gak27 Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 But what does he know about drum corps? Also, laughed my a** off at 4:05. Well, they WERE playing "Firebird"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Are we, as humans, to the point where we must have every second of our lives structured by someone else? Are we so engrossed with instant gratification that we are completely board with a few minuets of down time? Does reflection of what we just saw/heard, and verbal engagement with other humans, bother us that much? Is walking around, purchasing a souvie, grabbing a soda, going to the restroom, for a ten min period in between shows such a terrible thing? Is being alone in our own thoughts that frightening? Good ole' Stu, I didn't even need to read but the first few words of your post. You make me laugh - or I need a third scotch. I agree. We drum corps fans have trained our bladders to get out, get done, and get back in the breaks between corps (well, maybe just the guys) - but only if we REALLY have to go and can't wait for intermission. Does the "No Entry, No Exit" rule apply to between-show? If so, there's going to be a lot of wet seats to clean up. Especially in this 32oz society we live in. What does bother me is scatter-walking to the first set. I'm of the belief that the moment the corps takes the field, the show starts. Most dis-heartening for me is seeing my beloved Cadets march on in block and then down the 50 that looks SO COOL!), only to dissolve into another 5 minutes of setup time and sound checks. They're obviously allowed to "pre-show"; why not do something that engages the audience even as the stragglers are running back in and zipping up (in that order)? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Are we, as humans, to the point where we must have every second of our lives structured by someone else? Are we so engrossed with instant gratification that we are completely board with a few minuets of down time? Does reflection of what we just saw/heard, and verbal engagement with other humans, bother us that much? Is walking around, purchasing a souvie, grabbing a soda, going to the restroom, for a ten min period in between shows such a terrible thing? Is being alone in our own thoughts that frightening? <---insert Boo here) Fixed that for ya'. I'm chuckling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 When the audience is being asked to pay the high prices to attend a drum corps show that we are, hell yes I want it structured. I don't think it's unfair to expect, and for show sponsors to provide, a better entertainment-to-dollar ratio. I want DCI and the show sponsors to make the experience more engaging. You want to sit around and play phone games, great. Do that when INT is on. Ya' know, Kamaraq, I am a show sponsor and I'd love to hear your ideas on how to make the show more entertaining. PM me or post some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Pro sports have gotten a lot better at doing what drumlaw's talking about than they did 40 years ago. Between innings, half-time, between periods, they're trying to engage fans in the stadium, and most people like it. Drum corps still does it like it was done 40 years ago. There is some between-corps entertainment championship week and at some regionals, but there's room for improvement. The DCI Hall of Fame presentation is not exactly entertainment to most drum corps newbies. Like everything else when it comes to entertainment, YMMV. Not everybody will enjoy screaming electronic multimedia as loud as the performances. Some like Stu would always long for the way it was always done before. But is future growth in DCI with Stu's approach to INT or drumlaw's? I'd say it was with drumlaw's. OTOH the masters of entertainment, Cirque du Soleil, have a modest pre-show at many productions, but they still consistently have an old-fashioned (and quiet, and visually dead) intermission. That's partly because they want people to go out and buy stuff. It's also because they want the show to speak for itself without dilution of the message. Yea, but ANYTHING is more exciting than breaks in pro sports. What does drum corps have, clowns? Local bands (really)? A baseball team doing an exhibition? It's not fair to compare sports breaks to drum corps breaks. You'd have to do something that was less exciting than going to pee. What's that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Good thread but one thing I always found helpful between shows was to stand up, get some blood back in my butt, and talk to my neighbors. But who really talks anymore with blogs and texting. This is a great advantage of belonging to the Friends group. We see the same people every year. We yak between shows. It's a fraternity. Everyone should consider joining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 But what does he know about drum corps? Also, laughed my a** off at 4:05. On topic: Empire Statesmen did something like option B at their home show last year. Had local brass bands an mini corps play between each of the "big boys". I can't speak for the whole crowd, especially as I was not in the stands, but from what I heard it seemed like people really liked it. Ohhh!!!! So funny! I've been chuckling for 2 minutes. You can turn the stripes on a zebra sideways, but it's still a zebra. Yea! Women's Lib! (and spandex) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywhopper Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Personally I find the downtime between corps to be too short, and I'd like more time to talk about the show with my companions and talk about the upcoming corps and their program. Or when I'm at a show by myself, I like to post to Twitter or DCP to provide some info for folks who couldn't make it to the show and to organize my own thoughts. I find I remember shows better if I either write a few sentences or talk to people about them after. Further distractions would just make it all blur together and overload the audience. I honestly was glad to hear this year's TOC shows didn't include the instant encore, which made the shows run long and gave us WAY too much material to digest. Use the time for PA announcements if you feel the need to fill the time. Seriously, we're talking four minutes or less depending on preshows and playoffs (applause to Pioneer and Colt Cadets on this score)? Do you perceive this as a serious problem? Are people complaining about it in the stands, do you feel impatient with the wait, or are you just imagining what the teenagers in the audience are thinking? (To me, they seem to have plenty to say to each other...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywhopper Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Also, I think we're asking the wrong questions. Lots of people enjoy seeing drum corps AS IS, but for the most part, people have never heard of it, or if they have they don't hear about the shows. To the extent there are problems with attendance (and to be fair shows I've been to this summer have been a lot more full than in past years), it's not because the shows are boring. We need to stop looking for ways to make drum corps *more like* other things, and focus on the differences that make it worth going to. If we turn drum corps shows into the equivalent of an outdoor rock concert and blockbuster movie in one, why would people choose a drum corps show over outdoor rock concerts (better amp balance) and blockbuster movies (air conditioning and computer graphics)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.