️ End of an Era

[IllianaLancerContra]

Wasn’t next day, but in 1999 there was Sunday evening show in DC suburbs (I was there had Madison. Cadets, SCV et al); next show was DCI prelims in Madison.  900+ miles between shows.  Idk how many Corps made the trip nonstop (except for food/fuel break).  Also heard from BITD Anaheim driving nonstop (except food/fuel) CA to Boston. So long trips did happen 

[LabMaster]

2 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

Seriously, when or who?  Give me an example.

I’ll refrain answering if all you’re intending to do is start an argument.  What you want days and dates?  Good gosh.  In past years corps used to go on much longer overnight drive than they do these days.  How long were your overnights?  Are you remembering back in the 80’s?  70’s?  Or since 00’s? 

[cixelsyd]

49 minutes ago, LabMaster said:

I’ll refrain answering if all you’re intending to do is start an argument.  What you want days and dates?  Good gosh.  In past years corps used to go on much longer overnight drive than they do these days.  How long were your overnights?  Are you remembering back in the 80’s?  70’s?  Or since 00’s? 

I just wanted an answer to a straightforward question.

I am curious about why corps have been cutting back on their show load, so I pay closer attention and (pardon me) ask questions.  From that, I have learned that it is not as dramatic a cutback as it seems.  "Fewer shows" has more to do with the shorter season than anything else, but there is a subtle cutback in performance density.  I mostly hear that it is about quality of life, and/or having breaks in the tour for show changes, laundry days, or... a break.  Or not - depending on the choice of each individual corps.

So when I saw your remark about back-to-back show days 600 miles apart, I thought you were onto something - a systemic tour scheduling problem from our past.  And I went browsing for where that was happening.  Well, once you get everyone east of the Mississippi River, there are no show site gaps of that size, so it must be west of there.  Maybe it is coming out of Texas... but I do not see any shows in neighboring states the day after San Antonio, for as long as we have been going to San Antonio.  I started looking at Western shows, especially in the wild-and-crazy 1970s, but also when we reversed the tour in 2004 and 2007 (including open-class) - no luck.  All the travel legs of 600 miles that I find have at least one day off between show days.

Searching 52 seasons is a big haystack, so I would appreciate it if anyone can narrow that down.

[LabMaster]

3 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

I just wanted an answer to a straightforward question.

I am curious about why corps have been cutting back on their show load, so I pay closer attention and (pardon me) ask questions.  From that, I have learned that it is not as dramatic a cutback as it seems.  "Fewer shows" has more to do with the shorter season than anything else, but there is a subtle cutback in performance density.  I mostly hear that it is about quality of life, and/or having breaks in the tour for show changes, laundry days, or... a break.  Or not - depending on the choice of each individual corps.

So when I saw your remark about back-to-back show days 600 miles apart, I thought you were onto something - a systemic tour scheduling problem from our past.  And I went browsing for where that was happening.  Well, once you get everyone east of the Mississippi River, there are no show site gaps of that size, so it must be west of there.  Maybe it is coming out of Texas... but I do not see any shows in neighboring states the day after San Antonio, for as long as we have been going to San Antonio.  I started looking at Western shows, especially in the wild-and-crazy 1970s, but also when we reversed the tour in 2004 and 2007 (including open-class) - no luck.  All the travel legs of 600 miles that I find have at least one day off between show days.

Searching 52 seasons is a big haystack, so I would appreciate it if anyone can narrow that down.

The quick answer instead of going into the way back machine is to look at it in 5 year chunks. Only going back say to 2000 to now there has been a significant reduction in amount of shows. Many corps used to have over 30 shows per season. Now it’s in the teens for most all corps.  Most of what can be learned is anecdotal. But there little doubt, cost is the major factor. Safety has been a factor. Housing availability is a very likely factor as well. 

[year1buick]

8 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

When were corps doing shows 600 miles apart on adjacent days?

I couldn’t find any back-to-back shows that I marched (in the early 90s) that were in the 600 mile range, but I did have a fair number over 300 and a couple over 400.
 

For example: In 1991, Sky Ryders performed in Phoenix on July 9 and Albuquerque on the 10th, which was a little over 400 miles in travel. 

It wasn’t all the time, but we did on occasion. 

[greg_orangecounty]

7 hours ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

Also heard from BITD Anaheim driving nonstop (except food/fuel) CA to Boston. So long trips did happen 

We were in a hurry to mow down the Eastern corps 🙂

[cage]

I just pulled up the itinerary for the 2017 Academy.  These are all consecutive days.

7/2 - Riverside, CA to Mesa, AZ 351 miles.  This was the night of Phantom's accident.  Show day

7/3 - Mesa, AZ to Rio Rancho, NM 423 miles. Show day

7/4 - Rio Rancho to Chickasa, OK 547 miles. Rehearsal

7/5 - Chickasa to Columbia, MO 514 miles.  Show

7/6 - Columbia to Woodstock, IL 410 miles. Rehearsal

7/7 - Rockford, IL to Minneapolis 345 miles. Show

7/8 show in Minneapolis

2590 miles not counting travel from housing to show sites.

That was crazy

Edited January 12 by cage
Additional info

[perc2100]

On 1/11/2026 at 9:26 AM, cixelsyd said:

When were corps doing shows 600 miles apart on adjacent days?

In 1999 Kiwanis Kavaliers went from Montreal to Bristol, RI 'overnight' (595 miles according to google maps)

[perc2100]

21 hours ago, LabMaster said:

The quick answer instead of going into the way back machine is to look at it in 5 year chunks. Only going back say to 2000 to now there has been a significant reduction in amount of shows. Many corps used to have over 30 shows per season. Now it’s in the teens for most all corps.  Most of what can be learned is anecdotal. But there little doubt, cost is the major factor. Safety has been a factor. Housing availability is a very likely factor as well. 

My rookie year of 'world class' drum corps in 1997 we had 36 shows (including Finals week); we had slightly less my age-out year the following year since we went all the way from Bristol, RI to Denver, CO (obviously not overnight, but over the course of the summer we toured a lot).  My corps isn't around anymore, but just randomly:

Madison Scouts 1996 38 shows; 2006 33 shows; 2016 29 shows; 2025 21 shows (those all include however many times they performed Finals week)

Cavaliers 1996 34 shows; 2006 33 shows; 2016 32 shows; 2025 20 shows

BAC 1996 26 shows; 2006 32 shows; 2016 30 shows; 2025 22 scores

[KVG_DC]

47 minutes ago, perc2100 said:

In 1999 Kiwanis Kavaliers went from Montreal to Bristol, RI 'overnight' (595 miles according to google maps)

That would include a border crossing everyone had to wake up for I presume.  Ugh what a night.