun music in a wall of sound way, with concepts that are as much visual as they are musical. You just know you are in for a fun 11 minutes when Bluecoats take the field. That gives them a very unique reason to want to age out with them, because every show has its own place in the season that no other corps can match. I believe all three of these corps have impacted each other. Session 44 is the most Blue Devils-like show I’ve seen that wasn’t created by BD. Crown and SCV never delved so seriously into props until Down Side Up took the activity by storm. And perhaps even more important, it now becomes very obvious what corps are going to be able to possibly medal, and which ones have solid middle tier shows. The bar is raised really high now.

Ironically, because of Boston, percussion likely won’t be a decisive factor in the order of medaling.

I wonder if, like the entire show, the new Bluecoats ending will get better the more you watch it. It is startling to have that break that refocuses on Olivia, and then the band comes in and blasts her “forward.” It’s a daring change, given how much push back there was with Crown last year, but that horn line with the mellos...dayum. It’s just such a big wall of sound.

If you are fourth in percussion but by just half a point, it’s not relevant when you are owning GE. Last week it was, oh they might be eighth in percussion. Top four in percussion, with that show, could easily win Gold.

Why can’t Scouts just go back to having fun? They used to be the Bluecoats of DCI. Now they are doing show about dystopia and heart attacks. Put a big show on the field, blow our hair back, be fast and loud. Who cares if you make some big social statement? This is drum corps, be bold and big.

What is shocking is how many age outs SCV had last year. Recruiting and instruction aren’t getting the credit they deserve. Perhaps, especially, at Vanguard Cadets, which were terrific last year and moved a lot of kids up to SCV.

They hit a grand slam with That One Moment. Easily could have medaled. Then just went right back to the guard just running around waving flags and spinning rifles, with little pyramids (instead of Little mirrors, or eyeballs) being pushed around the field. Sucks, I so want them to be contenders, but it almost seems they like finishing middle of the pack.

Yep, same story every year. It’s not the kids’ fault. Just huge gaps in complexity and meaningful design.

It’s the cymbals. Not joking. They are just flat out awe inspiring.

Yeah I think BK has the better horn line in general, maybe better percussion, but both of those shows are really flat without a strong arc. Props and staging are irrelevant. I do like some of the big drill concepts for both shows, esp BK at the end, but there’s not a lot of GE for either.

I just wish BK could consistently put great concepts onto the field. They have medalist talent, but man...so many of their show designs lack any kind of a “big stage” design. Bums me out.

You laugh about this, but I have a friend who works for a heathcare company that got sued for the buttons on their website not having enough contrast between the text and the button background. And they won.

I really don’t know where I stand on this. It seems like a double standard in that if Cavaliers announces they were no longer accepting black people we would all be up in arms. Tradition has long been used as a cover for racism. Not that long ago one of the most honored and successful golf courses in the country refused to let Tiger Woods himself play there because of “tradition”. The argument that he could play somewhere else so it wasn’t harmful to him seemed absurd. Cavaliers are a private organization, so they have the right to exclude and include whomever they wish. But it does somehow feel like a double standard. I’m no social justice warrior believe me, so don’t go drawing rash general conclusions. Drum corps discriminate on all sorts of basis and we accept that this is a part of what makes it what it is. This includes financial means, athletic ability, playing ability, and yes most certainly physical handicaps. You won’t find a deaf, blind or wheelchair bound mm in dci.