JimF-LowBari Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Nobody's judging this performance, it's no more than a 15-20 minute trip down memory lane for the vast majority of the paying audience. Or something different for anyone under... (won't say the number).... Wow.... some of these posts are just insulting to DCI fans IMO. Make it sound like "If it's different from todays DC, people won't like it or will hate it". Just makes the fans look very closed minded. PS - if anyone judges an Alumni-type corps with competative corps standards they are really missing the point (and missing out also). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navillus WP Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 I don't know why all these people stayed around and are standing and clapping? I guess the couple of empty seats are youse guys going for Hot Dogs! Save some room for this year.... This is the same reaction the Bridgemen received at the Plymouth Reunion Concert last weekend. To answer the original question, I think we need to ask Who is the audience for whom an exhibition corps is entertaining: the avante garde DCI enthusiasts who place no entertainment value on alumni/senior corps rehashing old tunes, or for the popcorn-eaters in the stands who are apparently digging the laid-back stroll down memory lane? I don't believe this crowd expects any alumni corps to perform lat the same level as they did at the height of their corps history, but to enjoy hearing them perform their classic songs., I don't expect Neil Diamond, Jimmy Buffett or James Taylor to perform as they did in their heyday, but I enjoy hearing them perform their old stand-by's. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrlandoContraAlum Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 I don't know why all these people stayed around and are standing and clapping? I guess the couple of empty seats are youse guys going for Hot Dogs! Save some room for this year.... I was going to jump back in here with a bunch of witty repartee, but I think that this picture does an eloquent job of defending what we do and why we do it. Some posters here seem to think that there are only one or two "alumni" corps out there. There are many, many more. Just last weekend, the folks in Plymouth, Mass were treated to an entire lineup of Alumni corps. Not a DCA/DCI group in the bunch. There are many, many more. Daniel, you may not understand the Alumni corps idea, which is fine. I don't understand how some people don't realize that, for a pretty decent number of folks, the opportunity to perform for an enthusiastic crowd is all we want out of a hobby. I also think that people get perennial Alumni corps conflated with these one-and-done groups that perform at DCI. It's not the same goal, not the same target audience, just not the same. Jerseyboy has stated a couple times that the Bridgemen should just go the DCA route if they want to compete. Here's news: Not everyone wants to compete. I know we don't There are plenty of all-age options in the Northeast for those who wish to compete. Folks that march with the Bridgemen do it because we want to be Bridgemen. I don't need an armchair internet drum major to tell me how the product we put on the field will never match that of the corps heyday. Um, duh? That's not why we do what we do. We are not and will never be as good as the corps was back in the day, and you know what? That's just fine with us. And it seems to be just fine with the thousands of folks who stand and cheer for us EVERY year (and not just at Allentown!) Bottom line... if you don't like what we have to offer, then by all means, please make us your "hot dog" corps at Allentown. But if you are one of the many, many more who seem to dig our gig, well, we will see you on a field this year, with what may be one of the best shows that we have attempted since returning to the field. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrlandoContraAlum Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Reluctantly agree with the naysayers here. The difference between the Bridgemen and Star Alumni corps: Bridgemen Alumni seem to focus on bringing back the style/panache of their former corps whereas the Star Alumni brought back the substance. Much rather see them arc'd up / wearing t-shirts and hear a better sounding ensemble than to see them in their former uniforms but sounding really bad. Fair enough, but as a member, I would much rather put on the coat and march a full show. As far as sounding really bad... not sure where you are hearing that. We think we sound ok! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 (edited) +1 to the long response to BobH as that's the feeling I get too from my corps. And we're one of the groups that doesn't do a field show (or that well known either). As long as there are people out there who enjoy it, what's the problem? DCA is different from DCI is different from Alumni-type is different from Mini Corps is different from..... Edited November 28, 2011 by JimF-LowBari 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegalEagle50 Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Ok, I know my response is going to be unpopular with some folks…but it is what it is, MY opinion. I don’t think the Bridgemen program would fly with the finals weekend crowd. There are aspects to the show that are extremely unbalanced. Their guard is almost non-existent to the size of the hornline and drumline. It doesn’t make for good field coverage, nor visual program/GE. Let’s admit it, the DCI finals weekend crowd is drum corps knowledgable. They know that even in the time frame the corps came from, 7 guard members (they had 7 on the floor in Plymouth ~ not sure what is the # for this season) won’t cut it in a presentation of their field show. Say what you will about Cab’s Alumni being a re-hash of the same old ~ same old. BUT their guard/GE package and visual program have shown huge improvements over the last 5 years, while Bridgemen’s has shrunk and regressed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdon15 Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Ok, I know my response is going to be unpopular with some folks…but it is what it is, MY opinion. I don’t think the Bridgemen program would fly with the finals weekend crowd. There are aspects to the show that are extremely unbalanced. Their guard is almost non-existent to the size of the hornline and drumline. It doesn’t make for good field coverage, nor visual program/GE. Let’s admit it, the DCI finals weekend crowd is drum corps knowledgable. They know that even in the time frame the corps came from, 7 guard members (they had 7 on the floor in Plymouth ~ not sure what is the # for this season) won’t cut it in a presentation of their field show. Say what you will about Cab’s Alumni being a re-hash of the same old ~ same old. BUT their guard/GE package and visual program have shown huge improvements over the last 5 years, while Bridgemen’s has shrunk and regressed. I have to agree with Liz. As a member of the '07 corps, it was great playing the old tunes and musically we did a decent job, visually the show was a mess. Some of the design choices seriously warranted a "What were they thinking?" possibly even a WTF or two. I bought the dvd from the DCA weekend show which is the end of the season and corps are at their cleanest. I watched it with my sister who covered her eyes during much of it saying she couldn't look at it. Part of me wanted to pop her upside the head for being so brutally honest, yet I could not objectively disagree because it was painful to watch. The guard was awful in every aspect. Musical: 7/10 Visual: 1.5/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegalEagle50 Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 YAY for being awful!!! Look, seriously, I know there are going to be some people who don't like what I said, especially since I marched there. But when have I ever not said what I think in the effort to make people happy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsband Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 (edited) Fair enough, but as a member, I would much rather put on the coat and march a full show. As far as sounding really bad... not sure where you are hearing that. We think we sound ok! I've only seen the corps at East. It was hit and miss enough to make me cringe sometimes. I have a feeling that the visual is what's biting into the music. How would you (the corps) sound if you (mostly) put aside the visual and just focused on sounding like the Bmen of old? I dunno -- it was far enough from what I remember that it was sometimes uncomfortable instead of warm and fuzzy. Of course it could be my aging brain cells misremembering what I heard way back when :-) Edited November 28, 2011 by corpsband Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njriflegirl Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Let’s admit it, the DCI finals weekend crowd is drum corps knowledgable. They know that even in the time frame the corps came from, 7 guard members (they had 7 on the floor in Plymouth ~ not sure what is the # for this season) won’t cut it in a presentation of their field show. Say what you will about Cab’s Alumni being a re-hash of the same old ~ same old. BUT their guard/GE package and visual program have shown huge improvements over the last 5 years, while Bridgemen’s has shrunk and regressed. Really??? Considering how "knowledgeable" you are, I would think that you would realize the timing of the Plymouth show is detrimental to the numbers any corps brings to the stage. Alumni Corps, for the most part, finish their season in September, and don't start a new one until November or later. So, we have a changing of the "guard" so to speak. I don't think this will be an indication of what we present in a field show, but if it is, we will do our best to make it entertaining! Lucky for us, we are an Alumni Corps and we are NOT being judged... Yes, the Cab's Alumni guard has shown improvement over the last several years, as have almost ALL alumni corps guards. While the music may be from "back in the day" the level of difficulty and style of work being done is more in tune with what guards are doing today -- only scaled down -- so us old folks don't hurt ourselves too much trying to do it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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