Why Aren't Crowd Reactions Like They Used to be?

[Grumpy]

I think stadium design has a huge impact on the recordings, and it seems LOS is fairly good at swallowing up crowd sound. Good for the recordings, as it means you can hear the corps better, but bad for comparing corps across years. Especially when comparing recordings, you're at the mercy of the engineeers. (See 1995, 1996.)

Of course, show design has changed as well. We've matured from a peak-peak-peak type show to one with many more valleys in there as well.

Also, don't minimize the effect of the shifting audience over the years. As the music has become more sophisticated and the typical marching member is much more now a trained specialist than ever before, these people (and their parents) with a lifetime of concert etiquette are now sitting in the stands. More highbrow, if you will. :smile:/> Trained audiences know when to clap, and can generally hold it in.

Corps bringing down the house still happen, of course, but I think we as fans know when we are supposed to clap, we know the shows will have moments where we aren't supposed to, and ... yeah, that stadium does kind of suck up sound.

Mike

I'm going to expand on the stadium thing here...each year, LOS is progressively trying to minimize the "echo" effect in the dome, and with a lot of sound deadening efforts. While helping to achieve the desired effect, they also mute the noise from the crowd, IMHO.

[drumno5]

Just listening to shows past, and crowd reactions are just so much more energetic and emotional than those of today's shows. What's with that?

Those rose colored headphones make everything from back in the day sound better. I'll bet the drum lines on those old recordings sounded cleaner, while playing harder parts, too.

Peace,

Fred O.

Edited December 7, 2012 by drumno5

[NewSkool]

Recording technology has a lot to do with it as well. Modern mics don't pic up near the ambient noise that mics used to.

[steeldrum]

One simple reason is 30,000+ fans from back in the day can make a heck of a lot more noise than 15,000+ fans from recent shows.

[luvscorps]

It's simple. Most shows today are antiseptic, clinical and boring. They're about perfection and 'achievement' generate very little visceral emotional response. That and they're all so similar to one another. Makes for an evening full of impressive achievement with very little emotional impact.

[bacplus]

It's simple. Most shows today are antiseptic, clinical and boring. They're about perfection and 'achievement' generate very little visceral emotional response. That and they're all so similar to one another. Makes for an evening full of impressive achievement with very little emotional impact.

Is it because some or a few more are simply at the lack of pizazz. Too many whole notes and half notes at

mf volume. Boring "ain't" good. Dada sucks beyond belief.

[MikeD]

Just listening to shows past, and crowd reactions are just so much more energetic and emotional than those of today's shows. What's with that?

Recording quality and mic placement may have something to do with...

...plus most especially the rose colored glasses Mike Boo noted. One very prime example thst is quite visible is the Haas video of the 71 World Open...a show I have seen called one of the greatest shows of all time (happy to say we came in 6th! ) . Jackie Haas camera angle clearly shows as good portion of the audience, and the reaction is far from the 'throwing babies' type of reaction people 'remember', even to corps like almost-home-town 27th, Anaheim, Blue Rock and the Troopers.

No different than typical reactions of today, if you just watch the audience. Great reactions, like today, but not over the top at all.

[Gary Matczak]

It's simple. Most shows today are antiseptic, clinical and boring. They're about perfection and 'achievement' generate very little visceral emotional response. That and they're all so similar to one another. Makes for an evening full of impressive achievement with very little emotional impact.

this

[Quad Aces]

So what; it was played by Regiment twenty-six years ago then placed into a vault! That does not mean the music from Spartacus wasn't obscure music to most of the people in the stands twenty-six years later in 2012; many of which were not even alive in 1981! To solidify my point here are a few more 'top' corps charts that, if played today, would also be obscure to the fans of of today: Pauper in Paradise, Spectrum Novum; Green Soul; Bajour; McCoy's Exit; need I go on?

I think you are way underestimating the drum corps fan base when you say that "not many" of them ever heard of Spartacus until Phantom played it in 2008. You may have been correct when they played it in 1981, but not 2008.

[perc2100]

Just listening to shows past, and crowd reactions are just so much more energetic and emotional than those of today's shows. What's with that?

For the same reason my parents thought music I listened to in my teens sucked, and why I'll likely think music my son listens to sucks:

it's all about perception (as someone kinda brilliantly coined it, "rose-colored earphones).

Boo explained it well when he talked about how crazy-loud fans have been at Finals lately. I recall reading he & his colleague's live blog from Finals & talking about how loud the crowd was for Crown in particular (I want to say that they also said BD got lots of applause after their performance). The technical specs on recording techniques might also have a bit to do with it. But I think for the post part there is not a huge difference in crowd reaction from "shows past" to today's shows.