Jump to content

The lot vs. the stadium


Recommended Posts

I agree, but I am as guilty as the next guy. In 2004 I got pneumonia on tour and by the night before quarter finals I was in the emergency room in a Denver hospital and half-way to the exit. Thanks to some great care from the doctor and nurses and some very effective drugs, I still got out to the lot for semi's because there was no way I was missing SCV's battery in the lot. Double beat alone was worth it! :worthy:

I love the lot...and I think every fan should experience it at least once. I also enjoy watching the full performances. If i do the lot thing....I will plan it out so if I do miss a corps field performance because i am in the lot, the corps I miss are corps i have seen a couple times already or corps that I will see in future shows.

As far as people skipping the shows.....I think this is probably a small number of fans. A significant portion of the people in the lot at the big regionals and dci week....are other active members from other corps who have already performed...or have been eliminated....that's been my experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMO, I am so over the lot. great people standing around playing stuff clean they can't play clean on the move, playing parts way harder than their show in warmups....to me it's overhype

I'm with you: I'm mostly all about context, and seeing one piece of the puzzle by itself doesn't do much for me. Every once in awhile when I want to see a friend at work teaching in the lot, or a student, or if there's a specific phrase that I want to hear isolated I'll check out a corps briefly. But now-a-days you can find video of all of that stuff and not miss any shows. I definitely think it's overhype, and I know instructors who write warm-ups just to look/sound cool in the lot.

But I feel we're definitely in the minority with this one. Like I said, I know many people who don't care about going to a show and will only see drum lines in the lot. One of the years I taught an WGI PIO line that went to Finals, the night of World Class Finals we didn't get tickets and a fairly large group of staff & members still wanted to make the 20ish minute drive from our hotel to UD Arena just to hang out in the lot for several hours and watch groups warm-up. There are definitely cool things going on if you want to hear isolated parts and really analyze a corps' technique & style. But with the miracles of modern technology most of that can be done surfing Youtube.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the lot...and I think every fan should experience it at least once. I also enjoy watching the full performances.

This is probably true. When I was a lot younger (in HS), I would spend a TON of time watching everyone in the lot. It's definitely a kind of unique experience that at the very least is a fascinating experience.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sadly, a lot of lot music is more fun to play and listen to than what's in the show, for brass as well as percussion. If only show designers would figure that out.

I told Murray Gusseck the story I mentioned above about being in the lot to watch SCV in 04. He said he couldn't get near his own line because the crowd around Vanguard's battery was so deep. From a pure percussion standpoint, the lot is where the state of the art stuff gets played and that's why the crowds gather. Personally I think if you don't go out to the lot once in a while you're missing out on a big part of the drum corps experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seriously, dude...that's a brilliant idea.

Now...how might it be exploited? Should there be an actual booth, (perhaps supplied by DCI), that each corps utilizes to sell t-shirts and whatever else? Should each corps souvie crew come out with a couple suitcases of shirts? Does there need to be a separate booth for drum warm-ups, horn warm-ups and guard warm-ups? (It's been forever since I've been able to be at any warm-up sessions. Are they spread over a wide area with certain audiences who only go to one or another section warm-up?)

Of all the people who watch parking lot warm-ups, what percentage are at the drums, at the horns, and at the guard?

Would this benefit only the corps on earlier, or are there still people out there for the final corps?

I'm in favor of anything that makes money for the corps.

Don't let DCI touch it - they will find a way to muck it up

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can't monetize EVERYTHING. Some people come to a show to hang out with people and see a few lines, they don't want to sit through a show. Some people want the up close experience. Many people in the lot don't care about the smaller corps on the field and only enter the stadium to see the top few. It's nice to have a DCP chat about squeezing a few bucks out of the lot, I just hope no corps are thinking its a good idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This was my first season and I ended up going to two shows.

The first was the rain infected Drums Along The Rockies. BK did a warm-up by their beer tent that had a lot of spectators. I went out to the lot during the delay to see my son. After the abbreviated (except for BK) shows I went back out to pick up my son so he could spend the night at home.

The second show, at S.A., was an impulse attendance...since I didn't really get to experience DCI like I wanted to in Denver. I wanted to see all the shows and I did, except for the two after BK, when I went out to the lot to see my son.

Now, next year, if I see more than one show, I might spend some time wandering the lot. If I only see one, I'll be inside for most of it since it'll be my only chance to see the Corps perform. (FN is nice, but just isn't the same)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can't monetize EVERYTHING. Some people come to a show to hang out with people and see a few lines, they don't want to sit through a show. Some people want the up close experience. Many people in the lot don't care about the smaller corps on the field and only enter the stadium to see the top few. It's nice to have a DCP chat about squeezing a few bucks out of the lot, I just hope no corps are thinking its a good idea.

I have the exact opposite opinion. I wish is were practical to have all corps warm-up in a gated, restricted area where only people that have bought tickets can get into. Heck, charge an extra five bucks to enter the warm-up zone, kinda like a pit pass at an auto race.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As much as I dislike Blue Devils, well more like baffled by their placement I don't really hate them, I'd easily pay $100 to sit in the center of their brass warm ups. I get goosebumps from the YouTube videos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the exact opposite opinion. I wish is were practical to have all corps warm-up in a gated, restricted area where only people that have bought tickets can get into. Heck, charge an extra five bucks to enter the warm-up zone, kinda like a pit pass at an auto race.

I'm fairly certain that DCI is not quite in the position to be limiting fan access to the activity ... yet. But I could be wrong.

The lot at DCI finals week is a fascinating thing. I like the idea of corps setting up quickie souvies, and better yet, DCI should be much more aggressive, actively pimping themselves with feet on the ground in Military Park. It's fun to watch all of the locals, and incidental (non-DCI) travelers getting sucked into watching the awesome displays going on right in front of them. They have no idea of the context for what they are witnessing, but are impressed enough to get drawn right into it.

Edited by mingusmonk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...