August 10, 2024 – Indianapolis, Indiana
This is it, the final drum corps show of the year. Tonight, the final twelve drum corps will compete in the World Championship performance at Lucas Oil Stadium based on their placement from the semi-finals. Last night was another incredible night for drum corps. Every corps seemed to notch up the volume and intensity. Bluecoats remained in the lead, followed by Boston Crusaders and the Blue Devils in third. The hottest performance of the night was by the Phantom Regiment, who pulled ahead of Carolina Crown for fourth place. Remaining sixth in the standings was the returning corps from Santa Clara, California, followed by the Madarins, Blue Stars, and Colts. The Troopers also had a stellar performance, pulling ahead of The Cavaliers for tenth place. Eking into twelve place was the Madison Scouts, who will be the first to perform tonight to their adoring fans, who seem to be everywhere in the stands.
Even though I had seen twelve shows this season, last night was highly exciting, entertaining, and overwhelming. I started to cry even before the performances. Thinking about the early show in the Midwest and attending rehearsals of the Blue Stars, Phantom Regiment, and, of course, the Boston Crusaders since spring training made me very melancholy. To see and hear such improvement in their skill level is very impressive. Being as close as I am in the stands, I can see the passion in their faces and confidence in their movements. The joy of performing to such a large and enthusiastic audience is evident as they beam, smile, and cry at the end. Tonight will be even more emotionally intense for both the members and me.
Yesterday was fun-filled in the Circle City, including a long urban walk, a great lunch downtown, and pre-show merriment with friends that I see one time a year. Indianapolis is a walkable city. The streets are named after the 50 states. I think I walked most of America. Military Park was one destination that I have always made. This is where the drum lines and horn lines warmed up before their performance. Once they are ready, they board the busses for a police escort to the stadium several blocks away. The Yard House downtown served up a great Poke Bowl of ahi and greens. This was by far the best meal that I have had on my tour. It paired well with the fine IPA. Back at the hotel, friends converge to share stories and commiserate on the scores. These are the friends that I would not have made if it were not for drum corps. Many new friends are made each year. This makes it difficult for me to break away and keep up with this blog.
This morning, after breakfast with friends, I took another urban walk downtown. Not passing up an opportunity to check on the Kawai at the Crown Plaza Conference Center, I walked down to track 12, and to my dismay, it was not there. Thinking that they hid it away from me, I walked back toward the main ballroom. Lo and behold, it was there sitting nicely and waiting for me to lift the lid.
The final day here in Indianapolis is bittersweet. Many have traveled long and far and been through the trials and tribulations of the road and air to be here among their friends and to take in this amazing activity. But alas, it all ends tonight. There will be celebrations, even among those who did not reach the top. Many will choose to stay up all night and sleep on the airplane. I will linger a bit in the hotel on Sunday. I hope to give you a brief update before I head out on my next adventure of the summer, the North Country Trail annual Celebration in St. Ignace, MI. I have over a week to while away my time beforehand as I play vagabond, camp out, and stop in to stay with my Michigan friends. Wish me luck!
DCI 2024 Finals Night
Photos by my seatmate in row 10 Ron Wyatt: www.ronwyattphotos.com
6:30 PM – Lucas Oil Stadium
I am in my seat at row 10, on the fifty-yard line in Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, with my trusty Mac. Ron, my seatmate to my right, hoists his trusty SLR. He has agreed to share some of his shots with me for this final blog. Just about two minutes ago, the Madison Scouts took the field for the first time in seven years on Saturday night of Drum Corps International (DCI) final championships with their intricate and artful program Mosaic. This venerable corps received a standing ovation even before they played a note. Now, they are belting it out to the thousands of appreciative and proud spectators above. They really look sharp in the uniform that is forward but honors the traditional look of the corps, including the signature Aussie hat with faux feathers. They have earned their place in finals by putting all the pieces together for a great drum corps show.
Next is The Cavaliers. They will be striving to regain that placement lost yesterday. They look sharp in their black and silver, soon to change as they move through the program. The corps will show us the underside in Beneath the Armor. First, they revealed flesh and blood, then the softer side, their feelings. This program is poignant but does not score in the realm that they are used to. Nevertheless, the fans in the stands gave them a fitting standing ovation for their well-rehearsed and executed program as they pushed right to the end. You’ve got to love that Cavalier’s cadence going off the field.
Things are about to get hot, such as in the depths of hell. The Troopers are taking the field. Dance with the Devil has been one of the crowd favorites. The kids from Casper are about to do it again as they move onto the field with the foreboding dark music emanating from the speakers that portends the conflict to come. Here we go! If I’m not mistaken, one of the marimba players is playing one-armed as the other is in a sling. The main character, the devil, is 15 years old and the youngest member of the corps. He plays an electric guitar during the ballad and then transitions to an acoustic. In Troopers’ fashion, the horns are well-arranged to compliment. Yup, they’re doing it again. My ears and eyes have a direct link to that part of the brain that brings on the whole-body tingle and watery eyes. The fans go into virtual hysteria upon the hero slaying the devil. TROOPERS!
The Colts have taken the field. In fact, they will own the field with their final performance of the year of On Fields, a depiction of our lives as it relates to fields. They are outfitted in a two-tone uniform with one white shoe and one black. There is a little trepidation hooking up the electronics. They are ready to go. These kids can play and march with power and precision. This is my favorite repertoire, which includes many recognizable tunes, including the Metheny/Mays – Full Circle. Someone left the cake out in the rain, and these kids put it all out there on the field for us to consume with glee.
As I sit in the stands and write while each corps takes the field, I wipe my eyes of the tears. This occurs from the performances on the field and from the thoughts that this is the last time I will enjoy these particular kids and these particular shows.
The next kids that overwhelm the drum corps planet are the Blue Star. This show is one that I have particularly enjoyed. Creative, complex, and entertaining, Universal taps into the greater realm and our intrinsic connection to the universe. These kids came to play! The opener of the show is seemingly another notch up on the decibel meter, pushing our faces back. Now, the sublime yet powerful rendition of Stardust settles us back in our seats in awe. Bravo! The DCI universe is large. This show has come a long way since my first experience in Rockford, MI, what seems like ages ago. Travis’ horn line continues to impress, performing their best show of the season IMHO. I think of Kirk and Radar, two Blue Star alumni who I sat with in Whitewater in 2023, and the rich history of this DCI founding corps.
Mandarins are rolling out their New Orleans streetscape scene in preparation for Vieux Carre. The bell tolls and the doors drop for a powerful opener by the motivated brass. Tony DiCarlo, the DCI Contest Director, is sporting one of the uniform hats. This fun depiction of Mardi Gras is a fitting theme for this creative and talented corps that has only recently entered the top 12. They should firmly hold onto their 7th placement, their highest yet. I love that Dixieland jazz, reminiscent of my grandfather’s band, Russell’s Tom Cats. The kids are really pushing it at the end of this show. The intensity in their faces is palpable. Outstanding! I launched to my feet with everyone around me, trying not to drop the Mac. The pace slows, and the corps finds itself back behind the doors. The bell tolls again while the solo trumpeter plays a reprise in the late-night street. Bravo! It is time to take a pause.
I headed outside for intermission only to be caught in the crowd trying to return to their seats. Alas, I did not make it back in time for their final performance of Santa Clara Vanguard. The drum corps world could not be prouder of the venerable corps’ return to competition, achieving the admirable ranking of sixth place in the semi-finals. Their percussion put the heat on the Boston Crusaders at last night’s competition by leaping from third to first in percussion, dropping BAC to second. The energy was palpable from the doorway entrance where this vagabond stood with a throng of others too late to enter. I closed my eyes and took large drinks with my ears to at least experience that crispness of percussion precision and the quenchable Santa Clara brass sound.
I made it back to my seat just in time for Carolina Crown’s final performance of Promethean. The large cauldron is once again set ablaze. The brass kicks in big time. The trumpet mouthpieces are like flame throwers, igniting the crowd. The immense wholeness of the entire range of low and high brass stimulates my whole body and mind. Everyone loves the Crown brass. It has the clarity of sound found nowhere else on planet Earth. This evening, they are in the world of Prometheus, the bringer of fire. This is arguably the most artistic show of the year. Props, uniforms, fabric, structure, and drills all complement the sound. The ballad, now burned into memory, is one that I will be humming to myself on the way back to the Mill Brook. Snares entering, voiced brings us out of our stupor. The complex John Mackey piece at the closer, now etched in my mind after several listenings, is a reflection and statement on today’s complex world, a result of humanity and fire. This show affected me more on an intellectual level than on a visceral one. Art and music in motion. The crown snaps into view as the entire entourage belts out the closing chord. Bravo Crown!
Now, hold onto your hat. The Phantom Regiment is next. Speaking of visceral and fire, this corps has been on fire all season long. Arguably a most favored show by the thousands of people around me, Mynd takes control. You know you are affected by a show when the soft portion of the opening piece by the pit makes you cry. Mynd is blowing us away. Pushing ahead of Carolina Crown for fourth place was indicative of their trajectory this year. Oh, how I have enjoyed them at several shows, beginning in Rockford, MI, for the premiere. I plan to make it a habit of getting to a rehearsal each year to say hello to the team that is raising this corps into the late 2020s.
I have become a Phan of this corps since watching last year’s rehearsal in Whitewater with my friend Sandy Bertelle. She is gone, but I know that she is with me and her many other friends here with me. She would be very proud of the Phantom Regiment, a corps nearby where she grew up in Kenosha and knew well. I learned a lot about the visual elements of shows by sitting with her and talking later about what we saw. As a former DCI visual judge, she would be very impressed with Phantom’s forward but identifiable image in look, sound, and movement.
Not to be counted out by any means, the Blue Devils are in third place. You can bet that they will give it their all to change that. They are known for their Saturday night performance. It’s time to sit back and be transfixed. They are now in the ballad portion of the program. It is a most satisfying and pleasing piece that waxes and wanes with soft and intense sounds, truly a BD specialty. As the program continues, the passion of the Romantics intensifies to a stunning, rich display of sound and pageantry delivered Blue Devils style. Everyone is on their feet. Will they move up?
Boston Crusaders are on the field. This venerable 84-year-old corps has been striving for a World Championship. Sitting solo in second place so far at the Indy performances is palpable excitement for their fans. The report is that, no matter what happens tonight, the members are well-relaxed and okay with the successes they have had. Now it’s time for one more Glitch. The hiccups begin; members in white are captivating the audience with rifles and saber tosses with exact precision. The sound of the catches on beat every time. The percussion has been kicking butt all year. The fans are with them, mesmerized as the battery enters from the backfield with panache. The reaction of the crowd accentuates each highlight of the show, seemingly choreographed with pauses to allow the reaction to be part of it. Intended unseamless moments occur as if we are channel surfing. Familiarity with music and classic BAC moves carries us through the movements. Sublimity is expressed in spades with BACs final performance of the True Colors choral version. Everyone launched up from their seats on the familiar beats of Conquest as the marchers race, whirl, toss, and fall to a climax. Glitch went off with all the intended glitches and entertained us all to the max.
I sit back for the few minutes it takes for the corps to retreat and the next to take the field. I reflect on my relationship with the Boston Crusaders. When I rediscovered drum corps back in 2012, BAC was out west in California, so I only saw them once in Allentown. It wasn’t until 2014, their 75th year, that I learned that they were in Castleton, Vermont, for spring training, seventy minutes from my home along the Mill Brook. Each year, I take the time to visit to watch a rehearsal. I became motivated in 2017 to join as a volunteer and Ran Away with the Drum Corps, starting this blog to chronicle the experience. I have been an interloper within the BAC family since. I have made some great friends that I get to be with each summer.
Last but certainly not least, the Bluecoats are taking the field in their red, white, and yellow regalia, not blue. This is a noticeable change from the start. What has not changed is their trend toward innovation of the music and drills that the Bluecoats are known for. I sat back and let this show challenge me and stimulate me once again. Since Cincinnati, the Bluecoats have stolen the show with Change is Everything. It’s amazing to observe how they continue to ramp it up all year to this final climaxing performance in competition. This undefeated corps brought it all to the delight of the admiring drum corps fans, no matter what logo was emblazoned on their shirts. In front of me, Bluecoat parents hug, and emotion spills all over me. My tear ducts are running on reserve at this point.
So ends the 2024 drum corps season. Now, we wait for scores. Some will rejoice; others may be disappointed. Everyone should be glad of the success and lessons learned along the way. I am grateful to all those who helped me throughout the tour. I have been super pleased with my seatmates for the past three days. Photographers Ron and Shari, to my right, and Dennis, to my left, a Madison Scout alum, were great to chat with and share stories. Ron has agreed to send me some of his photos for this blog entry. Retreat is next with scores and awards. What a gas to sit here and take in such great entertainment while letting my fingers fly on the Mac. It’s time to put this thing away and celebrate.
Peace out for now.
11:00 PM
The scores are being announced along with caption awards and other honors.
The ranking did not change from last night.
1. Bluecoats
2. Boston Crusaders
3. Blue Devils
4. Phantom Regiment
5. Carolina Crown
6. Santa Clara Vanguard
7. Mandarins
8. Blue Stars
9. Colts
10. The Troopers
11. The Cavaliers
12. Madison Scouts
Best Colorguard: Boston Crusaders
Best Brass: Bluecoats
Best Visual Performance: Bluecoats
Best Percussion: Santa Clara Vanguard
Best General Effect – Bluecoats