Terrible Sound in Lucas

[Rochester New York]

I sat in sec 640 3 rows from bottom on the 48 side 2. Great line of sight for being as high up as I was -- in Madison or Bloomington I would have been MUCH further from the performers. I thought the sound was very acceptable with surprising clarity. Sound at both volume extremes were relatively clear. Two exceptions: loud crowd noise quickly covered the sound coming from corps; the lower bass drums were a bit muddled. Not perfect but not the disaster many experienced. I listened to a few corps from the the terrace level (which is pretty cool) and didn't think sound was the disaster many have expressed here. I did have to get used to ignoring the jumbotron on the spectator side; I was distracted quite a few times by a flash out of the corner of my eye.

Yes, but you should mention that 640 is the "nosebleed" section. Seriously, it is VERY high. Many stadiums (Bloomington, Madison, Pasadena) don't even have sections that reach as high.

In other words, it's GREAT for visuals, like seeing the Cadets spell their initials over the years. But it's telling if the best acoustics are actually to be found in the non-premium seats.

[shawn craig]

I was in section 644 friday night and 140 for saturday night. The upper deck is the worst place as the echo hangs in the rafters right above you. Sound was somewhat better down low, but not acceptable for these world class horn and drum lines.

It's probably too late to change the venue for 2010 but perhaps they can do somethng for 2011.

Other comments:

Tempature was nice, chiars were comfortable.

Entrances and stairways in the stadium proper were narrow.

Food: no worse or better than most stadium food. Managed to avoid eating more than a hotdog. Took away caps to water bottles and no lids on the sodas which made it tricky to get to your seats with out spilling on others.

PLEASE MOVE CHAMPIONSHIPS OUT OF THIS PLACE!!!!!

In Allentown I loved looking at the moon and the beautiful landscapes all around the stadium. I'm likely to make Allentown my show until they move finals out Lucas Oil.

[nick6063]

I was there for Semi-Finals. Did not stay for Finals. Seats were too expensive for nosebleed view! And they called them "Premium!" Too far away from show on the field. Sound was horrendous. Did hear the drumline echoing throughout the performances. This seem to hit the rafters first. I SHALL NOT RETURN!!! Drum Corps belongs in open stadiums.

[oldschooldbc]

And the ####### dance party the corps had to come out to for retreat was completely ridiculous and a sad awful day for drum corps, it was embarrassing. Oh well, at least I was happy with the end of my season... DCI ####ed up with this deal though.

Yes, that has got to go. That got very annoying, very quick. That DCI definitely can control. They can't fob that off on the stadium authority, or lawyers, or anyone else.

And the Miley Cyrus music during the retreat was ridiculous. What does she have to do with drum corps? Nothing! Nothing at all!

What's next? Are they going to play her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, at next year's retreat? Imagine coming out to your final retreat, during your age-out year, to the sound of "Achy Breaky Heart."

Maybe they can throw in some Vanilla Ice as well. Or some Back Street Boys, New Kids on the Block, Menudo....... Jeez, maybe next year, I will bring some earplugs.

And why did they have the dry ice effect, in the rear tunnels, when the corps first started coming out of the retreat? What was the point behind that? Again, this is totally unnecessary, and totally extraneous.

Give us a drum corps show, not Siegfreid and Roy, ######!

Edited August 11, 2009 by oldschooldbc

[tommyfromhowardst]

The sound was good at finals, it was just competing with a longer reverb--more than an outdoor stadium. And not really winning but you had to know that going into Lucas--big hard surface indoors=much reflection. Roof open or not there is ample opportunity for sound to travel in chaos. The Marine D&B Corps sounded the best IMNSHO--(looked the coolest too)

And here's something I haven't read anywhere yet on DCP but I thought the LIGHTING was rather crappy--florescent lighting that bleached everything. The lighting during the grand finale was way hipper (dimmed the seat lights, left the field lights on), they should have lit the show that way instead. Much more detail, flattering.

Probably should leave the roof open.

Edited August 11, 2009 by tommyfromhowardst

[dc oldtimer]

Sat in 4 places:

1) Our seats were in the 300 level ON THE 5 YARD LINE!!!!!!!!!!!! Super Premiums!!!!!!!!! Anyway, worst sound ever. Heard reverb after reverb.

2) Sat on the 45 in the 200 level (snuck down). Great sound.

3) Sat on the 10 in the 300 level. Horrible.

4) Sat in the end zone with my 20 month old..... had too. Trust me. Horrible sound.

It seems the sound was fine if your seats were between the 45's. Anything outside of that, was not worth the money. Especially since I paid $125.00 for Super Premium finals tickets and was on the 5 yardline.

Edited August 11, 2009 by dc oldtimer

[Leland]

Sat in 4 places:

1) Our seats were in the 300 level ON THE 5 YARD LINE!!!!!!!!!!!! Super Premiums!!!!!!!!! Anyway, worst sound ever. Heard reverb after reverb.

2) Sat on the 45 in the 200 level (snuck down). Great sound.

3) Sat on the 10 in the 300 level. Horrible.

4) Sat in the end zone with my 20 month old..... had too. Trust me. Horrible sound.

It seems the sound was fine if your seats were between the 45's. Anything outside of that, was not worth the money. Especially since I paid $125.00 for Super Premium finals tickets and was on the 5 yardline.

$125 seats on the 5 is reprehensible. I'd yell up and down DCI for a refund.

Getting between the 45's is almost a guarantee for good sound, as usual. Going from what people are saying, though, it seems like the balance gets really bad really quickly as you move away from the center.

Like I've said, I'm used to seeing most shows off-center, but I'm also used to being able to hear what was going on, too. The constant drone of pit amps, reverb and echoes really did a disservice to the kids on the field. I'd see thirty or forty of them in front of me and wonder if they were playing or not.

Edited August 11, 2009 by Leland

[byline]

I am a long time drum corp fan, marched until I aged out years ago. I have also have made my living since 1983 as an audio engineer, mostly studio recordings, but I have done my share of live sound mixing on tour as well. I have won many awards, one being a Grammy Award.

When I heard that DCI had passed the rule allowing amplification for the pit, I thought it was the beginning of the end. Then they passed the rule allowing synthesizers.....oh boy. In the shows I saw this past season, Murfreesboro and Seveirville, I can tell you that having any amplification at all is only going to make things worse, in any stadium. Whoever is "mixing" for these corps, they will never be positioned to be able to hear and mix correctly, and they aim their speakers so the "mixer" has to over compensate for not being able to hear them. I imagine that next year they will begin placing microphones on the field and other places, thus starting what will become a sound war.

Drum corps need to eliminate amplification all together. A corp should be able to "mix" themselves acoustically, through drill design and movement on the field. Adding amplification is only creating a slippery slope that will continue until everything is put through a microphone and speaker system. Drum corp, in it's initial design was not meant to be amplified. This is not evolution of the art, only a way for additional non acoustic sounds to be incorporated (voice over narration,synthesizers).

just my .02 cents

Touché. But as spot-on as you are, sadly, the genie is out of the bottle and I fear is never going back in.

Edited August 11, 2009 by byline

[bartyount]

Touché. But as spot-on as you are, sadly, the geni is out of the bottle and I fear is never going back in. [refering to electronics/amplification/etc]

I don't think it will be as bad as people think in the long run. When something new is allowed, the corps tend to experiment with it so it's used alot in the beginning. But with time they tend to reign it in and figure out how to use it more effectively.

To point - did you notice the use of vocals this year? There wasn't much. And what was done was used effectively and not overdone in my opinion.

[JimF-LowBari]

I don't think it will be as bad as people think in the long run. When something new is allowed, the corps tend to experiment with it so it's used alot in the beginning. But with time they tend to reign it in and figure out how to use it more effectively.

To point - did you notice the use of vocals this year? There wasn't much. And what was done was used effectively and not overdone in my opinion.

Big problem is if anyone left because of too much of anything, the chance of them returning is very slim. Even if the offending item is repealed or not used as much, the person leaving will probably have found something else to take up the time that DC took up.

s/ Guy who did leave for 10 years but (partially) came back do to some co-incidences.