mjoakes

Holiday Inn Express, JW, Omni, Hyatt Regency. Last two are slightly better for good restaurants and bars. HI Express is kind of wonderful after finals for a short walk and then to bed. But it's not great if you want an after-show crowd and nightcap. Usually worth reserving through DCI/Visit Indy for decent rates. Usually worth paying a little extra for the convenience of location, especially if you're there all three days.

Not everything is closed early: https://indytoday.6amcity.com/city-guide/play/restaurants-open-late-indianapolis-in

I'd like to see them remain all male. But I don't know why that dictates rolling out shows shouting something about gender. A certain masculine style works well for them (Wrong Side of the Tracks, the kind of bro fun of Propaganda, Machine), and I think there is a lot more variety of shows from that angle than what we have seen the past few years.

I agree that the show titles and themes often are pretentious and way over intellectualized. It feels a bit like past Apple product videos with designer Jony Ive discussing the beauty of a single block of machined aluminum for MacBook Pros. But I will also yield to the program directors and designers: If this kind of thing helps them better conceptualize what they want to do and create a good product on the field, then it's a small annoyance for we pedestrians.

Yay! And let's keep one Scouts thread for show and tour 2025 posts.

Crown was one of the reasons I got much more excited about the activity in the early 20teens and attended more shows. The last few years the corps has been uninteresting to me. Top notch performers, of course, and so many corps would love to have their placements. It's just that the shows on the field are sort of blah for me.

I'm not very knowledgable about staff names and duties, though I still like following this thread each year. And I appreciate how tied-in so many of you are. It would be great if those of you who post changes could simply add the relevant title or area supervised by the person. Cliff Walker at Cavaliers, for example. Is that a designer, brass instructor, part of the food service crew?

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago...

Likely, 5 of the top 6 tonight will have come from states with legalized cannabis. Just sayin'.

The Severin Bar at the Omni is a good hangout late. And usually a lot of corps people there. JW Marriott also has a big bar often filled with drum corps people.

I'm old, but I'm pretty sure this is not possible.

Don't think so. But both pieces blew from the wind in pretty good synch and it looks mostly symmetrical. Maybe for GE?

Thanks for the sensible thinking. What a dumb thing - to be or not to be a three-peat - to get worked up about.

Thanks for the update. More details like this diminishes the melodrama some might prefer.

The Madison angst often sounds a little familiar to me. It's Indiana Hoosiers often still anchored to five NCAA basketball championships, the last one of which was in 1987. Way, way, long ago. We bring in new coaches, get a little excited about the prospects, have some good games, and then it's down hill again. Or if not down hill, something that is not close to past glory. Ongoing is constant discussion about coaches, culture, players, the stupidity of admins (presidents and athletic directors), how it used to be, why aren't they playing man-to-man the way Bobby Knight had them do it... I'm spinning that a bit, but you get the idea. Maybe in 2024-25? We think that every year, and every year our Hoosier hearts are scarred just a little more.