ShutUpAndPlayYerGuitar

I'm ok with this particular instance (it's Tarpon ... they're good at what they do). I'm more concerned about the crappy design teams flush with booster $$$ ...

Nobody said a mean thing about "the kids." People are discussing a potential new trend. That's it.

The original post has now been re-posted to /r/drumcorps ... it will now assume its final form: a brilliant, insane piece of copypasta that younger generations will cherish for months to come.

Are you basing that assumption on just a blank web page, or is there anything else to go off of?

Fair point. I hope it gets returned too, but the college football fan in me hopes it turns into a trophy rivalry ... get "BD Brass" or whatever engraved on the other side. Whoever scores higher gets to take home the hammer. Just like Paul Bunyon's axe between MN-WI (hopefully not as one-sided).

It's not acceptable, but it has always happened. And I guarantee, it happened when you marched. My thoughts: - The idea of the Crown Hammer is stupid. It's the sort of useless object that pretty much begs to get stolen. It's the same sort of nonsense as those baseball bats the Carolina Panthers used to walk around with a few years ago: an empty symbol of false hype that does nothing but take up space. - Even though stealing is not a recent thing, the idea of posing with it in your uniform and posting it to social media is pretty egregious/stupid. Even if this kid is an age-out, they're going to get a pretty harsh punishment. - The general consensus on reddit seems to be: wow, get a load of that idiot.

They didn't really look like ribs to me until Klesch pointed it out on the cinecast. ... can we please stop talking about ribs now? I'm starving.

Here's my mostly uneducated take on the viability of these venues (mainly for my own entertainment). Only venue I've been to is U.S. Bank Stadium (for the unofficial state marching band competition). As for cities, I've been to Arlington, Houston, Atlanta, LA, and Vegas. Currently live near Mpls. Overall -- for as much as I didn't like the stadium experience at Indy, I think it's here to stay unless Mpls/Atl/etc can offer a sweeter deal. Arlington - I would imagine the overall venue and its acoustics would be an upgrade (provided the roof could be opened). Housing would be pretty easy too ... with the Dallas area being flush with large public schools. Biggest issue might be fan experience (Arlington is a giant suburb and the Stadium is surrounded by a sea of parking lots). I can't imagine this venue being cheaper for DCI either, considering there's never been a regional here. Houston - Similar to Arlington: I think fan experience would be a downgrade from Indy. The stadium has a similar design to LOS, and the area is on the outskirts of Houston ... which -- IMO -- really isn't much of a tourist city to begin with. I can't imagine cost being cheaper either. Atlanta - I'd consider Atlanta a small step-up from Indy: stadium is close-ish to their downtown, which has way more to do than Indy, at least. Based on the reviews here, the stadium's acoustics weren't much better than Indy ... but some of the sight lines are bad (the overall design of this stadium ... from its sphincter-like roof, to its circular design ... has never appealed to me). They already do a regional here, so housing seems to be good. Overall, I think I would have more fun in ATL than I did in Indy for finals. Minneapolis - Total bias here, but this would be a step-up from Indy too. Way better nightlife. Way more to do in the daytime (Twins games, tons of breweries/distilleries, tons of gorgeous parks). Better public transportation (light rail can take you from Mall of America area to Downtown ... easy for those with kids). DCI MN at the college stadium was pretty much a regional in 2010/11 ... so housing isn't an issue -- The marching scene in MN is on the rise. The natural light ambiance of the stadium is gorgeous, but ... ... the acoustics suck. A small remedy: at the marching band show I mentioned earlier, the crowd was on the visitors side because of the tilted ETFE roof coming toward the home section. Unfortunately, the visitors' side doesn't have good sight lines, especially in the lower section (its more flat than the home side). Another potential remedy might come after the 2019 final four, with the coming of an NCAA-required "blackout" curtain that could be used for noise dampening. Apparently natural light at a basketball game is a non-starter. I really hope the NCAA pays for this. Interesting read below: http://www.startribune.com/u-s-bank-stadium-authority-needs-blackout-drapery-for-entire-building-before-2019-final-four/475468313/ Despite the acoustics ... who cares: Minneapolis > Indy. MAKE IT HAPPEN, DAN. Detroit - This would be interesting. Can anybody that was there for the DCI Tour Premiere this year chime in on the experience? Detroit would have been a non-starter 10 years ago or so, but I'd imagine DCI could get a super cheap deal. Glendale - Seems similar to Arlington ... a massive stadium/parking lot complex in the middle of a suburb. Also, AZ in August sounds awful. New LA Stadium - The design is really intriguing: it's basically an ETFE "canopy" over an open stadium. I almost think this might be the design of the future (sort of wasted on LA since it never rains there). That said: it'll never happen here since it's being built with private money. Also, the Rams owner -- Stan Kroenke -- is a heartless person who probably hates drum corps anyway. http://www.lased.com/ New Vegas Stadium - Domed with retractable windows. The other interesting angle to this is that less than half of this is built with public financing ... which means we'd be more likely to see finals here than at the Kroenke Dome in LA. Finals in Vegas? A man can dream ... EDIT - let me be clear: stadium financing is usually nothing more than corporate welfare, benefiting some of the most awful of the awful rich. I still like to geek out about the design aspects though.

It depends on the number of bars and if there are accompanying parts that are the same instrumentation. For the most part: written separately, especially if it's a long solo and/or if you have the similar instruments playing in the background.

2004 was a blast. The one downside seemed to be housing: we stayed at some run-down county fairgrounds for finals week. I don't know if housing is a general problem in the Denver area or not.

For as much as I agree with you (and disagree with the unearned smugness of the OP on the other discussion): I'm ready to start my off-season DCP hibernation.

Bummer ... I'm sure they were all lining up to respond.

To answer a question I brought up earlier ... I ended up checking the Reddit thread on this, and one of the MC members responded: ... so it seems like the kid did it on his own. From another post via someone identifying as a MC member (take this as you will, not saying this is gospel truth): - The chief judge called Atchison - Atchison apparently held a meeting with all of the corps directors - The MC director "supported the member who read the article" - The MC director asked all MC members not to post any videos of the ... uh ... performance

Good luck with that.

One question that I don't think has been asked: did Music City know this was going to happen? Did the staff give their blessing? When I marched, everyone who wanted to perform in I&E needed to "audition" for the respective caption heads. I won't be surprised if this is a global DCI guideline. IF MC knew what was going to happen, and gave their blessing ... a part of me can understand why Dan A. would be sort of P.O'd. IF the kid had something else planned and was inspired to go off-script ... different story. Either way: I love that we follow an activity that pays lip service to remarkable young people expressing themselves, but the instant something goes off script, people freak out.