JimF-LowBari Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 (edited) Yeah,. when the Allmans played Hershey the last time they had the CD bus there, but it didn't take 45 minutes, I have to admit it was pretty organized and fast! Well I was in the back of the mob waiting as I took Kris back to the car first to get some A/C action and a drink. And I had to leave the way I came in or I'd never find the frickin' road back to the hotel (30 minutes away). So noooo hurry in get into the demo derby trying to get out. Bad as Hershey except on a hill so could see the mess better. So amble out of the concert area well after the last note, hang at the car, roam over to the CD bus and see a mob that is getting uriney about standing around in the heat and humidity (rained next day). Check out the bus and assorted crap from the outside like a good tech head. By then security had the mob beaten into some kind of a line (thru a drainage ditch, etc). Lot less people behind me then were in front. And by the time I got to the car the traffic jam was 80% gone. LOL and on the way back Sheriff Andy in one of the SW PA one horse towns had a concert goer pulled over. That town must live for concert nights... Edited June 29, 2012 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaminbenb Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 This show was at the Star Pavilion so it wasn't LARGE, and I was in the section nearest the gate, so I was about 10th in line (the guy had something like 20 burners going so I got the first batch) As soon as I got it, I called the wife and said "come get me" (I try to avoid paying Hershey's over priced parking fees, so she drops me off and picks me up on the back road) Hoping she's back from State College in time to drop me off tonight...I'd hate to pay those parking prices!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Jim, Ben, Scott, Check your PM, please. Next week could be tricky for me to post here, I'll try and check my personal E-Mail and the site when I can. Doing some craziness next week as well as work. Everything's very cool, just kind of different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Well, it wasn't me that derailed the topic this time! It may be a bit before I keep going, I'm a bit busy this week. But-- there was a resistance to change at the top of DCA. Frank Dorritie said that when you box the champ, you just can't beat him by points- you had to knock him out. Sun and Reading managed to get a block of time in which they managed to knock down the champs, the Hurcs squeezed one out in 1981, but truthfully, they were cut in the mold of Sky and the Cabs in terms of the approach to the activity and fit into the more traditional mold. Their guard was innovative for the time- which helped, but still. Show choices and format were quite traditional in nature. Several corps came close to breaking into the top 3- the Les Dips, Rochester, but things happened internally to break the momentum, and while the Brigs and the Rebs ame close with top 3 finishes, they also couldn't seal the deal. This is what we faced. It was a rather exclusive club, and really, I am of the belief certain folks- especially after the boos we got at the Grand Prix- did not want us there- I believe we were thought of as nothing more than amusing filler for the REAL corps at DCA shows, or a 'dark horse' to gin up more buzz for championships and to create the perception there were many corps capable of winning the title. I've discussed how there were efforts made in this era to have shows where certain corps- including Westshore- were given clear shots at winning a contest or two during the season to increase the publicity and excitement. I also think there was an attitude that if you played the game differently- as Sun, Reading, and Westshore began to do starting in 1979 and worked at and finally got results in 1982-- that it wasn't cricket. I think anyone from the three corps in that period would quickly tell you they could and would NOT play that game, and that their corps were NOT geared experience and talent-wise to do that style of show and arranging. What were we supposed to do? Evidently, shut up and keep losing while trying to be something we could not be had we done that. I see complaints nowadays from certain corners about this issue in DCA. The more things change the more they seem to remain the same. You can read that stuff frequently-- "Everyone has to be like MBI and the Bucs to win." The correct answer would be that everyone needs to have the QUALITY they do to win. If you can get THAT- the show formats THEN become an issue. I just get tired of seeing that kind of silliness here. 30 years later, people are still wishing everyone played shows just like Sky, the Cabs, and Empire. If they did-- then these same people would accuse those corps of being shallow copycats and have even more of an excuse to ridicule them. Just needed to get some of that off my chest beofre I end up too busy to really post anything for the coming week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaminbenb Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 I never liked the pigeon-hole that some DCA corps got themselves into...Sky with their NY centric brassy tunes, Cabs with the whole Spanish thing etc....the fact that Westshore, Reading, and Sun kept tossing in different things was always kind of cool, and reminded me of DCI corps and how they morphed year to year. I also got tired of the bias in DCA where unless you had a certain name, you weren't winning everywhere all the time! But when your judging pool is taken from those old corps, there was no chance for fairness amongst the other corps. I used to think that Reading had it a bit easier than some other corps, but after marching there, and talking to some of the older members, they had it as tough as we did...mainly because we weren't from a state that started with "New" (maybe we should have changed it to "New Pennsylvania" and confused them!) AS far as derailing the thread.... oh well.... Saw a great Dave Matthews band show at Hershey the other night! (relevant because it was in the stadium we all used to perform in) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 we even ran into that a little bit in 90, then again in 95 and 96...we weren't what DCA fans wanted, yet Bush was winning and thrilling many with shows that weren't your norm for some DCA corps...tho they had their haters too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaminbenb Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 we even ran into that a little bit in 90, then again in 95 and 96...we weren't what DCA fans wanted, yet Bush was winning and thrilling many with shows that weren't your norm for some DCA corps...tho they had their haters too Well they WERE from Thermopilis Wyoming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 Well they WERE from Thermopilis Wyoming! true. I rarely remember retreats, but 5 stick out: Reading in 90, when they announced us in first...beating many of the "names" early on.... Finals in 90....needless tosaymany corps didn't react well. I'd like to think we handled it better than some, but maybe not 100% perfect. Syracuse show in 96 for reasons I'll get to later. Barnum in 96...DM only, and we walked into Cabs land and beat the Cabs...even won DM away from Jimmy... Finals in 96 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I can't talk long- just grabbing some stuff from my apartment. Now you mention it- Judging was a factor. I don't mean dishonest judging at all. When you read how one of the reasons the Cabe didn;t come into DCA in '65 was because Mr. Costello had a serious concern the deck was going to be stacked against the Cabs, and that it took a lot of work from Vince Bruni and Dr. Sebastianelli to hammer out a deal acceptable to everyone, yeah, there were certain things going on. There weren't a lot of DCA Judges. Habits and patterns could and can be easily discerned, and well- if you wanted to choose a panel to get a given result, it would not be very difficult to pick the right combination of individuals. The judges would be just doing their job as they do it and as professionally as they did it- not trying to put a fix in, etc. The trick is to find a combinaton of people where there's enough of a loose cannon effect and people you know will call the show that happened that night, not what it was, not what it could have been when things are tight score-wise. My guess is that was part of how Sun won in 1977 by .05 and how Westshore won in '96. You had people who weren't afraid to judge as they saw fit and do their jobs in the right combination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 and funny you mention that Dub, because we heard cries of "alumni on the panel" in 96. and yes John Stauffer was on the finals panel, and he, like the other drum judges, had us by .3 on his sheet. Same spread all 3 sheets...and the other two were not alumni. funny tho, Dave Rohrer, an alumni, was on field brass, and had us 3rd on his sheet. Dave didn't help our cause, LOL, but he called it as he saw it, and voila, we win the show by .1. Now imagine if Dave had us even 2nd....then, the spread opens up if guard had counted then, as it does now...we were 2nd, Cabs 6th,,,would have opened it up more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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