August 10, 2023 – Indianapolis, Indiana
9:00 am
I am again behind in keeping up with you on my 2023 DCI tour. I left you two days ago in Ohio on the way to Canton for my last outdoor drum corps show, the home show of the Bluecoats. This is one of my favorite shows of the year because of the excellent line-up and being late in the season. I have been in three different stadiums over the past years. This year was at the Pro Football Hall of Fame stadium, one of the largest drum corps venues of the year for me. My seat was in the second row in tier two, 50-yard line, perfect! Alas, the bad weather caught up to us. Rain delayed the show by 30 minutes. And then, after the first corps performed, it rained again, causing another delay. Finally, the rain stopped, and it was announced that Blue Stars, Phantom Regiment, and Boston Crusaders would do a stand-still performance. If it remained dry, the Bluecoats would perform the show on the move. Each of the stand-still performances went off without a hitch other than some lingering showers causing the speakers, electronic consoles, timpanis, keyboards, and other pit instruments to be covered. Much to the delight of the locals, the Bluecoats rolled out their entire entourage and regalia for another eclectic expression of the Garden of Love. I saw……I saw…..I saw. The last head-to-head with last year’s silver medalists was everted. We will have to see how things shake out this week.
After a good night’s sleep in Canton, I headed west toward Indianapolis without a pre-arranged plan other than trying to avoid the interstates as much as possible. I slowly cruised across the Ohio landscape, beginning on the Lincoln Highway, Route 30. Funny how every year, I have traveled along a piece of the original cross-country road. It is fun to look for historic signs, buildings, and original infrastructure from those days long passed. Interestingly, drum corps started right when this original paved road across the country was completed. In the open countryside, the road is less traveled and well-maintained. One can make good time without the stress of trucks, crazy drivers, and the narrow lanes through construction zones on the interstate. The payback is going through each small city and village downtown, which is not necessarily a time saver. This is the way that I traveled all the way to Muncie, Indiana. I had no schedule because the next show was on Thursday.
It took all day to lollygag through Ohio, entering Indiana in the late afternoon. While in Muncie, I visited Ball State University for a recharge. I took a long walk through the campus ending at the Student Center, where I found a nice grand piano. A short session satisfied me by washing the road out of my mind for a while. Recharged, watered, and ready to hit the road again, I headed south toward Indianapolis. I planned to camp out at the Mounds State Park in Anderson, about halfway from Muncie; however, it was closed when I arrived. Instead of sleeping out, I chose to get a hotel room. My choice could have been better, but it was cheap. Sleep, shower, and leave.
Finally arriving in Indianapolis on Wednesday morning, I headed to the Boston Crusaders rehearsal at an area high school. I have been to many rehearsals but have yet to tire of them. There is always something to learn. I assumed that other corps were doing the same thing, eking out the last bit of precision in the movements and clarity of sound. Minor changes, including new endings, are being worked on by the corps encamped across the region at various high schools to push that GE score slightly higher. These are the rehearsals that matter, as it will all come down to the following three shows, with the final slots being determined by the performance on Saturday. The rest of the day was spent meeting up with drum corps friends, having dinner, and then some late evening repartee, sharing stories of the past year and this year’s corps and shows. Fighting to stay up until midnight was a challenge but necessary as the evenings will be late throughout the week.
4:00 pm
Today is a show day. I am in the stadium in seat #14 in section 140, row 10. This is the sound zone at the 40-yard line right side of the fifty. Thirty-eight corps will perform today, including many of the Open Class corps: Les Stentors, Raiders, Colts Cadets, 7th Regiment, River City Rhythm, Guardians, The Battalion, Columbians, Southwind, Gold, and Spartans, in that order. I entered the stadium in time to see the Spartans, the top open corps. A run to the airport and a late lunch a Shapiro’s kept me from catching all the corps. Only 20 corps from tonight will make the cut for Preliminary finals on Friday, so many of the early performers were performing their last show of the year. You could see the emotion in their performances and they left nothing out and put it all on the field.
I brought my writing station into the stadium so that I could keep you posted as things progress. For now, it is intermission and time to meet up with friends for some mid-show merriment.