Txdigest.com

Drum & Bugle Corps this summer?

Yep. The Blue Knights just finished their west coast leg and are working their way back to Denver for the competition this weekend at Mile High Stadium. Then they start making their way south. They will have a competition in Denton on July 21 then go to the Alamodome for the big Southwestern Championship and then come back to Dallas for the competition at Lake Highlands High School. So we will get to see them twice in less than a week. I've gone to the finals in Indianapolis the last two years but I'm going to pass this year and my wife is going to go with a friend who has a son in another corps.

I've seen their show once on a live video stream and I'm not real crazy about it. Some of the shows we have seen so far have been downright weird and theirs is one of them. Maybe I'll like it better after I have seen it live a couple of times. I don't really like their color guard uniforms this year, either.

I used to really enjoy DCI until that idiot George Hopkins started making a mockery of the whole thing.

You used to be able to subscribe to the video stream and access it on more than one device at a time. They also maintained a video library of individual corps performances that you could access on demand. Now you can only log in on one device and once the event is over the video is gone. And this year they have added the ubiquitous video ad that you have to sit through when you log in, even though you are paying for the subscription.

(You don't realize how many threads get started here until you try to find one that's two weeks old)

Going to Denton this afternoon for the big show at Denton ISD stadium. It's only going to be 100 today.

My son just posted this picture. I don't really like the color guard uniforms this year - they all look like they are going to rob a 7-11. And it's not a dress, just some extreme bell bottoms. We don't know how they move around in them without tripping over themselves.

LOL

Heh...Rob a 7-11!!!!!

And yes that is strange looking.

Wow. I think I would wear a mask too.
I hope you have a good day. Please let us hear how it goes.

They only start the show in this outfit. It gets discarded about mid-show. They've got the more traditional skin-tight lycra underneath. Can you imagine how uncomfortable this must be in 100 degree heat?

It has got to be miserable. Any chance you can video it?

Although I will take some still pictures, video recording is strictly prohibited because the music they perform is copyrighted and licensed by the copyright holder. If you look at the Blue Knights performance at the 2015 finals on the DCI-sanctioned DVD (which can be yours for the modest price of $99 plus shipping and handling) the first 30 seconds of their show is edited out. That's because they used the Beatles' "Because" to open their show and it was only licensed to be performed through the DCI season. Many of the corps have several seconds of their performance edited out because of their licensing agreement for certain pieces. I asked my son last year if he could find out from the Blue Knights executive director exactly what was involved in getting the licensing agreement for a Beatles song, but he never followed through on that.

However, we get to watch the live stream of some of their shows for a subscription fee.

How did it go?

Bulletin - it was hot!

Seeing the shows in person makes a big difference because you really can't get the power of the music through a computer speaker. I've been iffy on the Blue Knights show, but I liked it a lot more after seeing and hearing it live. But it's still a little esoteric. There are a couple of other show that I think are really good and fun to watch.

They loaded the buses immediately after the show and drove all night to get to San Antonio. They will rehearse all day today for the big show Saturday in the Alamodome. Then they will come back to Dallas for a show at Lake Highland H.S. on Monday. Some rain in the forecast for Monday.

Any pictures?

Coming

Waiting to take the field.

This is later in the show after the color guard has shucked their bloomers.

How did they do in the competition?

Last night they finished 6 out of 9. I thought they would place higher, but oh well.

Overall they've settled into 8 out of 22, which is probably where they will stay for the rest of the season (plus or minus one).