A Popcorn Eater's Perspective on Atlanta yesterday

[PopcornEater1963]

What an awesome day of Drum Corps yesterday! I got to my seat on the 2nd tier club level, 50 yard line, 6 rows back. Heaven for watching a DCI show. Was there from Carolina Gold at 1:55 through Santa Clara Vanguard to end the night. 

General Comments: I've been a drum corps fan since I was 14 years old. I'm currently 55. So I've lived through the evolution of the activity. I watched Jim Ott hornlines ( my brother marched on them), and now I watch Van Doren hornlines ( along with all the others). While I do have a lot of the old school in me, last night was one of the most breathtaking shows I've ever been to. A lot of people will say "once you break into the top 6 it really turns up". I disagree in a sense. They were all spectacular. For instance, Madison Scouts brought tears to my eyes. They aren't even a 3-wood from the top 6, but I found myself wrapped up in their show, their drill, their sound...and quite frankly, I hope the negativity around Madison just stops. Then throw in Spirit of Atlanta, Pacific Crest, Crossmen, Phantom, Mandarins, etc. There just wasn't a bad show ( please don't quote that last sentence and turn this thread into a diatribe on the one show you may have thought was "bad". ) 

The marching arts are alive and well! 

The Venue: The Dome is the freaking BOMB! The only thing I thought was strange was that we were in the 237C Harrah's Club Level...and they opted not to have any food or bar service this year. Which seems like a huge lost sales opportunity to me. But hey...I don't run their business, and it was only a few steps out of the club level to food and drink. Generally I thought the acoustics ( for a dome) were pretty good. 

My chill bump moments: I'm a sucker for an emotional ballad so must of them for me were in the ballads of these shows. In no particular order, my chill bump moments were: 
 

• The close of the Madison Scouts show...aerodynamic drill movements while playing fffff and me thinking "I'm watching the end of an era" ( please don't turn this thread into the co-ed debate). Possibly had a tear in my eye. Loved their show, and think the rumors of their demise are greatly overstated. 
• The close of Phantom Regiment's show...with the corps pulling into the final "Phantom Formation" and the "burning platform" chugging right down the 50. I've always been a Phantom fan, and I'm rooting for them to continue to do what it takes to restore themselves to their former glory. Saw flashes of that last night. 
• The baritone's "second verse" in Academy's "Bridge Over Troubled Water"...some rich baritone musicianship and a nice chart. 
• "Gabriel's Oboe" solo turned cross-field duet from Carolina Crown. Delicious. Chicken skin! 
• The entire Cavaliers ballad...that low brass in the beginning reminded me of a different era of Phantom Regiment when their low brass sound was trademarked as their own. 
• "Hey Jude" from the Bluecoats. C'mon...let your hair down...it's just fun and fabulous!
• "Hurt" by the Blue Knights. Wow. 

What I see moving into the last two weeks: The "heart versus head" predictions are as follows. 

• Bluecoats rock the dome in Indy. The whole building is singing "Hey Jude". Yet they still win a silver to...
• Blue Devils...who I think still have a lot more to show us. 
• SCV finishes 3rd about a point behind Devils
• Carolina Crown rides a brass caption win to 4th and mitigates some of their GE issues
• The Cavaliers surge late and beat Boston in Indy with a fan favorite type show that is just straight up energy from the first note. 
• Boston has LOS on their feet screaming when Goliath's head comes off again. Cavaliers/Boston will be a scrap until the last note. 
• Blue Knights tighten the current margin between themselves and BAC/Cavaliers. They have a majestic show!

What a show! See you in Indy! 

[chadwick]

I was in the same section as you, row 7. Agree on the Harrahs Club - disappointing the bar and food not open. Guess numbers from last year didn’t validate opening it. 

Though I agree, overall the venue nailed it - great food, very reasonable prices, clean bathrooms, friendly staff, very easy to get out and little vehicle traffic. 

I’ll be at Indy all three nights and can’t wait to see all the shows again!

[Terri Schehr]

This stadium seems more comfortable and accessible than Indy.   It’s nice that if you sit down low, you don’t have to climb several steps to go to the bathroom or get water.  I think it was eight steps to the club area. 

[drumcorpsfever]

Thanks for you post! The Mercedes Dome is a great place to see a regional show. Though I am typically not a fan of domes for drum corps, the acoustics in this stadium are much better than LOS. Still not what you'd want from a open-air stadium, but not too bad.

 

Question for you: You probably have stated elsewhere, but what is it with the "Popcorn Eater" handle?  I bet there's a good story there...

[dcsnare93]

As a west coast fan, I wouldn't even be mad if they moved finals to MB. It's just a nicer venue all around. Flights are even a tad cheaper.

[Ghost]

2 minutes ago, dcsnare93 said:

As a west coast fan, I wouldn't even be mad if they moved finals to MB. It's just a nicer venue all around. Flights are even a tad cheaper.

But, the airport probably won't allow the mm to sleep all over the place late Sat. night into Sun. morning before their flights.

[Rich Cline]

18 hours ago, PopcornEater1963 said:

What an awesome day of Drum Corps yesterday! I got to my seat on the 2nd tier club level, 50 yard line, 6 rows back. Heaven for watching a DCI show. Was there from Carolina Gold at 1:55 through Santa Clara Vanguard to end the night. 

General Comments: I've been a drum corps fan since I was 14 years old. I'm currently 55. So I've lived through the evolution of the activity. I watched Jim Ott hornlines ( my brother marched on them), and now I watch Van Doren hornlines ( along with all the others). While I do have a lot of the old school in me, last night was one of the most breathtaking shows I've ever been to. A lot of people will say "once you break into the top 6 it really turns up". I disagree in a sense. They were all spectacular. For instance, Madison Scouts brought tears to my eyes. They aren't even a 3-wood from the top 6, but I found myself wrapped up in their show, their drill, their sound...and quite frankly, I hope the negativity around Madison just stops. Then throw in Spirit of Atlanta, Pacific Crest, Crossmen, Phantom, Mandarins, etc. There just wasn't a bad show ( please don't quote that last sentence and turn this thread into a diatribe on the one show you may have thought was "bad". ) 

The marching arts are alive and well! 

The Venue: The Dome is the freaking BOMB! The only thing I thought was strange was that we were in the 237C Harrah's Club Level...and they opted not to have any food or bar service this year. Which seems like a huge lost sales opportunity to me. But hey...I don't run their business, and it was only a few steps out of the club level to food and drink. Generally I thought the acoustics ( for a dome) were pretty good. 

My chill bump moments: I'm a sucker for an emotional ballad so must of them for me were in the ballads of these shows. In no particular order, my chill bump moments were: 
 

• The close of the Madison Scouts show...aerodynamic drill movements while playing fffff and me thinking "I'm watching the end of an era" ( please don't turn this thread into the co-ed debate). Possibly had a tear in my eye. Loved their show, and think the rumors of their demise are greatly overstated. 
• The close of Phantom Regiment's show...with the corps pulling into the final "Phantom Formation" and the "burning platform" chugging right down the 50. I've always been a Phantom fan, and I'm rooting for them to continue to do what it takes to restore themselves to their former glory. Saw flashes of that last night. 
• The baritone's "second verse" in Academy's "Bridge Over Troubled Water"...some rich baritone musicianship and a nice chart. 
• "Gabriel's Oboe" solo turned cross-field duet from Carolina Crown. Delicious. Chicken skin! 
• The entire Cavaliers ballad...that low brass in the beginning reminded me of a different era of Phantom Regiment when their low brass sound was trademarked as their own. 
• "Hey Jude" from the Bluecoats. C'mon...let your hair down...it's just fun and fabulous!
• "Hurt" by the Blue Knights. Wow. 

What I see moving into the last two weeks: The "heart versus head" predictions are as follows. 

• Bluecoats rock the dome in Indy. The whole building is singing "Hey Jude". Yet they still win a silver to...
• Blue Devils...who I think still have a lot more to show us. 
• SCV finishes 3rd about a point behind Devils
• Carolina Crown rides a brass caption win to 4th and mitigates some of their GE issues
• The Cavaliers surge late and beat Boston in Indy with a fan favorite type ank youshow that is just straight up energy from the first note. 
• Boston has LOS on their feet screaming when Goliath's head comes off again. Cavaliers/Boston will be a scrap until the last note. 
• Blue Knights tighten the current margin between themselves and BAC/Cavaliers. They have a majestic show!

embers
What a show! See you in Indy! 
 

Love reviews and perspectives like this. It's upbeat and positive for all us dino's. And it's a big thank you to all corps and members for giving us such spectacular entertainment.

[PopcornEater1963]

3 hours ago, drumcorpsfever said:

Thanks for you post! The Mercedes Dome is a great place to see a regional show. Though I am typically not a fan of domes for drum corps, the acoustics in this stadium are much better than LOS. Still not what you'd want from a open-air stadium, but not too bad.

 

Question for you: You probably have stated elsewhere, but what is it with the "Popcorn Eater" handle?  I bet there's a good story there...

My high school band director used to differentiate the music in our shows by "This one is for the serious crowd..." or "This one is for the Popcorn Eaters". I use "PopcornEater" as a self-deprecating handle that I'm not to be taken too seriously in my opinion. I know a few things about Drum Corps, but I prefer to appear dumb as a bag of hammers. And often succeed. 

[KVG_DC]

1 hour ago, Ghost said:

 But, the airport probably won't allow the mm to sleep all over the place late Sat. night into Sun. morning before their flights.

It's Atlanta, there's ALWAYS people sleeping around in the airport from cancelled flights and the like.  

Edited July 29, 2019 by KVG_DC

[bvgordy]

19 hours ago, PopcornEater1963 said:

What an awesome day of Drum Corps yesterday! I got to my seat on the 2nd tier club level, 50 yard line, 6 rows back. Heaven for watching a DCI show. Was there from Carolina Gold at 1:55 through Santa Clara Vanguard to end the night. 

General Comments: I've been a drum corps fan since I was 14 years old. I'm currently 55. So I've lived through the evolution of the activity. I watched Jim Ott hornlines ( my brother marched on them), and now I watch Van Doren hornlines ( along with all the others). While I do have a lot of the old school in me, last night was one of the most breathtaking shows I've ever been to. A lot of people will say "once you break into the top 6 it really turns up". I disagree in a sense. They were all spectacular. For instance, Madison Scouts brought tears to my eyes. They aren't even a 3-wood from the top 6, but I found myself wrapped up in their show, their drill, their sound...and quite frankly, I hope the negativity around Madison just stops. Then throw in Spirit of Atlanta, Pacific Crest, Crossmen, Phantom, Mandarins, etc. There just wasn't a bad show ( please don't quote that last sentence and turn this thread into a diatribe on the one show you may have thought was "bad". ) 

The marching arts are alive and well! 

The Venue: The Dome is the freaking BOMB! The only thing I thought was strange was that we were in the 237C Harrah's Club Level...and they opted not to have any food or bar service this year. Which seems like a huge lost sales opportunity to me. But hey...I don't run their business, and it was only a few steps out of the club level to food and drink. Generally I thought the acoustics ( for a dome) were pretty good. 

My chill bump moments: I'm a sucker for an emotional ballad so must of them for me were in the ballads of these shows. In no particular order, my chill bump moments were: 
 

• The close of the Madison Scouts show...aerodynamic drill movements while playing fffff and me thinking "I'm watching the end of an era" ( please don't turn this thread into the co-ed debate). Possibly had a tear in my eye. Loved their show, and think the rumors of their demise are greatly overstated. 
• The close of Phantom Regiment's show...with the corps pulling into the final "Phantom Formation" and the "burning platform" chugging right down the 50. I've always been a Phantom fan, and I'm rooting for them to continue to do what it takes to restore themselves to their former glory. Saw flashes of that last night. 
• The baritone's "second verse" in Academy's "Bridge Over Troubled Water"...some rich baritone musicianship and a nice chart. 
• "Gabriel's Oboe" solo turned cross-field duet from Carolina Crown. Delicious. Chicken skin! 
• The entire Cavaliers ballad...that low brass in the beginning reminded me of a different era of Phantom Regiment when their low brass sound was trademarked as their own. 
• "Hey Jude" from the Bluecoats. C'mon...let your hair down...it's just fun and fabulous!
• "Hurt" by the Blue Knights. Wow. 

What I see moving into the last two weeks: The "heart versus head" predictions are as follows. 

• Bluecoats rock the dome in Indy. The whole building is singing "Hey Jude". Yet they still win a silver to...
• Blue Devils...who I think still have a lot more to show us. 
• SCV finishes 3rd about a point behind Devils
• Carolina Crown rides a brass caption win to 4th and mitigates some of their GE issues
• The Cavaliers surge late and beat Boston in Indy with a fan favorite type show that is just straight up energy from the first note. 
• Boston has LOS on their feet screaming when Goliath's head comes off again. Cavaliers/Boston will be a scrap until the last note. 
• Blue Knights tighten the current margin between themselves and BAC/Cavaliers. They have a majestic show!

What a show! See you in Indy! 
 

I was sitting in 236C and noticed the same thing about the food and bar service being closed, as opposed to last year, same section and they were up and running.

Seems we also came away with the same experience as far as the highlights from the various Corps performances!!