Jeffreelancer Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 Forgive me folks... I never went on tour.How is it the corps can hit the road quicker when you have to wait for the DM's before you can leave? Is it more an equipment issue than a personnel one? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> When I marched each corps would "play off" the field in reverse order of placement. We would usually play part of one of our show songs. I don't know if this is how it was done recently. Since we played at the end of retreat we would have to store horn and battery equipment as well as uniforms so it added a lot of time before you could leave the show site. I am not sure what guard equipment was brought to retreat. I can see where having the extra time would benefit the corps, but I also see a fan's viewpoint of having something at the end of the show. Also, I liked the time between performing and retreat since it was our free time. It seems that many corps miss this free time since they are loading equipment and getting ready to leave as soon as they can after retreat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgailp Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 When I marched each corps would "play off" the field in reverse order of placement. We would usually play part of one of our show songs. I don't know if this is how it was done recently. Since we played at the end of retreat we would have to store horn and battery equipment as well as uniforms so it added a lot of time before you could leave the show site. I am not sure what guard equipment was brought to retreat.<{POST_SNAPBACK}> I can see where having the extra time would benefit the corps, but I also see a fan's viewpoint of having something at the end of the show. Also, I liked the time between performing and retreat since it was our free time. It seems that many corps miss this free time since they are loading equipment and getting ready to leave as soon as they can after retreat. 1. Corps have not played themselves off in quite a while BUT did have brass & battery to play O America en mass.2. Being D2/3 we had a 1 week first tour and 1 month 2nd, during which there was 1 laundry day & 1 free day. Therefore, as you mentioned, the only real "free" time was between performance and retreat. MANY friendships were made and strengthened at that time. We consistently stayed with 3 corps - Rocky Mtn. Magic, Americanos, and Mandarins (those were the days they used vans instead of busses B)). If it wasn't for the time before retreat, I would have missed out on so many friendships from that time - both those in our size / skill range like L'Academie, Capitolaies, K Kavies, and Sprouts (sorry, don't remember the Scouts feeder's real name) as well as those larger / better than we could aspire to be in those years such as Pioneer, Troopers, Scouts, and Railmen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studio Tan Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 I don't like the new finale. It's counterproductive to take all these measures to shorten the show, like not having the corps pass by in review, cutting back the retreat, so on so forth, but then have even more downtime than before. What's the point? And at Oswego, it was kind of a chilly night. I almost didn't stay for the end. I just don't like the idea of playing and then leaving town right as you finish, only to leave your DM major behind to catch up with the rest of the corps. That's ridiculous. I thought they were all in this together. I like the sense of completion that the retreat gives, and I like the idea that the winning corps or the host corps plays an encore. But then again, I'm just a fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galen Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 The Bad: The new format is not as cool. Nothing impressive about it and the members don't get to go through that process of mingling with the other corps while lining up and then all the tradition that each corps has during retreat.The Good: All but two of the corps are able to get on the road at least an hour earlier than normal. More sleep and more practice time. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Here's what I saw in Evansville IN. 2 corps (Capital and Bluecoats) were tabbed to do the finale, meaning that the other corps could have packed up and left early. None of them did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsCorps Posted June 25, 2005 Author Share Posted June 25, 2005 Here's what I saw in Evansville IN.2 corps (Capital and Bluecoats) were tabbed to do the finale, meaning that the other corps could have packed up and left early. None of them did. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Then what is the point of the new retreat if NOBODY leaves....except maybe the audience! The good that it serves I think still outways the bad which is manageable. b**bs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notelvis Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 (edited) I left DARC '05 early this year for the fact that the Scouts were not playing the encore performance. I liked full retreat, but I agree with the reasoning behind eliminating it. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I have not yet seen a show this season but am eager to see how much the new format affects my 'show experience'. Having first started loving the activity during the days of full retreats and each corps playing itself off I'm sure that the new format will seem anticlimatic. However, from my experience spending anywhere from 1 to 8 weeks on tour driving corps vehicles many summers over the last 20 years, I have always felt that the further we were able to travel before midnight the better. Earlier departures mean more floor time for the members, an earlier opportunity for the drivers to begin sleeping for the following nights' trip, and more time to deal with any vehicle safety issues (ie: Gotta get the brakes checked on bus #2.........) because the drivers were getting their sleep earlier. One writer mentioned that the corps need to take a look at their schedules and make adjustments to see that the drivers are rested. That's a great suggestion but bear in mind that for most people it is not 'natural' to drive during the night and sleep during the day. It's an adjustment and some days you sleep better than others. Some of my best 'days' sleep have been in a sleeping bag on the floor of a practice room in Saguine, TX; some of my worst in hotel rooms in places that otherwise didn't have an isolated room for the drivers. In terms of the members health and welfare, there are advantages for a corps getting on the road 60-90 minutes earlier. David Edited June 25, 2005 by notelvis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsaxton400 Posted June 26, 2005 Share Posted June 26, 2005 The corps do get to leave earlier because once they get off the field they can get out of their uni's, pack their equipnment away, EAT and practice, sleep, mingle or whatever until the DM's get back. Once the DM's are back they can leave. The old way, the processed started AFTER the retreat. What I miss is the corps playing on to the field and off !!!, march by the stands in review and get there much appreciated aplause. WHY DID DCI CHANGE THIS ??? What effect did this have on the shows ?? Now the corps seem to be getting into each others way more then ever going on and off the field. With the review it gave the corp coming on the field the ability to get on and out of the way before the corp coming off the field was about to exit. Seems like this has added more time to the show than saved !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studio Tan Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 Trooping the stands is an absolute must. It seems respectful for them to pass by the audience, and respectful of us to applaud them as they leave the field. In Oswego, they just sped right off the field. In Des Plaines, every corps trooped the stands. I bet the Royal Airs, who sponsored this show, told those punk kids to do things the right way. (By kids, I mean corps staffs.) So it was a pleasant surprise to see that reinstated for the evening. I don't like that they just run off. And yeah, Des Plaines ran rather smoothly with its format; the Super-DCI-Improved-DoinIt4TheKids-Fast-Exit way at Oswego was full of downtime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studio Tan Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 Trooping the stands is an absolute must. It seems respectful for them to pass by the audience, and respectful of us to applaud them as they leave the field. In Oswego, they just sped right off the field. In Des Plaines, every corps trooped the stands. I bet the Royal Airs, who sponsored this show, told those punk kids to do things the right way. (By kids, I mean corps staffs.) So it was a pleasant surprise to see that reinstated for the evening. I don't like that they just run off. And yeah, Des Plaines ran rather smoothly with its format; the Super-DCI-Improved-DoinIt4TheKids-Fast-Exit way at Oswego was full of downtime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CavAlum Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 The new finale. Well, I'm still bitter they did away with retreat in the early 90's. Even if you did not win finals, staying on the field as the other corps played themselves off was nice. Some corps had a tradition of turning and playing to the winning corps before they left, and hearing every corps play their song . . . I still remember listening to Madison, Star, SCV, Spirit, lots of tradition and memories and folks are being cheated. Yes I know the reasons why they made the change, but this latest change was a stretch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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