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Indianapolis, Vol. 1


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The stadium seating was comfortable.

I think the black curtains helped improve the acoustics.

The sound down low was OK. The middle sections the sound got lost. The sound up high (3 rows from the top) was surprisingly good, although any crowd reaction overpowered the sound down on the field. I didn't like when the crowd got up to cheer in anticipation of an impact point rather than letting the impact create the reaction. The sound got worse the further away from the 50 yard line much more rapidly than in an outdoor venue, I would not want to sit outside of the 25 yard line.

Tickets are too expensive. Adding $7 per ticket purchased at the stadium was rip-off. I liked being within walking distance, but downtown hotel parking is just as or more expensive than stadium parking.

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As far as Roofgate is concerned, I think something was mentioned during the DCI Quarterfinals Broadcast about why the roof was closed. I can't remember who said it but apparently, Lucas Oil Stadium has very little to no drainage system. If there was even a small threat of rain, the roof would be shut without a second thought. New domes with retractable roofs such as University of Phoenix Stadium have drainage systems put in just in case. I don't know what the weather was like in Indy this weekend but that may have had a huge part in whether the roof was open or not.

Many people were very excited about Drum Corps coming to Lucas Oil Stadium. The long-term contract signed by DCI was a very significant move but it was definitely not without its risks. Was it right for DCI to put all its eggs into one stadium? What if the stadium was not as "acoustically friendly" as originally planned? I understand why several people may feel cheated by what they heard in the dome this weekend. I have a feeling that the sound issue will be addressed by DCI in the coming weeks and months.

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Stadium: Lucas Oil is a brand new facility, everything works, there are plenty of restrooms and food options, the padded seats were very comfortable. The climate control was pretty awesome on a hot day like Saturday. The sight lines to the field seemed fine, other the the plexiglass obstructing some views - fortunately ours were not affected. Overall, I'd say it's second only to Denver in facilities DCI has used for finals. It's miles beyond a dump like the Rose Bowl.

City: There are tons of hotels and restaurants right around the stadium. It was great being able to walk from hotel to show in 10 minutes, and then walk to a great restaurant afterwords in another 10 minutes. It was great to not worry about or pay for stadium parking for the whole three days. Really, Madison is the only previous host city that has anything comparable and I'd say Indy is superior. There's not a lot to do in Indy, so that makes it harder to turn DCI into a family vacation. But if you're just coming in to watch some drum corps, it seems great.

Tickets: The "Super Premium" seats continue to be one gigantic scam. I feel sorry for anybody who was suckered into paying $125 for a seat on the 10. We did what we always do: buy known seats in the section we want to sit that a Friends of DCI member was reselling. I don't understand why DCI feels it's in their interest to (effectively) let the FoDCI earn a commission on all the good seats, but that's the way the game is played right now.

Logistics: I didn't observe any big snafus with the corps getting in position. A lot of people probably completely missed the souvie area, unless they happened to enter through that door.

Event: The smoke and pop music at Finals retreat rates a FAIL, but otherwise things ran smoothly and on time. My impression was that there were fewer interviews with corps members and featurettes between shows, but I wasn't really counting.

But unfortunately the big one is

Acoustics: Unquestionably the worst of any finals venue I've attended. Things got better Thurs -> Fri -> Sat as we got more people in the stands (and maybe as the corps got better at coping with the echo), but there was still a huge echo all through finals that really detracted from the clarity of the sound. I'm sure that over time corps will learn to cope, but that's likely to require changes to show design (thinner writing, smaller dynamic range, more doubling of low brass by keyboards, more of show staged in front of hashes, etc.) that will diminish my enjoyment.

My hope would be that DCI would use the coming year to see if the acoustics in Indy can be improved by whatever means. If not, then I think they need to find a way to break their contract and find a good finals venue with suitable acoustics. I think that's just going to be non-negotiable for most of the people paying $$$ for premium seats.

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Am I just weird? I thought the acoustics were perfecct. Like scarily perfect. Then again, the only shows I saw all weekend were Crown, Cadets, and BD at finals and I saw them from the lower level walkway dead center, standing in front of a concrete wall. But I was amazed at how clearly I could hear every little brass nuance (with Crown especially).

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

Chicken Little is alive an well on Drum Corps Planet.

LET ME ASSURE YOU, unless you got conned into buying crappy seats in the rafters or out on the goal line, the sound wasn't as horrible as you think.

I sat in the 200 level on the 40 and Other than the occasional boom, I thought it was far superior to the Georgia Dome which I don't find that awful either. The only terrible dome I've been to is the RCA Dome! Thank God they tore it down.

Parking was great.....I didn't pay a dime.

Nobody checked our bags as we entered..... we could smuggle in food and drinks all we wanted.

Stadium food was awful and expensive! ...but so was Foxboro.

Plexiglass didn't get in my way at all. None in front of my seats. they were nearer the aisles. HOWEVER there was an entire row of plexiglass at Foxboro.

Curtain was great. Loved the new black signage too. Less cluttered in the back. This will translate well to video.

Retreat was anti-climactic. I like the darkened stadium and maybe even the smoke, but if you are going to introduce corps that way.....do so with a little short history video on the monitors about each corps. Turn off the crappy music.

I loved the marketplace downstairs. It was nice and cool.....much better than being outside.

Speaking of weather. I MIGHT BE THE ONLY GUY THAT WAS GLAD THEY KEPT THAT #### ROOF CLOSED! It was hotter than a monkey's scrotum outside and the cool air-conditioning was much appreciated. I'd rather endure a little boom boom, than have to endure that nasty sticky heat.

I felt bad for Troopers and BDB, because the crowd was small when they started....so they got more boom boom than the big boys.

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I'm sure that over time corps will learn to cope, but that's likely to require changes to show design (thinner writing, smaller dynamic range, more doubling of low brass by keyboards, more of show staged in front of hashes, etc.) that will diminish my enjoyment.

Hmm, I'm not sure the doubling of low brass was helping. In my APDs it seems to be masking the low brass sound completely.

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I probably talked to 75-100 fans over the weekend at the stadium, restaurants, bars, White River park etc and what I came away with was it was probably a 4-1 ratio of fans who were not happy with certain aspects of the weekend and 3-1 would not return next year.

Starting w/ the city itself, it is a small downtown which has its positives and negatives. DCI advertised that you wouldn't really need to have a car as you could walk to most of the events which is true, but on Saturday, a few hundred folks hung out at White River Park to see corps entertainment and warmups which DCI advertised would occur from 9A-9p daily and I knew this wouldn't be the case on Saturday until 3 or so. A few booths were set up there and people could have visited the State museum or NCAA, but most wanted to stay out and catch some corps. A couple I know bought the fence sitter package where they stayed at the Hilton. They came in on Thursday and were completely bored come Satuday morning as they didn't rent a car as there wasn't a whole lot to do but visit the stores and hit a few restaurants. I was thankful that I did rent a car so I could get around out of downtown. Parking at the Stadium and nearby lots was reasonable @$10 and I found a lot two blocks away for $5 all day.

On to the stadium, the two topics that were on the front burner more than synths (which surprised me) was the way DCI priced the seats and the acoustics. Why on earth would an organization not sell their seats from the 50 yard line out from most expensive to least is beyond me. To have somebody pay $125 or $75 to sit near the 20 yard lines when you know others paid the same to be between the 40's really irked a lot of people off. And that is putting it nicely. And then to add to their misery, the acoustics were horrible as described here in on other pages, unless you were between the 40's and pretty low, maybe this wasn't an issue. I sat in three different areas Saturday night and the only place that sounded good is when I went down to 100 for the encore. You could not understand Brandt Crocker's announcements thru most of the concourses, just muddled jibberish. The marketplace being located in the basement was a disaster. Although roomy, even if you went Friday during the 45 minute intermission, you were spending 1/2 that time just getting there. DCI did have their merchandise front and center as you walked in and each corps was allowed a 6 ft table to sell some of their stuff, but most of the patches, buttons, CD's and DVD's were located downstairs.

Around the stadium, there were plenty of places to go grab a brew or a bite, but DCI advertised their after party at Slippery Noodle? That place never got crowded Friday or Saturday evening. I went to the Crown gig at Basey's for a bit Friday night? They had a DJ playing music under a large tent, but he was playing the music so loud, nobody went near the tent and stayed either inside or on the patio itself. The staff there was unprepared for the 100 or so who did show up. We gave up on ordering food there, had one drink and moved on. And what is with the motorcycles in downtown Indy on Saturday nights? Three times I have been there and there is huge throng of motorcycles and riders hanging out in the parking lots along with all the drunk 20 somethings that take over the streets come midnight. I went out w/ a couple of 22 year old ageout gals I know and they were even afraid to walk back to their hotel, thank god I had a car. Plenty of tickets were available from the scalpers around the stadium. A couple of them I deal with in my city flew out there to do "business", but came home with plenty of unsold tickets. They were buying $75 tickets for $20 and reselling them for $60. Folks please don't sell your tickets to these guys. If you advertise on Ebay or stubhub or on the Marketplace here, or wait it out, somebody will offer you a fair price for what you may have paid for them.

I myself will probably go again next year but to think I 'm going to go there 4-5 years in a row? I don't see it happening. I'm sure I'll go to other regionals and shows, get better seats and not have to deal with the acoustics. I wonder about the folks who were not wanting to return and how this will affect future championships here. The DCI Marketplace, the ticket pricing and some of the acoustic issues can possibly be fixed. But at what price of fans not returning next year and future years? Maybe the parade downtown that was an event in the 80's in Madison and Kansas City needs to return along w/ some standstills at public places to give fans something else to attend along w/ I&E?

I give the first year here a "C" overall. I will give it another year...

Edited by bstar82
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Ladies and Gentlemen,

Chicken Little is alive an well on Drum Corps Planet.

LET ME ASSURE YOU, unless you got conned into buying crappy seats in the rafters or out on the goal line, the sound wasn't as horrible as you think.

I sat in the 200 level on the 40 and Other than the occasional boom, I thought it was far superior to the Georgia Dome which I don't find that awful either. The only terrible dome I've been to is the RCA Dome! Thank God they tore it down.

Parking was great.....I didn't pay a dime.

Nobody checked our bags as we entered..... we could smuggle in food and drinks all we wanted.

Stadium food was awful and expensive! ...but so was Foxboro.

Plexiglass didn't get in my way at all. None in front of my seats. they were nearer the aisles. HOWEVER there was an entire row of plexiglass at Foxboro.

Curtain was great. Loved the new black signage too. Less cluttered in the back. This will translate well to video.

Retreat was anti-climactic. I like the darkened stadium and maybe even the smoke, but if you are going to introduce corps that way.....do so with a little short history video on the monitors about each corps. Turn off the crappy music.

I loved the marketplace downstairs. It was nice and cool.....much better than being outside.

Speaking of weather. I MIGHT BE THE ONLY GUY THAT WAS GLAD THEY KEPT THAT #### ROOF CLOSED! It was hotter than a monkey's scrotum outside and the cool air-conditioning was much appreciated. I'd rather endure a little boom boom, than have to endure that nasty sticky heat.

I felt bad for Troopers and BDB, because the crowd was small when they started....so they got more boom boom than the big boys.

You're right about the food. Was that a $12 or $14 bucket of popcorn? and nobody doing any checking of bags. I know guys who caught on to this Thursday and brought bottles of booze in and mixed it w/ their 5.50 soda.

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