Madison in Macy's Parade

[HockeyDad]

I'm most certainly not wincing about Madison at Macy's. No narrator with some powder-fluff cornyfied dumbed down plot and much pointless and embarrassing prancing about. It was bang, pow, sock, kaboom! As it should have been.

Wait. Are you still referring to the '96 Olympics performance, or to present day DCI?

[Lincoln]

Maybe we can appreciate all coverage without dissecting one vs. another?

There were 22+ million television viewers for this past week's Macy's parade. 99% saw a marching band ahead of Santa.

[Kamarag]

As I said before, was it really? Maybe somewhere in the list of goals for the Scouts, but not the priority.

Loaded question: Cadets at the 96 Olympics. Did it do anything to help? Anything? My cringe over that show they were made to do live still hasn't reached its half life and I'm still wincing in embarrassment every time I think of it.

I'm most certainly not wincing about Madison at Macy's. No narrator with some powder-fluff cornyfied dumbed down plot and much pointless and embarrassing prancing about. It was bang, pow, sock, kaboom! As it should have been.

Wow, really? I loved that Cadets performance at the Olympics. It was different, fun, appealed to the masses while at the same time showing off exactly who the Cadets were what they could do. As for Scouts, they did exactly what they wanted to do, needed to do, and should have done. I loved it, fracks and all.

Madison showed, before the whole country, what their brotherhood is about.

[Cappybara]

It's AN important thing, no doubt. So is quality. So is presentation. So are a lot of things. And look, they were overwhelmingly well received by drum corps fans and the like, so who the heck cares if people decided to take a more critical look at things which could have been done better? If all we're looking for are roses being thrown at our feet, the activity will go nowhere. And let's not mistake these relatively minor critcisms (in contrast to all the things they did well in this parade) for nastiness or dickishness. I've seen none of that in this thread, or anywhere else for that matter. Take the critcism for what it is. Or don't, and move on. But enough with the hyper-defensiveness. Overall, they were great. It was good for DCI. And there are things which can be learned from their performance to make things better for the next corps to do it. That's all.

Resume your turkey sandwich leftovers!

Thank you. No malice was meant in my criticisms, I was just being practical/realist.

[seen-it-all]

As I said before, was it really? Maybe somewhere in the list of goals for the Scouts, but not the priority.

Loaded question: Cadets at the 96 Olympics. Did it do anything to help? Anything? My cringe over that show they were made to do live still hasn't reached its half life and I'm still wincing in embarrassment every time I think of it.

I'm most certainly not wincing about Madison at Macy's. No narrator with some powder-fluff cornyfied dumbed down plot and much pointless and embarrassing prancing about. It was bang, pow, sock, kaboom! As it should have been.

Yet if someone had been as nasty to the Scouts about this parade (which has not happened in this thread as far as I can tell) as you're being to the Cadets, we would never hear the end of it. I've got several friends who were a part of that Cadets performance and everyone I've ever met who was involved in it said it was one of the most amazing experiences of their lives. That sounds awfully familiar to many of the things I've read from Scouts alums in this thread and elsewhere.

And since we've already been lectured about the importance of exposure, how about a ten minute performance in front of a live audience of 85,000 and a worldwide television audience in the billions. Do you think that increases or decreases the odds on them making SOME kind of impact somewhere? As opposed to a thirty second clip in a nationally televised parade? I'd say BOTH corps made some kind of positive impact, to the degree that they could reach a large amount of people. Most who would be reached, I would imagine, were already aware of the activity in some form or other. But two marquis big name drum corps performing in front of the kind of mass audiences most corps have never known? It's all good. How anyone could think otherwise is beyond me.

As far as the Cadets performance goes, it still baffles me as to why so many drum corps fans were so turned off by it. They did exactly what they were asked to do. And oh by the way, they did it extremely well. They even got to perform a significant portion of their competitive field show. In front of the WORLD.*** Was the rest cheesy and cornball? You bet. But they approached it with the same quality and level of excellence as everything else they did. And how is that more corny than playing a mash-up of Christmas songs and the tune "Happy?" Maybe the Cadets were just adapting their act to the stage upon which they were asked to perform. Just like the Scouts did for this parade. Something to think about.

(*** = note that they got way more applause for the corny stuff than they did for the DCI competitive stuff....but suddenly applause is something to be embarrassed about, coming from someone in the Scouts?? Who knew?)

I think those with criticisms about the Scouts performance in the parade have been reasonably respectful in their remarks. And for one simple reason. They DO see the bigger picture and realize that this kind of exposure is nothing but good for the activity. But hey, lets resurrect and subsequently trash the 1996 Cadets to make a point about how the Scouts were so much better. That makes sense. That's classy. There's the true brotherhood of the drum corps fraternity in action. Please...

Seriously, anyone who was embarrassed by what *either* corps did in front of these massed audiences is not a true fan of drum corps IMO.

[BigW]

Wait. Are you still referring to the '96 Olympics performance, or to present day DCI?

The 1996 Olympics performance. The one where they showed the last 30 seconds of the actual Cadets show while the announcers talked over the rather dynamic ending, then they proceeded to do that supposed little show... I'm wincing again. If they'd have just shown the last show segment of the Cadets program from that year, all involved including the audience would have been better served. Gah! I'm headed out to do laundry, and to go to Turkey Hill to get a soda to wash the taste of thinking about that '96 Olympic thing out of my mouth. And to shop cringing. I really AM cringing. And wincing. GAH!

Edited November 30, 2014 by BigW

[BigW]

Yet if someone had been as nasty to the Scouts about this parade (which has not happened in this thread as far as I can tell) as you're being to the Cadets, we would never hear the end of it. I've got several friends who were a part of that Cadets performance and everyone I've ever met who was involved in it said it was one of the most amazing experiences of their lives. That sounds awfully familiar to many of the things I've read from Scouts alums in this thread and elsewhere.

As far as the Cadets performance goes, it still baffles me as to why so many drum corps fans were so turned off by it. They did exactly what they were asked to do. And oh by the way, they did it extremely well. They even got to perform a significant portion of their competitive field show. In front of the WORLD.*** Was the rest cheesy and cornball? You bet. But they approached it with the same quality and level of excellence as everything else they did. And how is that more corny than playing a mash-up of Christmas songs and the tune "Happy?" Maybe the Cadets were just adapting their act to the stage upon which they were asked to perform. Just like the Scouts did for this parade. Something to think about.

(

Seriously, anyone who was embarrassed by what *either* corps did in front of these massed audiences is not a true fan of drum corps IMO.

Really? Not a true fan? And yes, the Cadets have been pilllloried for that "show" by fans from the moment it finished.

You want "true fan creds", pal, please don't whitewash and stick that kind of "not a fan" label on me. it's a rather weak and pointless ad hominim attack and a weak argument designed to quell honest or blunt criticism by people who are too thin-skinned to deal with it.

Being a "true fan" of anything, anything, even macrame, doesn't mean you sit like a sheep and bleat praises and hosannas when undeserved.

Here's a quote for you to chew on from Darius Milhaud:

"The indifference of the public is what's depressing. Enthusiasm, or vehement protest, shows that your work really lives."

Well, the work has really lived for me since 1996. Maybe not in the way intended, but it certainly lives.

[IllianaLancerContra]

I think your focus is impressing us with your awesome insights. It adds nothing.

What it boils down to is, like any performance activity, the performer(s) (or designers) need to (1) know the audience, and (2) design for the audience.

[xandandl]

Jeff Ream: I think the Cadets were the last corps to march Macy's Day Parade and played Swing, Swing, Swing with a smaller than usual corps but did drill as well.

I think the Santa Clara alumni corps was the last drum and bugle corps to march the Rose Bowl parade, so often marched by the Hamm Indians drum corps of MN.

For all the armchair-adjudicators critiquing this and that with TVs that may or may not be color perfect, sound perfect, and distraction free, this eye witness shares these insights.

Some of the screamers played Bb. Other horn players were on G bugles.

Each group playied on those instruments with which either they were more familiar or had marched on the drum corps competition field. The horn arranger for this project and faculty did a masterful job uniting 7 DECADES into one sound. That means there were great grandfathers, grandfathers, fathers, and grandchildren marching as one. Pretty neat trick I say and kudos to those "dinosaurs" and those no longer in Body by DCI tour shape who made the extra efforts and follow through. Percussion included a rank or two of those whose drums were the old style tenors (not meaning quads or multi-drum apparatus) played with traditional tenor mallets.

Remember, the ensemble was not well rested and not due to any mis-step by administration. For one, they were at Macy's at 3 am for an hour and a half TV staging rehearsal (in uniform at 36 degrees.) For most, Eastern time zone is not what their bodies are used to. Then at 5 a.m., while the armchair-adjudicators were still well asleep, the corps, due to street closures, (they) marched ten blocks/avenues over to the buses and breakfast facility. Then back to the start of the parade which extended for three miles. Temperatures dropped to 30 degrees and the snow flurries began. Even the young high school and college groups were struggling. Many of their soloists did not play the whole parade route. Madison did not mail it in but delivered what they had!

Come on, people. Be realistic. We're not talking an August evening at LOS conditions or personnel.

Why give in to Brutus with his -10 DCP rating just to hear himself talk??? Or the other naysayers whose contribution to the activity is only in their own minds and myths?

Edited December 1, 2014 by xandandl

[JimF-LowBari]

For everyone on this board and any other DCI fans, this is a huge deal and so obviously everyone involved in the activity is excited about it, but the goal is to attract new fans to DCI.

Goal for who? Can anyone say what the Scouts/Sprouts (LOL) goal was...... IMO, they came out as well as any MB in their shot in front of Macys on NBC (missed CBS feed which was a block or so earlier).

Missed Cadets at 96 Olympics but saw 27th at end of Lake Placid in 1980 (concert formation playing the show). But if BigW said 96 was cringe worhty to him then something must have been missed.

And parade was 3 miles with an o'dark thirty set up and stand around for a looooong time. Did summer parades like this in my 50s so can begin to image how tough this was. Notice I said begin to....

Edited November 30, 2014 by JimF-LowBari