Photographer Jim Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 (edited) Just home from the Nolight Classic. What can I say? Obviously a big disappointment, but it could have been worse. I did, after all, get a chance to hear some live drum corps, including Boston, so I'm trying to keep my father's philosophy in mind: It was certainly better than a sharp stick in the eye! I very much enjoyed BAC's show. Very nice, warm sound, balanced nicely. I like the way they use a lot of playing to the backfield to help modulate dynamics. I was also impressed that more than many corps the past few years, they seemed to use amplification very skillfully. At no point did I think they had over amped any portion of their show. They also play some of my favorite music, so all in all, I very much enjoyed their show. They should do well. After the announcement that the show had been cancelled, we worked our way out of the stadium with the rest of the crowd. I got a chance to stop and chat a second with a BAC staff member, and thank them for coming out West this year. She said they had a great experience, and we're thrilled that they had rain during only one practice block while here! After stopping the out of state corps trailers to pick up some corp pins for my collection, we went out into the parking lot and listened to BK, BD, and PR play their shows in standstill. All sounded great. BD was killer loud, and tight. This music was just SO much better live and up close. We were able to listen to Phantom's pit warming up alone. Just beautiful. The rest of the corps then came over and they played their entire show. Hearing them play while standing only 20 feet in front of them was an incredible treat. I love the show musically, and hearing it in that way was absurdly good. I think both BD and PR are definitely going to be corps to be reckoned with come finals. At this point I can easily see them both in the top three for sure. After Phantom played, they stuck around to just talk with people, which was a very nice thing for them to do. I thanked their DM and a few MMs for coming to Cal again this season, and wished them safe travels before I headed home. I see it looks like Liahona was able to find some of my attempts to Tweet photos. Thanks. I guess now I'm going to have to change some plans. I'll be in SoCal next weekend, so I 'll just have to rearrange my schedule so I can get to one of the shows down there. OK. Off to bed. Night all. Edited June 25, 2012 by Photographer Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajwdad Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I am a professor at Sacramento State University (the host campus for this show), and I have to say that this sort of thing happens all the time here. Hi Scott, thanks. The other very real issue is that LOT of fans got screwed. There were no refunds, no show, no scores, etc... Apologies to PR for coming so #### far, and then we fail to have a show due to a venue issue. To my knowledge, it has been decades since DCI was at Sac State. But DCI has failed the fans once again. But, I can hear it now. "Who cares? These are just West Coast fans, and Lord knows that they do not deserve any better. In fact, we should just cancel the west coast shows, and make this an east coast activity." I traveled 120 miles each way, paid for 4 tickets, and did not get to see the corps that were headlined. DCI should be ashamed of itself and should have refunded all of the gate receipts (or offered free passes to another show), like a decent sporting event. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayareafan Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I hope they don't try to have this at Sacramento State again next year. Obviously the lack of lights was the mother of all disasters. But even if the lights would have worked it is actually a terrible venue. There are train tracks right behind the stadium and there were several trains that roared by tonight. Unless the corps is at peak volume you hear the train. It really ruins the effect. But that's not all. There's also this really, really noisy elevator that they use on the back side of the stadium to take people up to the press box. It was up & down constantly it's so loud that you can hear it through most of the stadium. And they had exactly one gate open for everyone to go in and out of the stadium. The gate was wide enough for at most two people at a time. So when we all had to leave at once things were really backed up. Add to that poor restroom facilities and the lack of any signs telling you how to find the stadium when you're on campus and you have a pretty awful location for a show. I don't know why they moved it from Stockton this year. Stockton seemed to be a better stadium. Anyway, hopefully they find a better venue next year. On a more positive note, Stanfords stadium rocks!!! It's a great venue for drum corps. So those of us that went on Saturday night got a real treat. Sure do appreciate the corps that traveled out from back east. Think I'll start a thank you thread for those guys. It's a long trek and they provided great entertainment for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajwdad Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I hope they don't try to have this at Sacramento State again next year. Obviously the lack of lights was the mother of all disasters. But even if the lights would have worked it is actually a terrible venue. There are train tracks right behind the stadium and there were several trains that roared by tonight. Unless the corps is at peak volume you hear the train. It really ruins the effect. But that's not all. There's also this really, really noisy elevator that they use on the back side of the stadium to take people up to the press box. It was up & down constantly it's so loud that you can hear it through most of the stadium. And they had exactly one gate open for everyone to go in and out of the stadium. The gate was wide enough for at most two people at a time. So when we all had to leave at once things were really backed up. Add to that poor restroom facilities and the lack of any signs telling you how to find the stadium when you're on campus and you have a pretty awful location for a show. I don't know why they moved it from Stockton this year. Stockton seemed to be a better stadium. Anyway, hopefully they find a better venue next year. On a more positive note, Stanfords stadium rocks!!! It's a great venue for drum corps. So those of us that went on Saturday night got a real treat. Sure do appreciate the corps that traveled out from back east. Think I'll start a thank you thread for those guys. It's a long trek and they provided great entertainment for us. agree 100%! thanks to those corps that made the trip!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyTenor Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 (edited) I don't know why they moved it from Stockton this year. Stockton seemed to be a better stadium. Anyway, hopefully they find a better venue next year. The stadium at UoP is being demolished. No football = no need for the stadium. To be perfectly honest, there were a few problems there, too. Maintenance for the stadium had been on the back burner for quite a while. Though a great venue for drum corps, the stadium is closed. No doubt SOME, the sponsors for the show, will be evaluating Sunday night's situation and planning a much better experience for 2013. They've been sponsoring the show for years, and this is the first time they've had a problem of this magnitude. The other very real issue is that LOT of fans got screwed. There were no refunds, no show, no scores, etc... Apologies to PR for coming so #### far, and then we fail to have a show due to a venue issue. To my knowledge, it has been decades since DCI was at Sac State. But DCI has failed the fans once again. But, I can hear it now. "Who cares? These are just West Coast fans, and Lord knows that they do not deserve any better. In fact, we should just cancel the west coast shows, and make this an east coast activity." I traveled 120 miles each way, paid for 4 tickets, and did not get to see the corps that were headlined. DCI should be ashamed of itself and should have refunded all of the gate receipts (or offered free passes to another show), like a decent sporting event. Well, you can't blame it on DCI. If they'd had this problem last night, then it would have been DCI's problem because they were the sponsor. Like I said above, SOME is the sponsor of the Moonlight Classic, and this is the first big glitch I've ever heard of. The blame lies at the feet of Sac State, as Scott so eloquently described above. If you're going to be ticked off at someone, be ticked off at them. Garry in Vegas Edited June 25, 2012 by CrunchyTenor 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveThemHorns Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 What about Folsom High School as a venue for the 2013 Moonlight Classic? It's a great facility, has a very strong marching program (and lots of boosters too). I think Boston Crusaders were located there for a couple weeks in early June. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galen Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Folsom's pretty good for a high school facility. UC Davis's stadium might be another good possibility if they want to keep the "big-show" feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
year1buick Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Hi Scott, thanks. The other very real issue is that LOT of fans got screwed. There were no refunds, no show, no scores, etc... Apologies to PR for coming so #### far, and then we fail to have a show due to a venue issue. To my knowledge, it has been decades since DCI was at Sac State. But DCI has failed the fans once again. But, I can hear it now. "Who cares? These are just West Coast fans, and Lord knows that they do not deserve any better. In fact, we should just cancel the west coast shows, and make this an east coast activity." I traveled 120 miles each way, paid for 4 tickets, and did not get to see the corps that were headlined. DCI should be ashamed of itself and should have refunded all of the gate receipts (or offered free passes to another show), like a decent sporting event. Well, I know precisely jack squat about most things legal, but a quick Google search found this little nugget: 2011 California Code Business and Professions Code CHAPTER 21. TICKET SELLERS 22507. The ticket price of any event which is canceled, postponed, or rescheduled shall be fully refunded to the purchaser by the ticket seller upon request. Any local jurisdiction may require a ticket seller to provide a bond of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) to provide for any refunds that may be required by this section. (found it here) Kinda makes it seem like all you have to do is ask and you should be given a refund. Worth a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCImonkey Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Lincoln HS Stadium in Stockton is pretty large right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyTenor Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I remember going to a show in Modesto once. That was a pretty nice stadium. Clovis West has a nice one, too. Garry in Vegas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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