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ann_and_scott

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  1. I am one of the fans who did not actually march drum corps . . . I'm a flute player. I guess I discovered drum corps via osmosis. :-) Our high school band director took a handful of students (not me) to DCI finals in Birmingham. They came back enthusiastic about drum corps and a close friend (who may be reading this . . . ) began buying the albums and made audio tapes for me. So, for a couple years most of what I knew about drum corps was from listening to the tapes on my walkman. :-) The first show I went to was in Columbia, TN in 1983. The corps that left me with the best impression was the Colts, doing a Mississippi River show, and led by corps director Jim Mason! In 1984 I was a sophomore in college and my friend was marching Phantom Regiment. I really wanted to go to see them at finals in Atlanta, but I had band camp for my college marching band. We were actually performing at a pre-season pro game that same day. I was late getting to the bus due to a roomate, and ended up having to sit with a freshman guy. I started talking about drum corps and he was also lamenting not being in Atlanta. I asked him what his favorite corps was and he said Phantom Regiment. I guess we have been "Ann and Scott" ever since. :-) In a few weeks we will have been married 22 years. We've attended finals every year since we've been married. Ann
  2. I only saw Pioneer once this season, and that was late in the season, in Centerville, Oh. They were the first world class corps to perform and they came across well. I remember the person next to me commenting that they had goosebumps, and that the average "fan in stands" sitting around me seemed to enjoy them. So, they were appreciated in the "heartland," and I think there's something to be said for that.
  3. It is a nice stadium, all the volunteers working were very friendly, and the show itself was well-run. Biggest negative for us was that from the time our GPS said we were within 800 feet of the address (around 6:30), it took us another 40 minutes to get parked and get through the ticket line to purchase tickets. (Normally we'd get them in advance, but were unsure if we would be able to attend.) Logistics just seemed bad from both a traffic and ticketing perspective. Heard a lot of grumbling in the ticket line. Program book was very nice and free (yea!). Regarding concessions, I'd suggest doing what some other shows do and having some stand-alone stations with just drinks. I thought the concession prices were reasonable . . . maybe a little high on the bottled water for a high school stadium. Hope this helps!
  4. Someone at the Colts game tonight tells me the roof and window are open right now. And it has been a pretty hot day today!
  5. Obviously "the marketplace" was placed in the facility more like the milk is placed in a grocery store. If you really want it, you can figure out where it is and go and get it. However, I'm sure there are more impulse sales of the tic-tacs which are near the checkout. I'm sure DCI lost a lot of "impulse" sales vs. other venues where you had to walk through the marketplace area to get in and out.
  6. And just to clarify, these two tickets are needed for DCI World Class semifinals this Friday 8/7/09. Wouldn't you rather enjoy a leisurely dinner at St. Elmo's and sell us your tickets? :-) Or surely somebody has friends who have backed out at the last minute? Cash, cash, cash for your tickets! scottdaytn@aol.com
  7. We are looking for two World Class semi finals tickets for Friday night. We'd love Super Premium tickets in the 200, 300, or 400 level. Email me at scottdaytn@aol.com Ann & Scott
  8. Is "blue collar" defined as a economically lower than "white collar" or are we talking about more of a state of cultural interests? More and more, I see people who are white-collar employed and making a huge income, but they come from blue collar roots and have those "values." NASCAR, football, and the county fair are what's important to many. Maybe when drum corps was a little more "macho" and an "Americana" county fair activity, they were more interested in it. Now, as one lady who went to a show for the first time this year said to me (and I think she'd fall in this white collar with blue collar roots), "what was with the boys prancing with flags?" She did mention that the Troopers were her favorite corps she saw. I think the current "artistry" (musically and visually) of drum corps is outside the comfort zone for many who fall in this category. Personally, I love it . . . I also love Broadway. But there are many who just aren't into that sort of thing so it does become more of a niche activity. Most blue collar folks around here want their kids in sports and cheerleading . . .and as one person said about the cost of a cheerleading camp, they are willing to ante up for these activities. And the high schools nearly force you to specialize in one activity. God forbid you want to be a cheerleader and on the debate team . . . one mom was told her daughter just couldn't do it. Same for band and most sports . . .
  9. Maybe it's just the middle-aged mom in me coming out, but I look at the drum corps kids and I see a lot who by the end of the summer look like they spent 6 weeks on Survivor eating rice and coconut. So many times, the first thing I hear the parents say is "Oh my goodness, how much do you weigh?" and not in a delightful, how nice that you lost weight kind of way. I heard directly from a member of a Top 6 corps that the quantity of food was not adequate for the activity level (he did lose 10%+ of his weight and didn't need to). Did anyone see the story on how much Michael Phelps eats? I'm not a dietician or a trainer and I don't know what's right or if there is really any harm to the kids, but I just get this gut feeling that with the visual demands of the programs and associated practice, some are not getting enough calories, no matter now nice the food trucks are or how nutritious the menus.
  10. Not a show quote, but did anyone see my friend's sign in the parking lot at finals: "Sarah Jones dumped me! One excellent seat for sale."
  11. I haven't read every post here, but I'm just going to put in my 2 cents anyway since I have kids and have had to deal with this. Some people are very judgemental about how easy it should be to get a relative to watch the kids, etc. Not everyone has healthy relatives or ones close by to make it feasible. However, I also agree that young children shouldn't be at a 5 hour $75+ per ticket event. A young couple came and sat near us at finals this year with an approx 3 year old boy who looked like he hadn't sat still for a minute in his life. Luckily, they moved on after a couple corps. We've been going to finals since 1990 and have had children since 1997. We've had to do different things in different years. A couple years we did the "I'll go to semifinals, you go to finals" switchoff. Not tons of fun, but worked out okay since we knew other people going. For several years, we were able to find babysitters in the local city by doing some legwork. We did this in Madison, DC, and Boston. It was kind of like a "think of anybody you possibly know in DC and find out who they use to babysit" kind of thing. We were nervous leaving the kids with a stranger, but really, they all turned out to be fine. Check some references and you can get a feel if it sounds okay. With the Denver and Rose Bowl shows, we drove the kids to the grandparents 5 hours away, drove another 2 hours away to catch a plane, and had a week's vacation to ourselves. Frankly, they were safer in a hotel room with a babysitter. :-) I guess the bottom line is you shouldn't have to give up going to shows, but you have to be a little creative in finding sitters. Maybe this daycare option would also work. I don't think DCI has to be involved with "sponsoring" it. Ann
  12. Matt sat in front of me last night on the 50. You really took it all in! Nice review! And I applaud you for being enthusiastic and supportive of all the corps. I have to give you credit for the best pun of the night; when the rookie Blue Stars parents next to you were discussing their concern of whether the corps would make it to finals in Bloomington, you said "unless the wheels fall off, you'll see them on Saturday night." :-) I got reaction today from a "local" who was at the show. She was shocked that Bluecoats won; she did not like the boxing theme and did not like the narration. I think to those not in the know, they think it is coming out of the pressbox or something. She metioned how much her group loved the Troopers and Madison Scouts. Maybe shows like Blue Stars and Bluecoats seem "over-produced?" Personally, I like both and the variety, some more traditional and some more "progressive." Ann
  13. I'm not sure if it is the gas prices or what, but it seems like the top corps have a lot of days off this week and are hanging East prior to Allentown. Soaring Sounds in Centerville, Ohio is this Tuesday and in its 29th year. The biggest headliner corps is Bluecoats . . .meanwhile the top 5 have the night off except for Crown. We will miss the "big corps," but luckily from what I've read, some others are stepping up to the plate in entertainment value (Troopers, Madison, Blue Stars). Nearly the same lineup in Columbus (another well-established show) the next night. Ann
  14. I've always been pretty much of a lurker, but I started on RAMD in the early 90's, probably nearly from the beginning. I used to get the information as some type of listserv sent to my email address at work, and then once the "internet" access started, I guess I was going to RAMD directly. I do have the lovely teal green cybercorps shirt (I'm listed in the pit). There was some guy from NCR in Atlanta (I also worked for NCR) who used to coordinate the shirts and I used to think "how are you doing this from work?" Hmmm . . . What ever happened to him . . .Bluecoats driver I think? Ann
  15. For whatever it's worth, when we were at the Fairfield show last week, the group of people next to me brought up this issue amongst themselves. They were late 40's age corps vets and their families. One of them started off jokingly saying something like "shouldn't the sound guy be in a suit or something?" The one out there at the time was the flip-flopped, ragged t type. Then they agreed a suit would be too hot, but shouldn't they at least get him a corps shirt from the souvie stand? It stood out to this group that the guy looked inappropriate. And when you are in a smaller stadium like at Fairfield, it is more obvious, at least to those seated near the 50. Ann
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