OldManDrumCorps Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Empire's cymbal line. I can not say enough about those ladies..not just the visual stuff, they played some quality stuff too! Jeff, I promise you made each and every one of their days by saying that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) A bunch of memories. I'll share some of them, in no particular order, and my apologies if this is long: 1) Dinner with Tom Peashey on Thursday, and then hanging out with Steve Anderman at Jay's Diner. Two great people, and it was a wonderful way for me to start my weekend. We shared some drum corps war stories from back in the day, and Steve and I talked about some "announcer moments." You have to be an announcer to "get" those. LOL. 2) Star United at mini-corps. In the "you-gotta-be-kidding-me good" category. And the Ghost Riders... terrific, again. 3) Shenandoah Sound. Best I've ever seen them. They are really building a solid program there. And heck... they'll be, for all intents and purposes, the hometown corps in Annapolis next year. 4) Long Island Sunrisers. My old team is back! And they are making every effort to become a community-based organization, and to give some young people from some tough streets a chance to succeed. A throwback there to the "old days" of drum corps. 5) The Govenaires. The masters of small-corps programming, and up there with the Empire Statesmen in terms of consistently putting an entertaining product on the field... a product that anyone, even if they've never seen a drum corps before, can easily "get" and enjoy. Those types of shows sell more tickets, folks. 6) Watching the last half of Prelims as a fan in the stands. Met some very nice people, including a woman whose daughter was in her first year with the Empire Statesmen. She was thrilled with many of the corps' performances. 7) The amazing in-season strides made by the Caballeros, Bushwackers and Kilties. All three were solid at the championships. 8) Speaking of the Caballeros, I noticed that DM Glenn Stevens very quietly placed a white baseball cap on the podium before the corps' Finals performance. A significant, appropriate, emotional gesture. Someone from the Cabs can come on here and explain it better than I can. 9) The Empire Statesmen, who once again brought the house down. And no, not because they were in their hometown. Their shows get the fans on their feet everywhere, every time, every year. Not many corps can claim that distinction. With the Statesmen, it's all about putting on a show. Bravo to them. 10) The Buccaneers-Minnesota Brass throwdown. An epic battle between two corps at the top of their games. Bucs were great, as usual, with a wonderful show concept; Brass had one of the most unique "breath of fresh air" shows I've ever seen on any level of drum corps. A corps with a style all its own. Both corps... two class acts, all the way. 11) The stadium staff. They were absolutely wonderful to work with. 12) The stadium food. Outstanding. My "stadium tour" included a Red Osier roast beef sandwich and pulled pork sandwich, along with an Abbott's milkshake, on Saturday... and a double cheeseburger at the Bill Gray's stand on Sunday. I'll be walking a few extra miles this week to work that all off, but it was worth it. LOL. 13) The alumni show on Sunday. That has become the "pure fun" part of the weekend. Honestly, if you don't enjoy a show like that, you might not have a pulse. Edited September 7, 2011 by Fran Haring 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Jeff, I promise you made each and every one of their days by saying that. hey just being honest! plate lines get way too overlooked, and I know in the past it was struggle to fill a decent line up there, let alone one as good as those ladies were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genesee Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 As a partisan viewer of the webcast, I was thrilled to see that the the Renegades recaptured their groove, the Kilties in finals was a gas, and the Empire Statesmen cymbal line was/were awesome... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegalEagle50 Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Lots of things come to mind but swimming through Jersey on public transportation isn't going to make it easy to list them all. I'll keep it simple and list one for each day. Friday: Star United's performance. IMO it topped Sin City. Don't get me wrong. I thought Sin City was amazingly fun, quite cool and would enjoy seeing a production like that again. But Star, as a competing unit, plays with such absolute beauty to the edge of perfection. (Both groups beat Dinosaur BBQ into a distant 3rd.) Saturday: Watching history. Sunrisers returned to the field, Windsor Regiment came out in their 1st year and made Class A finals, Tampa Bay Thunder did the same in Open. MBI brought their A game and ended Bucs winning streak. Sunday: Not just watching MBI win but sticking around in the rain to watch them sing their corps song on the field. I teared up watching it. I will never know what winning it all will feel like. I've watched close friends have that honor and shared in their joy. It was very cool to watch them from the stands get to enjoy their moment for the very first time. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeptic Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 DCA Prelims stream A new Open Class Champion TBT making finals Kilties making finals 1 state sweeping the weekend 100.00 DCP live commentary No rain until retreat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 One memory I forgot to add: Bob Glovna's retirement performance with Park City Pride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdewine Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Wow ! Amazing weekend. In no particular order... Being on the field to DM Mighty St. Joes, instead of on the podium. Helping to conduct the Bugles Across America presentation. Seeing kiltiekemo after 37 yrs. (We served together in the Marine D&B Corps) Being invited, along with my wife, to march with the Hurricanes Honor Guard for the weekend. Thanks Rich. Seeing my good friend Gary and his Empire Statesmen Honor Guard win the Harvey Olderman trophy. Well deserved. Watching Ghost Riders mini-corps performance. I thought they had it all sewn up, until.... Star United was simply incredible. Hurricanes drum line...superb in both prelims and finals. And Hurricanes Guard...girls, I would have had you in first by a landslide. Seeing tons of drum corps friends from years past...Roland G., Mark K, Scott M., Don K., Joey P., too many to mention. GREAT WEEKEND!!! Congrats to Minnesota Brass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Getting to choose my seats for next year and walk away with tickets in hand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraber Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 White Baseball cap on the podium (Cabs) - I am not positive, but I would bet my bottom dollar that the cap was in Jim Costello's honor. Jim (Cos) always wore a golf shirt and a white baseball cap during our performances. For a definitive answer - I hope that someone from the Cabs Competing Corps will answer. The way this year's corps improved from Wildwood to Rochester, I can't help feeling that Cos wasn't involved in some way. He always found a way to bring the best out of us. Jim - they did you proud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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