mjoakes

Thanks for this. I'll spend some time thinking about things to do afternoon before and day after. Think I saw tour premiers in Indianapolis maybe 2016-2018. And you're right, the shows were really fine for starting the tour. I appreciate that Bluecoats, Cavies, and others consistently put themselves out there for broadcast in the TP. In 2019 I was out west and caught the TP in a theater the night before a nice show in Clovis. My only theater viewing of drum corps, and it wasn't so satisfying. But I might have thought differently if I was not about to see shows live in Clovis and Stanford.

Attending the Tour Premier this year. It's a five-hour drive. I've never been to Detroit, however, so I'm curious about the downtown. I expect the shows to be rough. Also expect to cringe if I drove five hours to watch the corps roll a bunch of junk onto the field. C'est la vie.

Took a look at this and decided to pass. Glad to know it's a new stadium. But I am a little surprised how much I no longer want car rentals, drives to the stadium, drives to hotels afterward. I know the tour stops are not aiming for people coming in from outside the host city. That's fine. Still, it is so nice in places like San Antonio to park yourself at a hotel for a night or two and walk to the show. For all its boringness, Indianapolis has the same terrific convenience factor. I went to the Katy shows a couple of years. Will miss Texas altogether this year. Hope it is a good show and the Cavies shine.

Good question. I canceled plans to attend DCI West at Stanford and DCI Southwest in San Antonio because the airfares were just too much. Stanford also involves a pricey car rental. That said, I know bunches of students who seem to fly everywhere seemingly without concerns about cost. I'm sure that's exaggerated. But hey, it's DCP.

Hater? I know that's tossed out pretty casually everywhere online. And you probably mean it in that same casual, not literal way. But given so much actual hate out there in our world in serious (non marching band-like) contexts, it seems inappropriate here. Maybe @queenanne_1536 isn't a Boston fan. I don't know. But the poster offers reasons and explanations. Nothing is irrational or hate-filled. For me, I've enjoyed watching Boston's rise in recent years. I don't think they are top three ready yet. But like everyone else here, that's only speculation in April.

Back to predictions. I don't know why most of us wouldn't expect BD to be a little favored for another title. Maybe the year off from competition matters. I doubt it does much. Boston, Cavies, Bluecoats, Crown, and Santa Clara surely reliably follow in some order. No way I know how to divvy the spots up here in April. Would be great to see the Cavaliers medal. But that's only a fan's wish, not a prediction. And it wouldn't be a huge surprise to me if, rather than BD, one of that group of five above won it all. More interesting, I think, will be the scurrying for the next few placements. Cadets, Blue Knights, Blue Stars, Phantom seem to group together in some order. And then Mandarins, Crossmen, Academy...

Same here. And I think we just have to accept in drum corps that not all corps or shows have to get everyone of us excited. Crown is great, super high quality in what they do. I just have not dug them since, again, 2016. Used to be that way for the Blue Devils. I applaud their unmatched stay at the top of drum corps. But only recently have I found their really appealing. Appreciating the quality and talent on display in a show doesn't have to always lead to getting goosebumps over the show itself.

There are not a lot of examples of businesses lowering prices in this context and succeeding long at those lower levels. And it isn't clear to me from anything here that if there are problems filing the ranks in corps these problems are only related to price. I certainly hope Surf works things out and has a good tour.

Those are good seats for sound and seeing a lot of detail of the performances. Not great for some drill effects. But then that just means you're not missing much for most corps.

So FDCI has disappeared? I don't quite understand the change.

I have the Tour Premier tickets available via Ticketmaster, but nothing available for Indy yet. Super 3 and Friends tickets email received this week.

Looks like this is just the SCV room block, so the headline is a little misleading. Here is the link for hotel rooms throughout downtown via the DCI/Visit Indy partnership. The rates here are discounted.

If DCI went away, someone or group with $$$ should consider the NFL model. Corps would freak out over loss of control until they might later experience a bit of liberation to focus more on what they can do best - develop and manage their corps to educate and perform.

I don't understand the occasional posts here that suggest comments by fans (of various levels of interest) on a social media platform must be accompanied by the willingness to take over or reinvent DCI. We can be both critical and inspiring here without also being responsible for leading revolutions, drafting constitutions, and reinventing this little world. It's an online discussion board, for Mr. Pete's sake!

Any guesses on the venue for Drums Along the Rockies on July 16? It's listed as TBA in Denver, and the lineup is impressive.

Lots of great seats available in prime locations for the Tour Premier. It's early, I know.

A book from 2018, New Power argues in part that among younger generations today loyalty to groups is much weaker than in previous decades. Young people still want cool experiences, but they connect better to individuals around them than to any group or organization bringing them together. There is less interest in joining for a long-term experience.

I sort of want this. I was happy to see what they did this past summer. Had the feel of SOA starting a good comeback. Sort of. If their plan is to use the year to go through the motions, and hopeful the attention and criticisms diminish, then no thanks. Iconic or not, I'd rather not see them on the field. I am petty, however. I like Bluecoats shows but can never see them take the field without remembering a couple of episodes related to arrogant, rude staff members in the stands.

Its this stuff just everywhere? Link here is to assault on the Carmel High School basketball team a decade ago. On a bus with three coaches as passengers. Something similar and around the same time involved the Mishawaka (Indiana) High School wrestling team. https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/carmel-students-charged-four-basketball-coaches-resign/531-cbbcfc98-bdf1-4cff-bf67-7ab9b993d6f1

I agree. And moderating comments can lead to a mess as well. It really means keeping out comments some folks don't like, while others might. The org would then face another round of criticism for stifling points of view.

I'm advisor and board member of a social fraternity at IU that was suspended last summer for various things, including hazing. 12 organizations in IU Greek life are now booted off campus, about 1/5 of the total. Five more are in trouble with a status of cease and desist while investigations are ongoing. Eight others are on some form of disciplinary probation. You don't have to search long to find similar troubles at other colleges and universities. A couple of high school football teams have been in the news recently regarding hazing. Much like DCI, national fraternity headquarters' leaders, and the national association supporting most major fraternities, have all the right things to say, and by now many well-meaning policies in place. But enforcement is weak until a major disaster has unfolded. Supervision of 18-20 year olds mostly in charge of things on the ground in Greek organizations is even tougher. Drum corps and the tour offer unique circumstances for awful behavior. But awful behavior is wide-spread, maybe cultural in some way. Most days, I've no clue how to combat this. But also most days, I get reminded of how many of my students in the classroom are really decent kids anxious to have really decent lives.

There are protests about just about everything these days. I wonder what impact would be made if fans who are passionate about change organized attention-getting protests at the regionals and finals.

I like this.

I'm a finance professor, and the chances that I encounter behavioral issues with students is pretty low. But each year I am required to complete training on recognizing and responding to various kinds of behaviors, including sexual harassment and assault. More recently, I must complete separate training on mental health alertness. No expert at all, but I know a little bit about these behaviors – and certainly know how to report to proper administrators. If university professors are doing this, shouldn't staff working with a lot of teenagers do the training as well?

If that’s it, then yes, I didn’t understand correctly. Thanks.