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Mini-corps - I&E- alumni...thanks for what you have provided in the tough times... we will see if the new direction of DCA takes hold in the future... as one poster said " who cares to see shows from the 70"s " MHO frankiE

you should have Durante saying " Look for the BigW " with your profile! I think Bucs are a lock , although not having seen MBI it's more of a hunch. A lot of complaining about " Home Cookin " when one joisey corps defeated the other ( I prefer Cabs ) over the Skyliner offshoot ( MHO ) I think I know who you are referring to with the great line of needs to improve playing in soft passages ( I thought B instruments negated that ) At one show their staff/honks were going wild until said soft passages and it turned to " Oh my Goid"- what the hell is that? One good thing at Rachacha is BFDTV will be there for alumni and I&Em making " Director's Cuts ". Shows should use class a corps more- although the problem is their locations. frankiE

wonderful review - fair and balanced! maybe you can set-up A WRITING CLASS SOMEWHERE- you really make one feel like they were there!

How are you enjoying your 2015 DCA videos? There are some clandestine 2016 videos being planned but some who recorded by phone in 2015 are being harassed by DCA i think you get my drift MHO frankiE

ThankYou all for the kind words! We had medical issues earlier in the day and after the performance , we were at the gate minutes early and had to stand around and wait for some other reason than something to do with us- but all 5 folks who had problems are fully recovered. That being said IMHO it was a well run and well attended show ( tip of my cap to the YEA folks ) and a special shoutout to the Blue Eagles Food Concession folks- I feel like returning for the chicken fingers and french fries and the reasonably priced chilled Gatorade! The heat and humidity was stifling , the kind of air that knocks down sound. IMHO ALL the competing corps put out a great effort with very entertaining shows. I don't follow scores much anymore , but IMHO it should have been a bit tighter at the top- but if MBI and CV are anything like they have been - it will be a good year for DCA. As for our drumline - Jomba was yelling at them to knock it off to no avail! frankiE

the " Underage Division " I watched a DCI corps concert and they looked older than a DCA corps I saw live.

Word from the Skyliner competing corps was they finished their entire show this weekend. I saw and heard Cabs competing corps at Hudson and they seemed ready to me- super clean horns and powerful drums- horns had great balance , great tonality with great range and the tuba line ( may have been missing a few ) had tremendous presence and really anchored the sound well ( IMHO sometimes it doesn't matter how many you have it's a question of how the one's you have play ). Cabs book is really nice ( musically ). I agree with the comments made by a few that the early season scores seemed to mirror the previous year's results, but maybe as this economy morphs into it's new form local folks will discover DC again.

sad to see where this is heading... no live online coverage...no dvd's... season being shortened... contests changed to exhibitions...contests in New England dropping like flies I hope this changes in the next few years and things start to grow once more

Rocky Point Holiday and the ZPull were really awesome... I loved how they dramatically changed the tempo into RPH with " A Simple Song " by Leonard Bernstein

One of the best days in the year ( for a retired guy ) is when the DCI BluRay arrives ( especially when you have a 6ft by 12ft HD projection system with a 12 speaker- including subwoofer -speaker system ) ThankYou DCI and Tom Blair for doing the diligence! Great camera work lots of close-ups of features and the usual stellar audio. Every show ( IMHO ) was well conceived and masterfully executed! Only audio cut really obvious was BK ( mainly because of the visual disclaimer ) Sorry -no critiques- I enjoyed every show! ( I was at Allentown both nights and the same is true for all corps - including those not on DVD) Most of all - KUDOS TO ALL THE PLAYERS - you should ALL be proud of the hard work you put in leading to these wonderful performances!

Is there anyone in DCA who I can contact to obtain the directors cut of the alumni spectacular? I can provide DCA with the directors name IMHO no connection with corps administration. Thanks DCI for producing the Blu Ray frankiE

So Mr Adcock Thank you for your kind words! Did your corps receive the directors cut to thank your corps for a year of hard work? You state knowledge of what they did - I would love to hear it - I have bought these DVD's for many years IMHO this behavior will lead in a downward spiral - nothing like hearing your efforts are linked to insufficient financial results. above is my own opinions and have no relation or connection to my profile photo frankiE

I will be ordering the Bku Ray as a sign of support for DCI and doing the hard work unlike DCA But I can't believe any savvy marketing person would proclaim....... The wait is over! ( shipping in April ) frankiE

DCA Alumni Classic is not being dropped - DVD of it is - I hope that is what Andy meant. I hope Director's copies are made available to corps so we have a visual record of our performances. I hope BFDTV who records on occasion can find a loophole to get more involved. frankiE

I think treasona is right on the mark when these money squeezers realize that there actions have killed profit streams it will be too late unfortunately for me and many others it is all but over all you folks give it yer all in 2016! frankiE

A facebook poster of a well known alumni corps that is ceasing operations at the end 0f 2016 made the claim of no show in 2016. Gil Silva of DCA replied that this was not the case , there would be a show in 2016. The poster than clarified his position that because of a lack of field shows he felt the alumni spectacular would be cancelled. frankiE

Crowd was much bigger on Saturday and much more vocal ( also shows seemed more exciting ) Crown IMHO is awesome Blue Devils and Bluecoats = I loved them - I am not usually a homer for them ( I am now ) Cadets - new unis a negative for me ( and visuals ) - thankyou for the z-pull! Phantom- pure elegance and horn heaven SCV - please play POTO! Can someone explain the symbol on Mandarins drumheads and props? even fmm's did not know what they were Madison is back what was the catalyst in Pacific Crest's program ( cube opened up to ladies in white dresses? ) TO ALL - programs were all magnificent and the level of talent and dedication is off the charts! frankiE

burdettsky is right on...it was a great event at the practice site. sky alumni loves time with the field corps , they are great folks and musicians... and we had a great time hanging with the fusion folks. comraderie is one of the great assets of drumcorps , and there are few chances like this was to just hang with the peeps!

Outstanding! - You are becoming the Anthony Bourdain of Drum Corps Reviewers! - you make me feel like I was there, Playing 1812 overture with the Pops In Tanglewood is so huge - Years ago before the Capitol Fourth excerpt rendition on PBS it used to feature the complete piece performed by the Boston Pops on the banks of the Themes River in Beantown.

whatever..... I tip my cap to the judges last year who threw a discarded uniform top and ran to return a snare to a player who dropped his drum....kudos to you and any I missed frankiE

Nice job DCI I got my blu ray as part of the fan package = image clarity is incredible ( at 6 ft by 9 ft projection ) and audio is great I will definitely do it again in 2015 frankiE

not to mention an announcer being chastised on video for getting too excited over POTO!

IMHO whether it be the objective era or the subjective era the adjudicary will always use marching or percussion to tell the fans why the obvious winner in fact did not. Clever way to start the " Robbery of 1989 " discussion thread;.Last time it was " How could PR have won - I suggested " Kidnap the percussion judge". IMHO 1988 POTO was far superior , yet 1989 - in spite of holes , fracks , near trainwrecks in the drumline , etc is still mentioned every year as one of the highest scoring of all time?It always amazes me how SCV's orchestration of source music is so close to the original ( especially in this case " Wishing you were somehow here again" ) . Especially following 1987 and 1988 . I think it was payback time. Phantom Regiment 1989 will always be " One for the ages " for me. frankiE

I hope the stars align for you , Crossmen ( IMHO ) got their swagger back with your arrangements. you have always been above board and loyal to all drumcorps needs folks like you to stay relevant frankiE

hopefully no sarcastic dissonant versions of Conquest