BOSMarcher Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I don't mean this to be offensive, just an observation by an audience member: but, sitting through the Class A prelims gets a little rough. The corps are good by their standards, but in reality, it sure is difficult to sit and watch them, they are not as good as you think. Sorry, I don't want to sound mean, and I give you all credit for being out there, but think of the audience and judges.......you might think they are being entertained, but if you were in the audience watching and listening, (and hearing the comments in the crowd), your opinion would come close to mine, I'm sure. I understand your point... sometimes those corps need lovin too. At the same time, there are some very good A class corps and I find it fascinating what you can do with small numbers. To the people that make the comments... they could do several things if they don't enjoy the shows. They could (A) not go to Prelims and only see Finals (which would include three good A class performances), or (B) only watch the corps in Prelims that they want to see. No one is forcing anyone to sit through a performance. Also, I do not march in a DCA corps (Open or A) and I enjoy watching all of the shows. The only time I stop having fun is when my attention span gets shortened by the length of the show. The same thing happens to me when I watch the Southeastern Championships for DCI. Your comment made it sound like EVERYONE in the stands only tolerates the A Class performances... and I sure hope the judges aren't in too much pain, as they get paid to listen to all of these corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallipygianKing Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 (edited) Agreed on the point of an exciting Class A competition, but, wow, these comments are a little hot-to-the-touch, even with the parentheticals.If DCA would be so kind, now, to inform the two (or more) Open Class corps of their "non-finalist" status for 2008, they might appreciate it. A whole lot of time and money could be saved and used toward preparing for non-finalist status again in 2009. We all could rejoice in the comfort of knowing nothing will ever change, no matter what you do. [sarcasm off] Again, I wasn't trying to be offensive. I was just trying to delicately approach my observation of there not being much in the matter of "new blood" in the top ten, despite the best efforts of some very good corps that unfortunately spend their Sunday nights in the stands. It was meant more to be a portrayal of the "Old-Boys Club" view of the Open Class finalists. I've spent plenty of time in the stands on finals night (DCA and DCM) to know full well it's worth it to be on the field for prelims, or any performance, no matter what the result is. Edited May 14, 2008 by CallipygianKing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallipygianKing Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I don't mean this to be offensive, just an observation by an audience member: but, sitting through the Class A prelims gets a little rough. The corps are good by their standards, but in reality, it sure is difficult to sit and watch them, they are not as good as you think. Sorry, I don't want to sound mean, and I give you all credit for being out there, but think of the audience and judges.......you might think they are being entertained, but if you were in the audience watching and listening, (and hearing the comments in the crowd), your opinion would come close to mine, I'm sure. I'll concede the fact that not everyone enjoys Class A. My comments are more directed to the people who haven't given Class A a chance, especially those fans who missed a very tight race for 3rd place last year and, unfortunately, didn't see two finalist-quality performances from 4th and 5th place. If you've gone to Class A prelims and haven't returned because it's not your cup of tea, that's fine by me. If you're not even giving Class A a chance, shame on you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Again, I wasn't trying to be offensive. I was just trying to delicately approach my observation of there not being much in the matter of "new blood" in the top ten, despite the best efforts of some very good corps that unfortunately spend their Sunday nights in the stands. It was meant more to be a portrayal of the "Old-Boys Club" view of the Open Class finalists.I've spent plenty of time in the stands on finals night (DCA and DCM) to know full well it's worth it to be on the field for prelims, or any performance, no matter what the result is. Top 10 new blood in recent years includes CorpsVets, Carolina Gold, Renegades,........... none of these from the NE, also, I rmember when Govies and Chops, just recent attendees at DCA weekend, were new blood in the class A finals area as well,.............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayre Kulp Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I find programs I like and don't like in both Open and A Class. I agree there are some less than stellar performances in Class A prelims, but the same holds true for Open Class from time to time. If there is a program I don't want to see, I can go stretch my legs for 11 minutes. No big deal. (I can't sit still that long either.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brassomaniac Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I'll concede the fact that not everyone enjoys Class A. My comments are more directed to the people who haven't given Class A a chance, especially those fans who missed a very tight race for 3rd place last year and, unfortunately, didn't see two finalist-quality performances from 4th and 5th place.If you've gone to Class A prelims and haven't returned because it's not your cup of tea, that's fine by me. If you're not even giving Class A a chance, shame on you. If I have to choose one or t'other (and I usually do - either due to my schedule or my home life!) I would always choose the prelim show. I really enjoy seeing everybody. And there is ALWAYS a pleasant surprise (or 2, or more), that you won't see in the night show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kansan Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 (edited) Man, I have a totally different attitude about the whole thing. The only time I have ever seen a Senior Corps live was when I was marching Junior Corps. I wasn't that impressed back then with Senior Corps because I was young and thought what I was doing was the end all. Fast forward 20 + years and I have a totally different mind set. I have been monitoring DCP and DCA Corps happenings since 2003. What interests me are the personalities involved in each corps and the drama from year to year. Right know I'm interested in seeing what the Corps going to Brass Hysteria will actually look and sound like. I can't wait to meet the people who have started these corps and compare some notes and walk away more hyped than before. There will be Corps that are rather solid and Corps that are still under construction like ours. We think our music is pretty interesting and hope the audience thinks it is as well. We are the size of a Mini Corps right know but you have to start somewhere and if spectators don't understand that Drum Corps don't automatically start out full size, I can't help that. In the coming years the corps, in this area anyway, are going to put on one heck of a show and I hope there is always a corps or two that are just starting out and don't look or sound perfect. I'm sure there will always be some snob in attendence who is out of touch and totally critical of the product. Note: I used to not think much of , what is now, Junior Open Class. I got the opportunity to see the show the Salina Silver Sabres hosted in 04 and really enjoyed the evening. There were corps that were touch and go and others that reminded me of the Big Boys of the 70s and 80s. I'm anticipating Senior Class A to be similiar. Edited May 14, 2008 by Kansan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow_7 Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I've never been much to watch corps. But I love performing in them. To that end I tend to frequent the souvie booths and just buy the DVDs, even though I'm there behind the curtain at the moment of creation. Too many people I only get to see once a year at DCA to spend it ALL in the stands. Nothing against the performers, just my thing. I only recall seeing one senior corps in Boston as a Junior corps kid. I was quite impressed that 19 or so horns could put out a similar amount of volume as our 60+ hornlines. And they seemed to have a lot more fun doing it than most. We often saw them in the parking lots at large regionals way back when. I'm not sure since we never saw them perform, but weren't they running DCA style comps at the same time as DCI regionals? When there were dual stadiums (Football and Baseball) (Meadowlands circa 1990-ish)? But then again that was when I thought the Bushwackers were from Arizona. Soooo long ago... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Actually, being a pure open prelim from "bell to bell", all the corps competing are eligible for those 10 Open Class finals slots no matter what classifaction. in theory yes. but if you look at recent results, 95% of the time Class A corps do not outscore Open Class corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I don't mean this to be offensive, just an observation by an audience member: but, sitting through the Class A prelims gets a little rough. The corps are good by their standards, but in reality, it sure is difficult to sit and watch them, they are not as good as you think. Sorry, I don't want to sound mean, and I give you all credit for being out there, but think of the audience and judges.......you might think they are being entertained, but if you were in the audience watching and listening, (and hearing the comments in the crowd), your opinion would come close to mine, I'm sure. must not be where i sit every year. a lot of the Class A corps are loved and appreciated. Maybe I just sit near true die hards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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