Phirebird Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 I will NOT sit outside the 30 yard lines as this area tends to be populated with high school band kids who most have no interest in watching and appreciating what they are there for in the first place. Now it is worse than ever with cellphones and it feels like I'm back at recess and I am too old for that S#*t. While I agree and disagree with several of your statements, this one particularly got at me. As a band director who is often there with those high school kids you talk about, I have to speak against this. Their generation is different from mine, yours, and every one before them. They may be on their phones, they may not be the fan you want them to be, but to suggest that they are uninterested or unappreciative is BS. For all you know they might be using their phones to post to facebook or twitter about how awesome a corps is. I make sure to tell my band kids how it is not a typical concert, people talk and comment and have food, but that they should keep comments quiet (especially if it's ill about a corps. never know who's mom/dad is in ear-shot) and if they see something they like to cheer and clap. They don't always follow the advice, but they were never forced to be there. They went because I show DC videos and they WANT to be there. After the night is over the kids are always pumped and loved what they saw, especially the first timers. I understand COMPLETELY that they can be a bit much. I make sure to attend at least one show with just me and the spouse and maybe some close friends in good seats. And I completely understand if you don't wish to sit next to them. But they are the future of this activity and it would be good to remember that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagep Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 This is most definitely true. After being trained to notice the nitty gritty stuff that separates the top corps from the lower corps, it becomes harder to get enjoyment out of the lower levels. I was the same way at my first shows, watching every show, enjoying most of them (and the ones i didnt werent due to lack of 'impressiveness' but just because i didnt like the material. This probably happens for long-time fans too who learn the same things over time, but id imagine it happens faster for those who have marched. Thats the sad thing. That we have to be trained to look for certain things. We make up criteria to use as a guidline to place judgement. The type of criteria that we would never notice if we weren't educated as to what that criteria is. to me, this totally takes the enjoyment factor out of anything. A long long time ago, I was trained to inspect resturaunts. It now drives me crazy as I find myself mentally evaluating every resturaunt that I go into, instead of just enjoying the food or the company that I am with. I'm looking at the stained ceiling tiles, I'm making a mental note of the fact that the bathroom is not handicapped accesable, I'm noticing that the legs of the pie cooler arn't the required minimum 6" in lenth. The "I'm going to show of my knowledge of this topic by nitpicking" type of thinking really can make a lot of activities less enjoyable. Along the same line, when I have invited people to performance events, I have on occasion notice them particularly looking for our "person" on stage or on the field. Sometimes they are asking "which one is he"? this totally irritates me, I didn't come just to watch my person, I came to watch the performance that my person is in. Trying to focus on one person eleminates the possibility of simply enjoying the show. There's really no excitement in trying to track someone on a football field, it can become one of those tasks that leads to obsessive dreams at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstar82 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 (edited) While I agree and disagree with several of your statements, this one particularly got at me. As a band director who is often there with those high school kids you talk about, I have to speak against this. Their generation is different from mine, yours, and every one before them. They may be on their phones, they may not be the fan you want them to be, but to suggest that they are uninterested or unappreciative is BS. For all you know they might be using their phones to post to facebook or twitter about how awesome a corps is. I make sure to tell my band kids how it is not a typical concert, people talk and comment and have food, but that they should keep comments quiet (especially if it's ill about a corps. never know who's mom/dad is in ear-shot) and if they see something they like to cheer and clap. They don't always follow the advice, but they were never forced to be there. They went because I show DC videos and they WANT to be there. After the night is over the kids are always pumped and loved what they saw, especially the first timers. I understand COMPLETELY that they can be a bit much. I make sure to attend at least one show with just me and the spouse and maybe some close friends in good seats. And I completely understand if you don't wish to sit next to them. But they are the future of this activity and it would be good to remember that. Well I have seen and heard many students on their phones and the last thing they were talking about was the show. Everything from, "My boyfriend this or my boyfriend that" or "OMG". So no, the ones posting on facebook or twitter I doubt would be talking into their phones and having the speaker on to boot. Your kids may be different and I commend you for that. But I have been to too many shows the past 30 years to know where not to sit if I want to enjoy a balled w/o distractions and everyday high school conversations and gossip.. Edited June 23, 2011 by bstar82 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Took my niece (college freshman) to the show this past Sunday. She spent the entire second half of the show on her smartphone. I figured "great, I pay umpteen dollars for her to Facebook all night." Turns out she was messaging a buddy one section over, and they were keeping up a running commentary on the show to each other. Sometimes I think we sell the human capacity to multitask short. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOOHOO Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I think there are such a small percentage of high school band kids who are interested enough in drum corps to put aside their kidness for the length of a show, much less march drum corps, it shouldn't be shocking that they behave like that. How many people on average march drum corps from particular high school? Not many, I suspect. I don't think it is fair to look at the behavior of a high school band at a show and say, "This is the future of the activity? Bah Humbug!!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstar82 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I think there are such a small percentage of high school band kids who are interested enough in drum corps to put aside their kidness for the length of a show, much less march drum corps, it shouldn't be shocking that they behave like that. How many people on average march drum corps from particular high school? Not many, I suspect. I don't think it is fair to look at the behavior of a high school band at a show and say, "This is the future of the activity? Bah Humbug!!!" And I was wrong to say most don't want to be there and that isn't the case. But all it takes is a few kids out of 100 to ruin the show gabbing the night away so fans within a 15 ft radius can every bit of their conversation. And during the shows. Not at INT or in between corps, I could care less then. But when you hear, "hey guess where I'm at? what are you up to tonight? Btw, so and so are doing this and that and yadda yadda yadda", that is my reasoning for not wanting to put myself in that area. I didn't go there for that. I doubt very many people did. But to be fair, some adults for that matter can be just as disruptive. See my original post, A self professed drum corps snob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrillmanSop06 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I actually realized this the other day. I'm a drum corps snob in that if you didn't march, you really only have a cursory understanding of the activity. Obviously, individuals who have been around drum corps as volunteers and such get a pass. But the average fan? Stick to the SHOWS and PERFORMANCES. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phirebird Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 And I was wrong to say most don't want to be there and that isn't the case. But all it takes is a few kids out of 100 to ruin the show gabbing the night away so fans within a 15 ft radius can every bit of their conversation. And during the shows. Not at INT or in between corps, I could care less then. But when you hear, "hey guess where I'm at? what are you up to tonight? Btw, so and so are doing this and that and yadda yadda yadda", that is my reasoning for not wanting to put myself in that area. I didn't go there for that. I doubt very many people did. But to be fair, some adults for that matter can be just as disruptive. See my original post, A self professed drum corps snob This sounds much more reasonable then originally posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrillmanSop06 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Green "likes" if all you can watch at ANY sort of marching event are feet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrillmanSop06 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Well I have seen and heard many students on their phones and the last thing they were talking about was the show. Everything from, "My boyfriend this or my boyfriend that" or "OMG". So no, the ones posting on facebook or twitter I doubt would be talking into their phones and having the speaker on to boot. Your kids may be different and I commend you for that. But I have been to too many shows the past 30 years to know where not to sit if I want to enjoy a balled w/o distractions and everyday high school conversations and gossip.. And that is why (I hope) you aren't a teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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