July 6, 2025 – Sacramento, California
After a necessary reset, I am back on my 2025 DCI tour. Yesterday was a long day of travel that began when the alarm rang at 3:30 AM to catch the early bird special out of BTV. I flew the friendly skies to San Fransico from our humble little airport in Burlington, Vermont. Thankfully, the connection from Newark was on time, and the trip went very smoothly. Upon arrival, I met up with other fans of the Boston Crusaders who had flown in from Boston, MA, and Savannah, GA. Jeff, John, Marcia, and I hit the high side of the left lane on Interstate 80 to Sacramento for the DCI Capital Classic, home show of the Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps. If you want to get somewhere by car, have a Boston driver take you there. Thanks, John and Marcia, for navigating California’s intricate, confusing, and crowded roads. Our first stop after checking into the mid-century modern Aloft Hotel was the rehearsal of the Boston Crusaders. Toiling away in the hot California sun, 165 motivated kids pushed through each take and reset with dedication and focus, refining the music and moves they will bring to the field later in the evening. I had the opportunity to meet up with staff members who are pushing through the rigors of the touring entourage, so far from home.
The Capital Classic was a sellout. I have found that no matter where in the country I am to see a DCI show, the drum corps family is alive and well, and welcoming. My seat neighbors here in the Golden State were no exception. We all enjoyed the spectacles unfolding before us, seasoned fans and newbies. This was the first show of the year for me since the finals night in Indianapolis last August. My visits to spring training allowed me to become familiar with the music of the Boston Crusaders and appreciate how far they have come since mid-June. Jeff and I got caught up in the lot to experience the drum line and brass warm-up. This can be very entertaining to be up close and personal as the waves of rhythm and harmony wash over us with intensity. Finally deciding to go into the stadium, we arrived at our seats just in time for the Blue Nights (not blue) from Denver, CO. This year’s 2025 show – “DRiP” repertoire includes: Flying 101, DRiP, the main title from ‘Castaway’, and Water. The members move fluidly through the show that represents the elemental life ingredient – water. This year will be particularly hard to explain the themes of the shows because many of them are concept shows. Rather than telling a story, the shows seem to be pure expressions of music and motion with dynamism.
Next up, the Santa Clara Vanguard (SCV) launched their 2025 program: “The aVANt GUARD”, another concept show that freatures and robust repertoire: Fratres, Three Hallucinations, Bartok – String Quartet #4, Epitaph for Moonlight, Home With You, View from Olympus, and their theme song, Send in the Clowns. I look forward to this music and show growing in my mind as I have another opportunity tonight to enjoy this venerable championship corps. Last year, SCV eked out first place in percussion, topping the undefeated Boston Crusaders (BAC) percussion at the World Championships. According to the recap, this trend continues. You can bet that Colin will be working BAC even harder to obtain the caption title this year. There is a lot of season left.
To this observer, BAC clearly had the show of the evening, as backed up by those around me and the scores, with the exception of percussion. The Bad A__ Crusaders are firing on all cylinders as they bring their well-rehearsed show “Boom” to the West Coast. This repertoire is probably the most diverse that I have heard this year, so far: The Kingdom and Red, White, and Black Worlds by Tigran Hamasyan; Whatchamacallit by Juan Garcia Esquivel; Malambo No 1 by Moises Vivanco; The Commuter and Shooting Star by Les Baxter, Once Upon Another Time, by Sara Bareilles; No Time for Caution by Hans Zimmer; and Now, Then, and Beyond by the BAC staff of Ryan George, Colin McNutt, Ian Moyer, and Mike Zellers. This show moves and entertains us consistently from start to finish, never letting us down. The ending comes too quickly, but we know that this show is not really finished yet. I am sure there will be at least two surprise changes to the closer before finals. This is the third adjudicated show of the season for BAC as they begin an undefeated streak in 2025.
Being the home show for the Mandarins, they were last to perform. The local crowd was thoroughly entertained by “If I must Fall…. the one I am becoming will catch me.”, with the music of Passages, by Will Healy; When the Party’s Over by Finneas Baird O’Connell; and Who Cares 2 by Louis Cole. The all white uniforms of the marching musicians were in contrast to the beautiful blue iridescence of the color guard uniforms. These kids stand out and will continue to elevate this rising corps. Later in the evening, while enjoying a post-show beer at the local restaurant, we met some committed board and advisory committee members of the Manderins. Ron and Marty shared stories of the Mandarins’ history. and their recent rise into the DCI finalists. Ron said that they expanded their outreach beyond their American asian community to enrich the corps with talented kids from around the country and the world.
The show in Sacramento was a great warm-up for my California tour. One particular corps was not present, the Blue Devils. They are hosting DCI West tonight in Stanford. My entourage will be heading to the early festivities, including the reception hosted and barbecue hosted by the Blue Devils. The Santa Clara Vanguard, Blue Devils, and Boston Crusaders will be present to perform a standstill performance for the attendees. Time to pack and load for the next phase. I’ll keep you posted.