Indianapolis Attendance

[wildcat fan for life]

DCI needs to have seat selectors on the ticketmaster website :)

I called Ticketmaster and requested seats in the upper level for the Louisville show..she told me they were sold out...which I didn't believe. I bought less than desirable seats and found out the day of the show another corps mom bought her tickets at the window the day of the show and had much better seats than I did.

[Tito John]

Why go to the World Series if you've seen both teams in cross-league play earlier, or any major sports event where both teams had met before?

People go for the competition - period.

I sorta have to ask here -- what late-season competition? Unless I messed up my cut and paste comparison, the only difference in the combined placements after Allentown and the final standings after Indy was in second and third place. That's out of all 23 corps. There weren't any changes in position all three nights of Indy. So to put it sarcastically, all the corps could have gone home after Allentown and the only ones unhappy would have been the Cavvies.

After a few early competitions, the concrete begins to dry pretty quickly.

nobody can predict the champion three to five weeks in advance, nor during the final championship game itself, and that is what makes the MLB, NFL, NHL, championships so exciting

The problem comes in when there is a big disconnect in between the judging community and the audience, or when the perceived predetermined slotting that you refer to comes into the picture.

Edited August 31, 2010 by Tito John

[byline]

I called Ticketmaster and requested seats in the upper level for the Louisville show..she told me they were sold out...which I didn't believe. I bought less than desirable seats and found out the day of the show another corps mom bought her tickets at the window the day of the show and had much better seats than I did.

That also has been my experience. I buy "best seat" tickets in advance, and then my friends buy tickets the day of the show, and their seats are way better than mine.

[Michael Boo]

I sorta have to ask here -- what late-season competition?...

When I wrote "late-season competition," I was referring to competition(s) as a synonym for shows, not the competitive placements between corps.

[Stu]

When I wrote "late-season competition," I was referring to competition(s) as a synonym for shows, not the competitive placements between corps.

I have a big question for Michael or anyone else for that matter: If a group of highly skilled musical groups appear in competition type shows all around the nation, and the shows themselves only change in a very subtle manner throughout the season as well as the order of the competition results are pretty much set early in the year, and I live in say Louisiana, then what real incentive would I have fly to Indy, spend bucket loads of my hard earned money, just a few weeks after spending bucket loads of my hard earned money in San Antonio, just to see the same musical performances and same general placements?

Edited September 3, 2010 by Stu

[dustyboo]

I have a big question for Michael or anyone else for that matter: If a group of highly skilled musical groups appear in competition type shows all around the nation, and the shows themselves only change in a very subtle manner throughout the season as well as the order of the competition results are pretty much set early in the year, and I live in say Louisiana, then what real incentive would I have fly to Indy, spend bucket loads of my hard earned money, just a few weeks after spending bucket loads of my hard earned money in San Antonio, just to see the same musical performances and same general placements?

Because it's all about the kids, don't forget the kids!!!

[glory]

I have a big question for Michael or anyone else for that matter: If a group of highly skilled musical groups appear in competition type shows all around the nation, and the shows themselves only change in a very subtle manner throughout the season as well as the order of the competition results are pretty much set early in the year, and I live in say Louisiana, then what real incentive would I have fly to Indy, spend bucket loads of my hard earned money, just a few weeks after spending bucket loads of my hard earned money in San Antonio, just to see the same musical performances and same general placements?

I'll answer.

While the shows might only change in tiny degrees, the performances change in somewhat larger and noticeable increments. I can attest that even from Allentown to Indy, I saw vast improvement in technique, musicianship and other performance elements. In less than a week, something better was presented, something worth paying more for.

I'll leave it to you to decide what value you want for your money. That's not for me to decide. As for me, there was a huge difference between what I saw in late June, late July and then early August. Each was worth every penny paid. Moreover, the shows are so complex, I appreciate the opporutunity to see them multilple times so that I can notice new and interesting aspects. I love attending all three nights at championships just for that reason.

HH

[Stu]

I'll answer.

While the shows might only change in tiny degrees, the performances change in somewhat larger and noticeable increments. I can attest that even from Allentown to Indy, I saw vast improvement in technique, musicianship and other performance elements. In less than a week, something better was presented, something worth paying more for.

I'll leave it to you to decide what value you want for your money. That's not for me to decide. As for me, there was a huge difference between what I saw in late June, late July and then early August. Each was worth every penny paid. Moreover, the shows are so complex, I appreciate the opporutunity to see them multilple times so that I can notice new and interesting aspects. I love attending all three nights at championships just for that reason.

HH

a) You, as an astute DCI Fanatic, one who is willing to spend money seeing pretty much the same thing over and over, might be able to see and hear the "subtle" improvements from San Antonio, to Allentown, to Indy. But this observation certainly does not apply to the non musician; the non DCI fanatic; the average Joe buying a ticket who really cannot tell that the Crown horn angles are slightly better in Indy than Allentown, or the Regiment snare line has cleaned up their left hand on the cheese ta chuda passage in the drum break, or that the Cavaliers guard has added a triple after their turn around, and it is clean! Those subtleties which improve over a week or two escape the overwhelming majority of the average fans. So, to most people, I would venture to say that transportation to two cities, motel in two cities, tickets to two shows (in your case more than five), food while away from home, et al are not really worth the huge expense when they themselves may or may not be able to pick up those subtle improvements.

b) Your reasoning to follow groups to different cities because they get better each week would also have apply to other touring models which travel from city to city; groups like Blue Man or Stomp. Those shows also morph and get better as the tour progresses. So, realistically, how many people do you think see a Blue Man show in Dallas, then fly to a show of theirs in Boston, then drive to Denver to catch their last, and best, show of the tour? I am sure that some might do that, but the Blue Man, and DCI venues for that matter, are not "packed" with those types of groupies who follow them around the country, I assure you of that fact.

Edited September 3, 2010 by Stu

[glory]

a) You, as an astute DCI Fanatic, one who is willing to spend money seeing pretty much the same thing over and over, might be able to see and hear the "subtle" improvements from San Antonio, to Allentown, to Indy. But this observation certainly does not apply to the non musician; the non DCI fanatic; the average Joe buying a ticket...

I'll accept fanatic but not astute!

As for the who is and should buy tickets, I don't think Average Joe and the other non-musicians and less-than-fanatics are coming more than once. Why would they? I doubt they ever did absent a specific family/community connection to the corps and shows.

That's another mistaken interpretation of what's happened to drum corps over the decades. The crowds were drawn in the 60s and 70s primarily from communities invested in the activity. They came becuase they had personal connections to the corps and the shows. Those same communities stopped investing in these activities as their constituents moved to the leafier suburbs in the 70s. So the drum corps community narrowed through the 80s to now resulting in fewer corps and fewer shows and ultimately fewer people in the stands in aggregate.

The parents and the girlfriends and the fanatics attend multiple shows. They always did. The rest of the audience comes when it's convenient, much as they always have.

HH

[Stu]

I'll accept fanatic but not astute!

As for the who is and should buy tickets, I don't think Average Joe and the other non-musicians and less-than-fanatics are coming more than once. Why would they? I doubt they ever did absent a specific family/community connection to the corps and shows.

That's another mistaken interpretation of what's happened to drum corps over the decades. The crowds were drawn in the 60s and 70s primarily from communities invested in the activity. They came becuase they had personal connections to the corps and the shows. Those same communities stopped investing in these activities as their constituents moved to the leafier suburbs in the 70s. So the drum corps community narrowed through the 80s to now resulting in fewer corps and fewer shows and ultimately fewer people in the stands in aggregate.

The parents and the girlfriends and the fanatics attend multiple shows. They always did. The rest of the audience comes when it's convenient, much as they always have.

HH

Your observation is very interesting and rather logical which leads to this: I wonder if the drop in DCI audience attendance over the years is in direct proportion to the drop in number of participating corps; and I also wonder if the knowledge of the current DCI audience member has increased in proportion with the increase in quality of the remaining corps'? For example, there are more average Beers out there than fine liquors, and therefore there are more average Beer drinkers than fine liquor coinsures. DCI has moved the quality up the ladder to Major League status, which increased quality but decreased numbers of participating corps; so is it just a matter of the audience also following that same numbers path?