Audience types at Mini Corps competition

[LegalEagle50]

Liz...

I get the feeling that no one really gives a rats azz about what is going on, on stage.....you know why?

Because the beer is more important!!!!

And there goes that theory.....

I give up...I'm done with this.......I guess I will just forget about performing any longer , and be rude to my former comrades who are vieing for a championship, and join the rest of the drunken slobs who don't give a crap about what is going on on stage....being drunk is the most important thing.

Hey...this IS DCA after all!!!!

heh...

I tried to respond once and my eons old computer decided to be stupid and freeze up. Let's see if I can recreate what I tried to say the first time.

First off, you aren't done. What you did this year was incredible. This year I had the priviledge from seeing it from a much bigger inside glance at what it takes to get a mini-corps of the field. I saw it from Day 1 (which you managed to ruin my re-retirement from drum corps during but I love you anyways) to the End Result. I know how hard this year was and that it was never an "easy ride" or an expected result, at any given time.

The one thing I got from Day 2 (because I got over Day 1 really fast ) was that it was always something that wasn't being done half ###ed. If it was done half ###ed, then I'd expect the audience to give you back exactly what you gave. Fair's fair after all right?

Why is it that suddenly DCA weekend has become all about the party with a few trophys thrown in? Did I miss something in the last 20 years that hard work doesn't balance out to much other than being background noise for a bunch of reunion conversations and some pitchers being passed around?

I love the minicorps competition because it is a competition. People try to out do each other. If it is really supposed to be a few jazz bands in the background to a party, please let THEM know. So they can plan accordingly.

edits done for misspellings and other mishaps because I should have been asleep an hour ago

Edited September 15, 2010 by LegalEagle50

[nngs9]

Hey buddy.....

....isn't there a block party going on OUTSIDE?

Peoploe come INSIDE to see the Mini Corps....

More than half of the chairs that are set up in the hall go unused, becasue everyone is "socializing" (ahem....drinking....) in the back and making the racket!!!

Lets not forget that it poured that night, witch brought everyone inside. I have a feeling that had alot to do w/the record attendance for the mini-corps competition. People always congregate near wherever the bar is. I once played a party in that very facility where the bar was clear across the room(40yards or so), 'till they were good and drunk, they stayed by the bar. I'm not taking sides here, i feel for the people that are there to watch the show and are distracted by the noise from the back of the room but i don't remember this issue arising last year.

Edited September 15, 2010 by nngs9

[nngs9]

Why doesn't someone start a poll and lets make sure, whatever changes, if any, are made to mini-corps, that they are the result of a true majority and not just Jeff Ream.

If you want a poll started, start one already.

[JimF-LowBari]

Good points, Jim.

It's not like people are intentionally trying to disrupt the corps on stage and the fans watching the performances.... but the collective conversations do add up. I noticed it in 2009 at the mini-corps show. Wasn't there this year, so I can't comment on what did or didn't happen.

Feeling I get is since there is a big open space on the food and drink side people think there isn't a problem if they have their conversations there. And it does look a long way from the stage. Of course if you are <turn on Cartman voice> "over thar" you can't tell that people can hear you over "here-a" <Cartman again>.

As for the people talking at the back wall I just dont' have a clue except they see someone they haven't talked to in years and just plain forget a corps is playing. Been there and did it myself...

Edited September 15, 2010 by JimF-LowBari

[strutta]

As a competitor in the mini corps championships since 1998, I'll throw in my perspective:

1) Though no admission is charged to spectators, the event is not free. Mini corps PAY DCA to compete (plus all of the other expenses to get there).

2) When the venues were more intimate (on the street, in the parking lot, etc.) the crowd was a much more integral part of the event as corps fed off the crowd and vice versa, to a much greater degree.

3) Since this has become a much more serious undertaking as indicated by the remarkable improvement in performance venues (Lackawanna Stadium, Rochester Convention Center) the mini corps have become more of a spectacle and less involved in the crowd give and take than in prior years. Overall, I suppose this is a good thing but I miss the electricity we used to get from screaming a tune to an audience 3-5 feet away from you and having them go ####### while you do it.

4) I never even notice the crowd noise when performing on stage as I'm pretty sure my entire corps doesn't. We are too focused on trying to get maximum noise out of the front of the audience (applause, babies, etc.) to be distracted by noise in the back or on the side. (I do agree when I've been in the audience it does suck to try and hear soft passages from a corps when one is in certain parts of the venue.)

5) Dick Pronti and the entire DCA team do an outstanding job of making the mini corps event the best it can be and EVERY corps is grateful for their efforts and certainly understand that there are limits to what they can do to accommodate every viewpoint.

So...should there be changes to way things are set up and executed at this event?

As a performer, I'm cool with the way things are. They are all going to change in Maryland anyway. (Note to Pronti, et al, if you can get a set up like the OnCenter in Syracuse in 2000, great performance room, bar down the other end of the hall, that would be ideal IMHO).

As a fan, I can vote with my feet by:

getting a good front and center seat early;

moving to where I can hear better;

speaking up if I want someone to quiet down or

walking out of the venue.

All in all, there is still a ton more positives to this than negatives as I see it.

Thank you for reading.

Edited September 16, 2010 by strutta

[Mike_B]

Well said Strutta.

I sat quietly through the performances, enjoying all the great mini-corps and had some beers. Perfect. I didn't bother anybody.

Edited September 16, 2010 by Mike_B

[camel lips]

Im not sure if this is really important or not,,

When the stage was turned the other way,,towards the end of the hall,, the party and gathering was MUCH further back and not as big of a distraction to the performing members. So far back it was almost a hike getting a beer and getting back to your seat. Cool thing about that was you could party and carry on and when a really cool mini corps came on you could rush back to your seat to hear it,,or you could just keep on chatting and drinking.

I am going to hate to see the mini corps venue change for 2012. Rochester has been the utopia for the mini corps festival. Anyone that had to march backwards up a ski hill in 2004 and 2005 can attest to that.