DCW Open Class Newsfeed

by Rich Conti, Drum Corps World staff (richburgher [at] yahoo [dot] com) August 4, 2011 – Johnsonburg, PA . . . An absolutely gorgeous evening and a large and ravenous drum corps crowd set the stage for the second “Blast in the Burg” DCI Open Class competition, with a line-up that boasted eight corps, including three of the top [...] View the full article

by Kevin Gamin, Drum Corps World staff and Drum Corps Planet managing editor August 6, 2011 – Erie, PA . . . It was a weekend of upsets in Erie, PA. On Saturday evening, the Oregon Crusaders upset Blue Devils B, taking top honors at the “Lake Erie Fanfare’s” Open Class competition. The trend continued [...] View the full article

by William Aldrich-Thorpe, Drum Corps World staff (aldrichthorpe [at] gmail [dot] com) August, 6 2011 — Allentown, PA . . . On this very wet and threatening evening, the Blue Devils barely edged the Cadets by a smallest of margins — a one-half tenth of a point! That is 0.050 of a point difference. Two amazing programs, two superior [...] View the full article

With just two two days to go before the DCI Eastern Regional in Allentown, PA, this show at West Chester University gave a great preview of what we can expect Friday and Saturday Night. It was wonderful to see old friends from the Midwest and the West Coast way out here in Pennsylvania once again. [...] View the full article

A rain-shortened “Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival” drum corps competition did not dampen the enthusiasm of the over 7,000 in attendance. This year’s competition also saw the largest amount of high school band programs attending (13) than in the past. Although the host Bluecoats, along with The Cadets and Phantom Regiment, did not perform, [...] View the full article

The Cavaliers easily outdistanced the Phantom Regiment this evening with their powerful and unusual production titled “XtraordinarY.” The Rosemont, IL, corps led across all of the major captions and took all but one sub caption for nearly a clean sweep. What a fantastic evening of drum corps. The weather was nearly perfect and the crowd [...] View the full article

Crown lit up the sky with phenomenal aerial color guard tricks while filling the night air with their outstanding “Rach Star” production. This night notched the corps with their highest score this season and the top of the leaderboard as they head northward to their DCI Eastern Classic performance on Saturday. This night was heads [...] View the full article

The four letter word that drum corps fans and show sponsors hate the most happened at Dietz Memorial Stadium this evening as a steady and sometimes heavy rain fell on the fifteenth annual “March of Champions.” The show was sponsored by the Children’s Home of Kingston as a field of seven DCA corps performed at [...] View the full article

The fight for the DCI Open Class championship got a lot more interesting after the scores were announced at the 2011 “Lake Erie Fanfare,” one of four seeding events for quarterfinals in just two days. The Oregon Crusaders, previously neck and neck with Blue Devils B all season, had yet to pass them. The OC [...] View the full article

by Bruno Bergeron, Drum Corps World staff (brunobergeron [at] earthlink [dot] net) July 8, 2011 — Loveland, CO . . . Thanks to George and Lynn Lindstrom, and their staff, the Loveland edition of “Drums Along the Rockies” was a huge success and the shows presented were the most thorough and efficient I have seen since we had the [...] View the full article

by Bill Flaker, Drum Corps World staff (wrflaker [at] aol [dot] com) July 9, 2011 — Wayne, NJ . . . Passaic County Technical Institute was jam-packed as the Reading Buccaneers kept their long undefeated streak intact while sailing to victory at the 47th annual “Drum Corps Grand Prix” sponsored by the Hawthorne Caballeros. Weather conditions were perfect as [...] View the full article

by Kevin Gamin, Drum Corps World staff, managing editor of Drum Corps Planet (editor [at] dcpnews [dot] com) July 5, 2011 – Dublin, OH . . . Four straight nights of shows in the Buckeye State kicked off in the Columbus suburban enclave of Dublin with the 2011 edition of the “Emerald City Music Games.” The Cavaliers, more “Green [...] View the full article

by Jim Claytor, Drum Corps World staff (drumcorpsworldjim [at] yahoo [dot] com) July 1, 2, 3, 2001 – San Diego, Walnut and Riverside, CA — The Santa Clara Vanguard rolled into Southern California this weekend, pumped up and ready to climb that “Devils Staircase” to the top! Improving over a point since their Stockton show just a few days [...] View the full article

by Ron Baysinger, Drum Corps World staff (BNMB [at] aol [dot] com) July 6, 2011 — Centerville, OH . . . A warm but beautiful night was the setting for the 32nd annual “Soaring Sounds.” The only thing missing was the hot air balloon that usually soars over the stadium at the beginning of the evening. The one thing [...] View the full article

by Bill Flaker, Drum Corps World staff (wrflaker [at] aol [dot] com) June 27, 2001 – Bridgeport, CT . . . The 2011 DCI New England tour opened up in grand fashion this evening with a large crowd on hand at Kennedy Stadium. The weather was perfect, while fellow DCW staff writer Timothy “Ace” Holleran served as the emcee [...] View the full article

by Jim Claytor, Drum Corps World staff (drumcorpsworldjim [at] yahoo [dot] com) June 24, 2011 – Stockton, CA . . . The Cadets’ “Between Angeles and Demons,” is a show that changes and gets wilder each time you see it. The first time I thought it was good, but wasn’t sure what to think because this corps is usually [...] View the full article

by Andrew Wheeler, Drum Corps World staff (wheelerand [at] sbcglobal [dot] net) Author’s note: I’m reviewing three shows on successive nights in Whitewater, WI, Oswego, IL, and Michigan City, IN. The three competitions featured largely the same corps, so I have focuses the primarily on different aspects of the shows. For Michigan City, I’m writing about effect and how [...] View the full article

by Andrew Wheeler, Drum Corps World staff (wheelerand [at] sbcglobal [dot] net) Author’s note: I’m reviewing three shows on successive nights — Whitewater, WI, Oswego, IL, and Michigan City, IN. These three shows had largely the same corps each night, so I’m covering primarily different aspects in each report. For Oswego, the focus is primarily on visual. July 1, [...] View the full article

Author’s note: I’m reviewing three shows on successive nights — Whitewater, WI, Oswego, IL, and Michigan City, IN. These three shows consist of largely the same corps each night, so I focused the reviews primarily on different aspects of the corps’ shows. For Whitewater, I’m focusing primarily on the music content. June 30, 2011 – [...] View the full article

Santa Clara Vanguard tops field at final show before DCI August 9, 2010 – Toledo, OH . . . The Glassmen had the distinct honor of hosting the last World Class competition of the 2010 DCI regular season. Their “Summer Showcase” has become an end-of-season tradition over the past three years, offering fans a chance [...] View the full article

Santa Clara Vanguard tops field at final show before DCIAugust 9, 2010 – Toledo, OH . . . The Glassmen had the distinct honor of hosting the last World Class competition of the 2010 DCI regular season. Their “Summer Showcase” has become an end-of-season tradition over the past three years, offering fans a chance to get some top-notch drum corps literally in their face. Considering the press box at the stadium might not even reach the top of section 140 at Lucas Oil Stadium, the packed stands had a perfect opportunity to enjoy the wall of sound that only a drum and bugle corps can produce. The competing corps were all on fire, especially after a half-hour rain delay that caused corps members and fans alike to run for cover. Once the skies (and the stands) were dry, the show went on without a hitch.Finishing the season with a victory, the Santa Clara Vanguard swept every caption except percussion, losing that caption by just one tenth. The California corps performed one of the most difficult musical shows of 2010 with all music by Bela Bartok. After one of the most crowd-pleasing shows in 2009 with “Ballet For Martha,” a show... View the full article

Spartans chalk up a strong win at Ohio “Summer Classic” August 8, 2010 – Dayton, OH . . . The Dayton “Summer Classic” has become one of the top regular season shows on the Open Class circuit. As one of the last shows of the season before DCI Quarter-finals, the scores earned at Dayton play [...] View the full article

Spartans chalk up a strong win at Ohio "Summer Classic"August 8, 2010 – Dayton, OH . . . The Dayton “Summer Classic” has become one of the top regular season shows on the Open Class circuit. As one of the last shows of the season before DCI Quarter-finals, the scores earned at Dayton play a pivotal role in determining the performance order in Michigan City. Because of this, Dayton is a chance for drum corps fans to see Open Class corps at the top of their game and this year was no exception. The Spartans continued their triumphant return to the field, finishing the regular season on top. Music City, 7th Regiment and Legends all finished within less than a point, establishing a tight race in the middle of the finalist contenders. Genesis, Velvet Knights and Blue Saints rounded out the junior corps competitive ranks, while Spirit of Newark performed in exhibition. Cincinnati Tradition competed as an all-age corps, continuing their preparations for DCA Championships on Labor Day weekend. View the full article

Empire Statesmen prevail in Kingston August 7, 2010 — Kingston, NY . . . Dietz Stadium was filled with excited fans who turned out to watch seven DCA units battle it out. The weather was perfect for the 14th annual “March of Champions” sponsored by the Childrens Home of Kingston. The Empire Statesmen are [...] View the full article

Hurricanes march to strong season with win in New Jersey August 14, 2010 — Toms River, NJ . . . What could be better than the Jersey Shore on a perfect summer day and an excellent DCA show at night? This year’s “Jersey Shore Invitational” was the right answer to that question. Sponsored by the [...] View the full article