My First Drum Corps Show

[DarrenE]

The first show I ever attended was at a small college stadium in Wisconsin in 1988. I believe it was Platteville but I wouldn't bet any money on it.

I was in the 37th row of a 38 or 40 row stadium, dead center on the 50 yard line, there was a concrete wall 5 feet behind me and the press box was about seven or eight feet above me. In other words, everytime the corps really let loose they were pointing their horns straight at my head and the concrete wall was reflecting the sound back at me. Each of the corps got louder than the previous. When we had decided that nobody could possibly play louder than the corps that just finished playing, Phantom Regiment stepped onto the field.

Four of the last five corps to perform were Phantom Regiment, SCV, Blue Devils, and Madison Scouts. Please remember, this was the first time since I was too young to remenber that I had ever been to a Drum Corps show.

I was really digging the whole show experience until Phantom Regiment came out and really let loose with that big full brass sound in Romeo and Juliet and that's when I had my "Come to Jesus" moment with drum corps. Then the pit sit up those big drums at the end of the show and almost knocked me one row back.

Madison Scouts were next up. When they spun around and backed into the big wedge and really let it fly in Maleguana I saw the most amazing thing I have ever seen at a show. The crowd jumped to its feet as if it was knocked up into the air by the sound. The entire crowd stood up starting with the front row and rippled up the stands to the back row like doing the wave front to back in less than a second and just freaked out for the rest of the show. Whenever I heard someone complain that they didn't think Madison should have won finals that year I would always tell them "You never saw them live. They were 'pee your pants' exciting." :P

That was followed up by SCV Phantom of the Opera. I get chills even thinking about that angled line pushing forward forward during Music of the Night and being emotionally drained as the last note was played. The audience was so sucked in that it was actually almost dead silent until the last note faded away and then the place went nuts.

Blue Devils were next. The only thing I remember about their show was being surprised that the "Blue" Devils were wearing Black. I was so into that show I was shocked it was over. I still swear that show was only two minutes long.

I have never had an experience like that at a show since. Maybe it was because my first. I think is was probably just an alignment of the planets. Everything was perfect. Perfects corps, perfect seats, and the perfect cement wall sound reflector. B) The most amazing thing is I bought those tickets two days before the show. Someone else had cancelled their ticket right as I walked into DCI headquarters in Elgin Illinois to buy mine. It was meant to be.

[stoods59]

My 1st Junior corps show was a similar experience. I couldn't talk my parents into taking me to Ithaca for DCI Finals in 1974 but they agreed to take me to Syracuse the next day. As many know, this was the show that had Santa Clara coming in 3rd-a day after winning DCI Finals. I was in awe of all 5 corps that evening: Troopers, Kingsmen, Vanguard, Scouts and the Muchachos.

What a vivid, wonderful memory that is.

[Northern Thunder]

Based on your description of the stadium, and the lineup, you must have been at Whitewater, Darren. That was the only show in Wisconsin that year with those corps in it. Great show to see for your very first drum corps experience!

Here are those scores:

July 30, 1988 Whitewater, WI

DCI Midwest Championship

finals

Blue Devils 91.9

Santa Clara 90.2

Madison 87.4

Phantom Regiment 86.6

Velvet Knights 86.2

Spirit of Atlanta 80.5

Freelancers 73.3

Sky Ryders 72.2

Florida Wave 65.9

Troopers 65

Edited August 15, 2007 by Northern Thunder

[bluecoats88]

wow, it's amazing to see that on July 30th Madison was 4.5 points behind Devils and still came up to win it all.

[Northern Thunder]

And especially when you realize that Madison didn't have a contest in the U.S. between June 19 and July 16, since they were in Europe then.

[ajedrummer]

My first show was also the first one I (and the whole corps) competed in!

It was 1972 and was the home show of the St. Mathias Cadets in Milwaukee. They did not have a stadium so it was held in the parking lot of the church! If I recall, they had wooden snow fence around the perimeter of the "field".

Being a first year corps, we went on first or close to it a lot and were able to see most of the shows that we were in.

The coolest thing though is to say that I was at the first DCI Championships in Whitewater - and I have the ticket stub! That was without question the highlight of my first year in drum corps!

[DarrenE]

Based on your description of the stadium, and the lineup, you must have been at Whitewater, Darren.

That was it! As soon as you said Whitewater it clicked for me.

[Northern Thunder]

The coolest thing though is to say that I was at the first DCI Championships in Whitewater - and I have the ticket stub!

Nice Souvenir! There probably aren't many of those around.

[ajedrummer]

Nice Souvenir! There probably aren't many of those around.

If I can figure out how to post photos here - I will scan it and post!

I have a bunch of other pictures as well - but every time I try to post them here via Photobucket, I get nothing but a URL.

[DarrenE]

That was it! As soon as you said Whitewater it clicked for me.

I have a DCI finals t-shirt from 1975. It was my Dad's. He said Madison Scouts horn line during the company front made the front of his shirt vibrate like it was blowing in the wind. B)