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3 hours ago, Kamarag said:

DCA historically had preview shows for decades. So in reality, drum corps has "changed back".

It is a little silly to start the season off like this.  All that time committed to learning the show in the winter, the drill in the spring and when you go out for the 1st show it's an exhibition.  Not a lot of thought focused on the performers with doing it the way.   

Does seem to be attracting more corps?  

Stadium isn't very big, so I'm sure the $$$ isn't a deal breaker

So what's the deal?  Why do it this way?  

 

AoE

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by AoEnut
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32 minutes ago, AoEnut said:

It is a little silly to start the season off like this.  All that time committed to learning the show in the winter, the drill in the spring and when you go out for the 1st show it's an exhibition.  

 

It's really not silly at all. 

Times have changed. Corps are filling their membership with much younger performers, which means conflicts with school band activities, including indoor guard and drumline, jazz bands, band trips, district/region/all-state band activities, you name it. Couple that with the fact that the programs corps are putting on the field are many orders of magnitude more demanding and complex than the days of yore, and it's much harder to put a complete show on the filed by June 17th.

The level of demand of shows even ten years ago is a thing of the past (not to mention decades ago). Having the judges give commentary without the burden of assigning numbers is great for everyone. Performers, staff, administrators, show sponsors...not to mention the audience all benefit.

Regardless, the five corps performing at Wildwood last weekend did just that. In the past, that certainly wasn't necessarily the case, and corps performing incomplete programs were judged harshly. IMO, unnecessarily harshly. 

You're certainly entitled to your opinion of silliness, but i'd argue it's an uninformed one. Besides, the scored portion of the season starts in five days. You can certainly buy a ticket and get your scoring fix in West Pittston.

Edited by Kamarag
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"Judged Harshly":

Indeed they were, "Back in the day....that is "My Day".  It was "Get in on the field, opening night " (Usually in May, back then), ready or not, complete or not.    :39_angry:

The "Evaluation Show", was your first number on your first night.     :sneaky:

Best of luck to all corps.      :thumbs-up:

Break a leg.      :1_grinning:

Elphaba       :flower:

Edited by elphaba01
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Today I saw a posting on Facebook showing an old advertisement for the fourth annual "Preview of Champions" contest in Jersey City on May 29th 1960.   In those days, the contest season began Memorial Day weekend and ran straight through to Labor Day and sometimes beyond.   It was a different era, to be sure.

I wondered about the evaluation show this late in June also, but John Adcock's explanation makes perfect sense.  Many corps, even DCA "All-age" corps, are dependent upon members with school commitments this time of year, and just can't be as "ready" as early any more.  The Mt. Carmel PA exhibition was our "evaluation" show (or "dress rehearsal" if you prefer) back in the days when I marched.  Stratford or Hamden would be the first judged DCA contest held the first week of June.  Today, the whole seasonal time frame has been pushed back a few weeks out of necessity.

I was happy to see every corps come out with essentially full shows in Wildwood.  As the season progresses, they will certainly grow and become even more involved and entertaining.  Let's concentrate on the positive aspects and look forward to a great season of DCA shows, rather than question why the season is starting "so late" and why corps are not being judged yet.

 

Edited by cabalumnidrummer
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What the other guys have said. Multiple reasons why the season  is the way it is now. And I certainly remember marching in a DCA "season opener" that was an exhibition...in Danville, PA, back in the Stone Age. LOL

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Question is Skys show in Pittston  judged contest or another exibition show..No where in the ad do they use the word contest.

 

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10 hours ago, AoEnut said:

It is a little silly to start the season off like this.  All that time committed to learning the show in the winter, the drill in the spring and when you go out for the 1st show it's an exhibition.  

The only difference is no scores, the corps are getting the same feedback from the judging community that they would get had there been scores and placements. I don't see what the big deal is

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Danville, PA was always an exhibition only BITD.

 

However, it was during Memorial Day weekend.


Thanks for the review! I may go to only one or two contests this summer. With all the hype in this thread, frankly after some of what went down from several different angles last year... I just ain't feelin' it at all.

 

Worst case- I'll be in Williamsport in 2018.

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2 hours ago, BigW said:


Thanks for the review! I may go to only one or two contests this summer. With all the hype in this thread, frankly after some of what went down from several different angles last year... I just ain't feelin' it at all.

 

Hey, BigW -

I always enjoyed your excellent commentary. You provided enough details and honest opinion, making your efforts helpful to both fans and corps. If you can manage to make a show, or two, I would greatly appreciate reading some of your thoughts.

DCA can certainly use a little "buzz" these days!

Fred

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On 6/19/2017 at 6:29 AM, Fred Windish said:

Much appreciated, Fran!

I'm afraid show reviews will be harder to come by this season. Things change, people change, and an entirely different generation of young adults has emerged. This group was raised on tapping out few brief thoughts on their cell phone screens.  What's a full and complete paragraph, anymore?

As someone who refuses to participate on Facebook, doesn't Tweet, ignores Snapchat, and all other recent developments, my information stream is limited. It's DCP, Drum Corps World, and personal conversations for me!

 

 

 

it's early. give me time to get to a show.

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