EdMedina

Not long into Blue Devils' performance — okay, within the first minute — one realizes the DCI judging community has quite a dilemma on its hands. Last night at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Carolina Crown laid out its "For the Common Good" production in stunning fashion, making one forget there was a drum corps show going on, sucking in the audience with a huge brass sound, commanding brass technique and a lightning-fast visual design. Two corps later, the 14-time world champions smacked their program in its keister, turning off a lot of people while at the same time captivating those allowing their esoteric, dada-inspired show into their heart and/or mind. The question becomes, where does one go from here? DCI certainly didn't help matters by allowing the corps to perform off the sheets last night due to inclement weather and subsequent late start. So the last contest of the season went into the books without officially going into the books, no last-minute number comparisons or stats. In the end, to say one corps or the other will win this week in Indianapolis would be calling it too soon, too close. Even so, one must consider the Blue Devils the odds-on favorite, due to their skein over Crown this entire season. But one thing is certain after Sunday night's performances, Carolina Crown is not done yet. Neither is Phantom Regiment, which performed its show after being told to get off the field because of rain. Their color guard complied with the request, but the horn and drum lines and front ensemble stayed on the field and performed the remainder of the show without a guard. Yes, there were other corps at the show (Boston Crusaders, Santa Clara Vanguard, Bluecoats, Cavaliers and Cadets), all of whom performed well to a soaking-wet, tired, but appreciative audience. But the battle at the top almost overshadows the rest of the lineup. All of that said, Boston led things off with its Titans show, using lots of field and filling the stadium with sound and the color red. Santa Clara, also in red, performed without aussies for the first time ever (?), to this reviewer's recollection, bringing a most-improved drum corps to the field for its "Starry Night" production. Appreciated was the crispness of the performance — no missed horn moves, turns, or visuals. A very well-disciplined group of kids for sure. Also appreciated was the use of "Music of the Night" from their championship production of Phantom of the Opera, which helped to round out a strong program from the Vanguard. Bluecoats delivered on its theatrical presentation of "Unmasked." From the opening strains of "Masquerade," the blue crew had this audience member mesmerized. The show has lots of attitude in it and lots of performer-audience communication that is really cool. The taking off of the masks at the end is a great moment. Now its no secret that The Cavaliers have struggled this year to find their niche. Well, struggle no more. I've been a Cavie nay-sayer all along, but I have to give them their due. They were very entertaining Sunday night. No electronics to support or muck up or help or hinder, and I have to say the show was very enjoyable. The colorguard has some show-offs, in a good way. They also have a trumpet section that can play and their volume level is up a few notches over the last six seasons. They've rediscovered how to play like a drum and bugle corps. I wanted to say to them, "where ya been all my life?" However, the poor guys went on after Carolina Crown, so it might have made it a slightly tougher sell. Same could be said about The Cadets. They had to go on after the Blue Devils and they didn't do poorly. No, no, they were really good! They really are selling this Christmas theme. Several times throughout the run-through I wanted to jog to the car and go to the mall, maybe even eat a Cinnabon or something. It's a "cool" show that borders on preachy, but proves that anything done by a drum corps can be cool. Even "Jingle Bells." It would be unfair to rate Phantom Regiment based on last night's performance. Again, their guard bailed about 1/4 of the way into the performance, leaving the brass and percussion to fend for themselves in the harsh Meadowlands elements. That they did, however. Lines, intervals, attacks, releases, volume levels were all spot on. "Turandot" is a neat production and it's too bad Crown and BD are so good. This show and this corps could be a top contender any other year. Crown. Crown, Crown, Crown, Crown. If describing a meal using the word "delicious" really tells a reader nothing, then describing Crown as "amazing" or "awesome" or "really freaking good" or what have you is pointless. My reaction to their show was that I could not stop cracking up laughing the entire time. This wasn't because they were some reincarnation of the Velvet Knights or something like that. Quite the opposite. What other reaction can one have to a corps who decides to take every difficult brass-instrument exercise from method books such as Arban's and throws them into a field show? You want to explain that to me? It's madness. It's craziness. It's SUBLIME. When they spread THAT hornline all across the field in mixed groupings — MIXED!! — and then have them articulate or attack together the sound is unlike anything that has come before. Comparisons have been made to Star of Indiana, and I am here to quash those comparisons. Having watched Star every year of their existence save 1985, I never ever saw or heard them do what Carolina Crown is doing this year. There is no comparison. When they hit the crown set at the end of the show, it is extreme happiness juxtaposed with extreme sadness that the show is over. I could watch them for days on end and NEVER be bored. But wait! There's BD. The Blue Devils are louder. There, I said it. And, their hornline has a meatier, tighter, more aggressive sound than Crown. The difference is they're are usually staged closer for the louder moments, making it no less impressive, but it is certainly a contrast. A lot of people don't like "Cabaret Voltaire." My 16-year old daughter said, "what the hell was that? They were loud, but...." And I have to admit I see where she's coming from. Sadly, this show is not for her. It's for us drum corps honks who have been at this for far too long and who fancy themselves as instructors/designers/judges/experts/superfans, etc., who no matter what cool things you've done in this activity the Blue Devils show still forces you to think, "how did they think of that?" In a word, the show is breathtaking. It is written by geniuses for enthusiasts of the Blue Devils and this great activity. That's their audience. Noobs will have to check out the other corps, I guess, to get hooked on drum corps, but how could you not appreciate what the Devils have achieved here? Without exposing the fact I need a translator and perhaps a PhD to really get it — I am studying now ahead of finals later this week — I have to say the Blue Devils' show this year seems a lot like they took the last five years to try out certain things, and now they are applying concepts in an intellectual way. Crazy, I know! Just give in and love it, will ya? Sheesh.

BD wins. Regiment and Cadets knock Crown into fourth, again. SCV solidly in fifth, followed by Bluecoats. Politics play out and Cavies place seventh, followed by BAC. Scouts and Spirit of Atlanta, the darlings of 2012, are ninth and tenth, respectively, and the audience goes, "Boooooooooooo!" not "Blooooooooooo." That leaves 11 and 12, which are Blue Stars and Blue Knights. Would love to see Crossmen in there, but I think they'll make them wait another year.

Eat at Yocco's 100. Pretty good hot dog joint and the only place I have ever seen deep-fried perogies served like french fries (w/ketchup, of course). Well worth it and right across from "the park."

If you're a frequent visitor to "the Planet," It's almost impossible to overlook the contrasts that mark this 40th installment of the DCI experiment. On one hand you have a battle of philosophies vying for the top spot in the world class. A perennial winner and its "different" type of show is under attack by a relative newcomer performing a difficult yet traditional drum and bugle corps show. Elsewhere in the top 12 you have two non-TOC corps mounting successful challenges to unseat a consistent and crowd-beloved top-five group. On top of all that, the typical battle for spot No. 12 (or higher) is being led by another typical crowd favorite from Texas (but originally from Pennsylvania), who is trying to overturn its also-ran status of recent memory. All told, it is one of the best seasons in years and crowds are showing up in record-breaking numbers. They're seeing some great drum corps, competitively and from a qualitative standpoint. But, then again, storm clouds on the horizon have given way to showers, putting a damper on an otherwise fantastic season. Four drum corps have unexpectedly locked their equipment trucks and called it a season, leaving their members to scurry for spots in other corps or, simply, to go home and play video games, update their Facebook pages, do some back-to-school shopping or troll DCP. Heck, it wouldn't surprise this DCI honk if some of those scorned by this great activity in 2012 stayed home and ignored/avoided any sort of drum corps involvement or exposure whatsoever, even in the face of this great season we fans have on our hands. And there's the contrast — a great season brought down to earth by economic reality and, in some cases, outright neglect and a refusal by "the adults" to face the reality of their corps' financial situations. Can you blame them? I mean, really. Who wouldn't want to be a part of what is transpiring on football fields this summer? Drum corps is a Field of Dreams for most of us aged-out gamers who feel kids deserve and need the drum corps experience like we had it. It is not surprising that the "if you build it, they will come" philosophy reigns supreme. If you agree that people in positions of management are drum corps' biggest fans, then it stands to reason that although they may have seen the economic reality of their group's situation they still embarked on a tour because the fantasy can become stronger than the truth. "Someone will help us out," was a common theme, I'm sure, as was, "Hey, we'll make it. We always seem to make it." Well this time there was no saving force from on high, but there were saving graces who gave a lot of the kids left out in the heat a place to play. It begs the question: What if Carolina Crown were Teal Sound? Drum corps gods forbid, is this the sort of disaster that needs to happen before we begin rethinking the national touring model and the ubiquitous "Marching Music's Major League" marketing position? Personally, the fact that seven or eight groups, maybe a few more, have no problems affording their tours and can do the national tour without too much difficulty and who could do TOC shows for breakfast, lunch and dinner, doesn't really cut it. I believe DCI drum corps are the best marching/musical units in the world — true to the tagline — but calling it a "major league" asks way too much out of groups who obviously can't do (or be) it. A major league, in my head, has a few requirements. Let's go through them as I see them, from a fan's perspective and not of those in the know. A "major league" has... Teams all over the country. Check! Agreed-upon rules. Check! Championships/playoffs/postseason. Check! National media attention. Doh! Professional status from the business management team down to its athletes. Doh! Sustainability of the league and franchises. Doh! What you have in DCI is a separation in how to market this activity. The corps market themselves differently than the league. The corps think of themselves as educational institutions that charge a tuition — rather than provide a salary, like a major league would — and have faculties and teachers. They beg donations, not sell jerseys or season tickets and they do not trade/draft players. Players go where they dream of playing and they pay through the nose for that dream. They chose, not the franchises, as with major leagues. All of that said, can't we begin to look at drum corps for what it is and then begin to market it the way it needs to be marketed? Believe me, I've had the argument, too. "We're just as much a sport as any," I've exclaimed on many occasion, and the competitiveness and quality of the groups this year drives this point home. But let's get real. Let's give up trying to convince the world we are something we're not. We're no major league. We are kids on football fields with exceptional teachers who, bottom line, need to be able to afford it or it'll just go away. NO ONE WANTS THIS! If fewer kids and fewer shows equal fewer exposures to the activity, won't that translate to fewer kids wanting to do this in the future? It doesn't take a genius to see this is already the case.

My youth band, the Commodores of North Orange County, Calif., were tasked with playing a pre-show concert and the National Anthem at a drum and bugle corps show at East Los Angeles College in 1986. Before our performance, the directors of the group screamed at us up and down not to be swayed by drum corps members' "evil ways" of recruiting you and stealing you into their darkness. "You'd regret it," they admonished us, "if you left this band and became a brainwashed drum corps member." Up until that point, that youth band was the premiere musical experience of my life. In essence, I thought we had it going on like Donkey Kong, and I couldn't wait to impress the crowd with our prowess. Well, the crowd did its best to sit on its collective hands during our performance, managing the equivalent of golf claps in between tunes. I couldn't understand it. I was 13 going on 14 and was sure we were the best since sliced bread. The show sponsors made the mistake of allowing us to sit concert side after our performance, in seats that were unsold — side 1, 40 yardline, first eight or ten rows. I sat proudly in my uniform, knowing we would be performing later that night at retreat. Our drum line was to play its cadence as the corps marched in. We had what I thought to be a very experienced and polished drum line. The first two corps to perform were all right. The first was a smaller corps from Arizona, which played "Fanfare for the Common Man." The second was a slightly larger corps from Denver, who was, I would learn later, destined for greatness and success as a perennial member of the top 12. But on that night, they were small, young, and only pretty good. Then it was the Kingsmen's turn. They were from SoCal, which got my attention. They wore really cool looking powder blue uniforms with black shakos and super tall plumes. They looked like $1 million, but they were smaller than the Blue Knights. The marching was enough to make me say, "wow, okay, drum corps can march." And their drum line made me question the ability of my youth band's. I was impressed! After a brief intermission, I was somewhat excited to see the next corps, another SoCal corps, the Velvet Knights. Based on what I had already seen that night, I expected to be impressed again, and as this corps came onto the field, they looked bigger and more confident than the previous three corps. I had no idea who they were, what the top 12 was, or what was to come next. Standing in their opening set, the drum major began to clap his hands, yelling "corps, ready aim!" The horns came up with a silver click and the members yelled, "FIRE!" It was the loudest vocal I had ever heard and I was almost knocked off balance in my seat. "Velvet Knights, you may enter the field for competition." "One! Two!" Tympani roll and then... Not a day has gone by that I haven't thought about that first impact. The sopranos, which I then called trumpets, exploded and the low brass punched it from underneath. I was wowed and I have been a drum corps honk ever since, marching six seasons and teaching seven more. But that first impact has been in my head ever since. The volume. The passion. The volume. I was completely wowed, unexpectedly, and it's that very feeling I've always wanted to convey with every subsequent performance I've ever had with a drum and bugle corps. Blue Devils were next. Yep, '86 Blue Devils. The sound was like a jet plane to my untrained ear. Finishing up the competition was the Santa Clara Vanguard. Up until then I had never seen such a spectacle as what the Vanguard put on the field that year. They marched their butts off and the sound had dynamics and articulations. They were the epitome of professionalism to my young eyes and I have been a fan of theirs ever since. It was at this point in the evening I realized why the crowd had zero interest in my youth band. I was brainwashed without even knowing it, much to my band directors' chargrins. My band was figuratively shoved aside into obscurity from the second people saw us, if they saw us at all. I will never forget that night and how I was swayed to join the dark side.

Here's my theory. Persons older than myself are always saying that drum corps is not as loud as it once was, and, therefore, it is not as amazing as it once was. I have a possible explanation for this. Could it be that as we get older our hearing diminishes and things don't sound as loud? Students of mine who view drum corps shows always come back and rave to me about the volume level. "OMG, Mr. Medina, corps X was sooooooo loud," Joe student might say. "Why can't we play loud like that?" My retort in my head is always something like, "wow, it wasn't terribly loud to me." Oh shoot! And there you have it. This 1992 ageout is getting older!! Thanks for your time.

No. Blue Devils are old money and they're built to win. And, they are really good. Always. They are "the Yankees." Crown can win if they step it up and make themselves undeniably good. Conspiracy theories aside, there is something to be said for a group of individuals who decide they want to win and maybe die trying, but at least they are swinging. Don't you think Crown is gunning for it this year? That's what I like to see. It would be great to see them win, sure. But I am LOVING how they've elevated their game this year.

These kids look tanned and ready to hit the field running. Go get 'em kids!!

Agreed. I for one would love to read a review that didn't start out a little something like this: "A great night for drum corps..." Every night is a great night for drum corps!! Crankiness off.

Your review screams real-world, down to earth drum corps fan. Nicely done.

Good review. Thanks for the low down.

www.dcacorps.org has the scores. But in case that's waaaaaayy too much to type (or copy/paste), Wildwood, NJ – 06/16/2012 Buccaneers77.700Caballeros73.050Fusion Core67.750Carolina Gold65.800Windsor Regiment59.350

Ok, so, the list. Where might a top-flight DCA corps fit. Here's my opinion based on last year's placements. This is fun and completely one fan's opinion. 13. Glassmen 14. Troopers 15. The Academy 16. Colts 17. Crossmen 18. Pacific Crest 19. Mandarins MINNESOTA BRASS BUCCANEERS 20. Teal Sound 21. Blue Devils B EMPIRE STATESMEN 22. Oregon Crusaders HURRICANES 23. Cascades 24. Vanguard Cadets 25. Jersey Surf CABS 26. Spartans RENEGADES 27. Pioneer 28. The Yokohama Scouts 29. Revolution 30. Genesis 31. 7th Regiment 32. Music City ALLIANCE 33. Jubal 34. Legends 35. Raiders CORPS VETS 36. Forte KILTIES 37. Colt Cadets TAMPA BAY THUNDER 38. Les Stentors THE REST OF DCA 39. Racine Scouts 40. Blue Saints 41. Spirit of Newark

I have to admit I've often thought about this same scenario. How could you not? Any performer worth his or her salt has to think at some point, "I'm friggen good at this thing called 'drum corps' and I could march/play/spin/throw/drum circles around those kids/older folk." I think, too, if you've participated in DCA and then went to watch a DCI show, or if you've participated in both activities at some point in your life, it's hard not to try to compare the two, as dissimilar as they are, though they are more similar than not in this fan's opinion. Now, as to the question of where might a top DCA corps place at DCI quarterfinals, I don't know. I have no clue. However, I say we try it some time, and then we'll all know. Why not ask a top DCA corps to BRING IT? Invite Minnesota Brass, Inc., last year's DCA champ, to perform and be scored next to the DCI corps at prelims or something. What could it hurt? Wouldn't that be a huge rush to any member of that drum corps? If it were me holding a horn in that corps — and I soooo wish it were had that challenge come along — I would be jazzed beyond belief and telling, begging, pleading with the instructional staff to teach the snot out of me and rehearse the bajeepers out of me to the point where I was so good that we just might have a shot. And isn't this push for excellence, inspired by competition, the very hallmark of this great activity? (cue National Anthem) So what if they get stomped or elevated or placed 26th or 10th or fifth or whatever. I mean, their placement at DCI would have no bearing on their DCA status, would it? It's the drive to be awesome, not the final competitive placement result, that drives us, no? Annika Sorenstam and other ladies tried the PGA, didn't they? (and no, I'm not calling anyone a bunch of "girls") But they had to think, "man, I had better elevate my game. To that I say, "heck yeah!" I equate it to the movie (the original, not the remake), the Bad News Bears. The crowd chanted "Let them play," and the kids got to finish their ballgame on the field of the venerable Astrodome. In this case, what would be the harm in letting the senior circuit not only on the same field as "the Astros," but how about letting them have a game? After all, no matter what circuit, it's a game (yeah, yeah, different rules and restrictions and rehearsal schedule and all of that, whatever, I get it.). But, pure and simple it's a game. And you gotta love this game.

1-900-CAN-DRUM... "Welcome to the DCI scoreline..."