My Night in Decatur

[Matt_S]

First, a disclaimer: Having done both, I now think it's much easier to write a review of Finals night than it is for a midseason show. When it's the last contest of the year, you have plenty of time to collect your thoughts and make you've remembered everything you wanted to say. Oh sure, there are other people putting out reviews of that night as well, and you kind of want to beat them to the scoop, but when there won't be any more drum corps for another ten months I think people are generally eager for whatever material you're willing to give, even if some thoughts get repeated along the way. Tonight, I don't really have that luxury. Most of the corps I saw tonight are already on their way to Erie, PA, where they'll give another performance in front of another crowd, who will have their own thoughts to contribute on what they just saw. And because drum corps are improving every day, what they see each night is going to be different than what I just saw. So here I am, back from a two-hour drive, wishing I had some sugar or caffeine to pep me up but unable to obtain either because it's one in the morning and all the convenience stores around me are closed.

Okay, here we go, my first show of the year. That's an exciting thing, certainly more exciting than even DCI Opening Day. Seeing results online and finally having actual shows to talk about is nice, but the real thrill of drum corps is experiencing it in person. Until that day comes, it's still just an abstract thing. It isn't yet real. As much fun as I (usually) have here on DCP, the whole point of every single discussion is those shows we see presented on the field each summer. Those shows are what bring us joy, bring us tears, and fill us with enough passion to bicker ceaselessly about the most arbitrary of minutiae. Amazing, isn't it? If you've already been to a show this season, reflect on how warm you felt watching that first corps take the field, like greeting a fond friend after a year's absence. If you haven't yet seen a show, then when the moment comes be sure to savor the sweetness of it, because it's going to be another year before you get to have that feeling again. And if you won't be seeing a show at all this year... well good god man, do you realize what you'll be missing?!?

Me, I had given some thought to getting up to Rockford, and catching the Show of Shows the very first night of the season. Good thing I didn't; it ended up being a standstill. We've had several more rainouts already here in the Midwest, so I was legitimately concerned heading into this weekend. Fortunately the weather was #### near perfect here in Indianapolis. The high was in the low 80's, with barely a cloud in the sky. The only flaw preventing it from being perfect drum corps weather was that the wind was a little gusty, about 15-20 mph for most of the day. Great weather for driving two hours to a drum corps show, right? Well at times the crosswind did try to push me off the road, but the real trouble was the sun. Now I had spent some time outside during the day, before heading up, but even about halfway there my arm started itching. When I looked down I realized that my arms were sunburned, just from the drive! Turns out, you don't have to actually be in drum corps to end up with ridiculous tan lines - I got my tan lines just from being a fan!

The drive took about two hours, as I noted earlier. It's a pretty straight shot up I-69, followed by a 20-mile stretch east on US 224. I've gotta say, that road is exactly what you'd expect from rural Indiana. I took a picture of some cows along the way, passed a number of unassuming little bars with nothing but farmlands all around - and even nearly ran over a little grey kitten who was crossing the road diagonally, as though it knew full well I was going to wait for it to finish. The high school there isn't huge, though I imagine it's bigger than many I might have passed on the way. I wonder why DCI doesn't try to book any of the stadiums in Fort Wayne? There are a number of great marching programs in the area, and their stadiums have the size you'd expect from a 4A school. I guess the band program at Bellmont HS just wants it more, and to their credit I think they put on a great show. This is my second time attending - two years ago I went up on a whim after work, this year I went on a Sunday night prior to a work day. That, my friends, is symmetry.

I stopped by the souvenir booths when I first got to the site. The first item to grab my sight was a charcoal gray Boston T-shirt. I absolutely love the color of it, and picked up one for $18. When I talked to the lady selling the merchandise, she agreed, saying she loved the look of that shirt as well. She then asked if I'd seen the show yet. I hadn't, so she told me to watch for the apple. She was pretty excited about it, which gave me a chuckle. I simply love chatting with enthusiastic people. If it's about drum corps, so much the better. The next booth I stopped at was Glassmen's, where I bought a neat navy blue shirt. I also saw the same charcoal shirt I had seen for Boston. Turns out, it's a DCI design, made for each corps. Hehe, it's almost a shame - I love the color so much I had to stop from buying one from every corps there. Keep an eye out for it when you go to show; I think DCI did a great job with them.

I think the attendance was larger this year than it was then. It's not a huge stadium, and while the stands weren't packed they were definitely pretty full. Maybe Crown was the reason? The Cavaliers are always a Midwest, but they were there last year as well. Of course, so were the Madison Scouts, another Midwest favorite, but the Scouts were missing this year. Has Crown become such a draw that they can even out-gain the Scouts in the Midwest? Looks like they could be. The Cavaliers and Glassmen both got plenty of applause when the line-up was announced, but Crown got just as much. Looks like one of DCP's favorites is becoming one of the favorites of fans everywhere.

Okay, having said that, I want to get to some of my first editorial commentary of the night. Guys, DCP doesn't really matter. I posted a little while back that I would be attending the Decatur show, and asked if any other DCPers would be there too. Kevin Gamin was the only one to respond, saying that he would be there as part of his whirlwind tour. That was it. A Decatur thread was opened today, for discussion of the show, and by the time I had to leave there hadn't been anyone else on who had said they would be there. Yet when I got to the show and found the best seat remaining, there were already several hundred people in the stands. We can argue all we want about how representative DCP is of the audience at large, but there is so much more to the DCI fanbase than us few regulars who post on here with any frequency. Sometimes it's easy to imagine that we here are the community, but we're just snacking on hors d'oeuvres in a side room while the entire conference takes place around us. Now, I say all this from my own perspective, from the outside looking in, and surely many reading this are actually taking part in the activity. Many are probably out there instructing on staff, cooking food for a corps, volunteering your time as a driver, or contributing in some other fashion. Those are the people we should all be like. Tonight when I attended this show, when I saw all the people outside of just the marching members who help to keep their corps running, when I see the pride an adult has to be working the souvenir booth for her corps, I see what really matters. DCP is just sound and fury, signifying nothing. It's fun, it's entertaining at times, but I worry that it might also be a lot of effort gone to waste. It's odd to say that, when I'm putting so much time into writing this review, but don't mistake this as saying that DCP is necessarily bad. It's just that there seems to be a lot more good we could all be doing out there in the real world, instead of pretending that anything said on DCP will ever carry the same significance as one concrete act done to help the activity thrive.

Whew. Well with that off my chest I guess I should actually mention something about the shows. First up was Capital Regiment. Man it's great to see them back, and they sounded much more solid than I expected for their first year! They start out with some really neat storm sound effects, befitting their theme. Some effects come from the synthesizer they used, but they also had a neat effect where a cymbal plate was placed upside down on a tympani drum. So no, I don't think the presence of synthesizers signals the death of creativity. In fact, I thought their use of synth was very effective. This is a small corps, and I don't think their hornline would have had the presence or endurance to pull off this show without additional contribution. Is that a cop out, a way of achieving what you are unable to achieve through horns and drums alone? Honestly, at this point I don't really care. I was entertained. As a paying spectator, that's all I ask. The storm effects to start the show set the mood wonderfully for the biting attacks of the horns, and the tweeting of birds combined with the guard switching to bold yellows and oranges told us that the sun had come out just as clearly as though we'd seen it for ourselves. Drumline seemed like a strength of this corps (though I know only slightly less than nothing about percussion) while the hornline has some work to do, but I really enjoyed this show. I can't wait to see what it looks like by August, and I can't wait to see where the corps goes from here. One of the neatest moments of the night was after the show, when the corps left the field. They came and marched right by the stands, with their major saluting the crowd on the way out. Every corps after did that as well, but I felt Cap Reg got a little something extra from an audience that understood how special it is to see a familiar face returning to competition. Welcome back guys!

The next corps was the Racine Scouts, and with their appearance I have to get another editorial off my chest. One of the recurring debates on here is whether it would be good for drum corps to return to the regional model that served well in the past. To this point my position has been that those days are passed, and that the market simply doesn't exist to sustain that model. Well, I'm taking what I saw tonight as proof of that. I imagine that small corps like the Racine Scouts must be the hardest corps to judge; I know for myself that they are the hardest corps for me to review. I want to tell you how proud I am that they are out there performing, knowing that they won't contend, but giving it their best anyway. And that's true. I am. I want to tell you about the performance, that I think they had some tremendous individual talent in that group which shines out during solo sections, but that their ensemble clarity needs a ton of work. And that's true too. But the biggest thought I had is that this isn't why I drove two hours and bought a ticket to tonight's show.

I was entertained by Capital Regiment, and felt I got the value I expected from their performance, maybe even more. As for the Racine Scouts, as proud as I may have been that they were putting themselves out there, that pride never translated to entertainment. I wasn't alone either, as the applause for the corps was largely polite. Seeing that happen, I couldn't help but think back to all the tiny neighborhood corps that people miss, and want to see return. Now, to their credit, the Racine Scouts are a legitimate Open Class corps, with a touring schedule that will take them across the upper Midwest, and even to Indianapolis for championships. But put them in a show where they headline, and I'm not sure you'd draw much more than friends and family. How much worse would it be for a show consisting only of tiny neighborhood corps? Sorry, but the reason those corps don't exist anymore isn't because of an uncaring DCI, it's because of an uncaring audience. There just isn't a demand for that type of an activity anymore, and I saw it for myself tonight.

One of my favorite Open Class corps has been Revolution. I almost always enjoy their selections, and this year was no exception. Heat of the Day is a terrific piece for drum corps, and Revolution did a great job with it. Percussion seemed very strong to me, or maybe they just played with such confidence that a novice like me couldn't really tell any better. Either way, it worked. Watch for quite a number of stars to be formed in the drill. I couldn't really get high enough in this stadium to read forms, but I did make out a couple every now and then. As I mentioned earlier, the wind was pretty gusty today. A couple corps were hurt by that later, but one neat moment in Revo's show stood out. At then end of (I believe) their opener, the guard has these bright orange flags, and close that section of the show holding them straight up in the air. Indoors in Lucas Oil Stadium the flags may just hang there, but here outside in the blowing wind the flags stood straight out. Very cool! Simple Gifts was the closer, and you could hear a buzz in the crowd when they recognized the melody. I hear SCV's show is quite something this year, but I definitely enjoyed Revolution's offering. I can't wait to hear what it's like by the end of the year.

Crossmen were the first of the World Class corps to compete. At this point it should be noted that each corps had to walk behind the stands to get to the field entrance. From where I was standing, I was able to turn around and watch every corps as they went by. One of the girls in Crossmen's pit saw me watching and gave me a little wave. At least, I think it was directed at me. I hope it was directed at me. She seemed pretty cute. Okay, on to more important things... well, more important to you, the reader, at least. Crossmen's pit is pretty huge, as expected. I saw four synths, to go with their eight mallet keyboards and five tympani drums. Whew! It's all used to good effect, though. The use of electronics is pretty much what I would expect from Aaron Guidry. They add a color to the program, a color not available through brass and percussion alone, and it truly enhances the attitude of the product. The program becomes ominous, even menacing at times, and fits very well with what they are trying to portray. I was a little concerned when the corps elected to use Medea, but rather than program a show around that classic piece they instead used took what they needed from the piece to create a show all their own. In fact, the only design decision that I heard any of the audience second-guessing was the decision to march with capes. They certainly give the members a larger presence, I'll give them that, and the corps does find some nice uses for them early on, including a spin motion that ripples down the line. However, for the second half of the show they just seemed to get in the way, especially on a windy day like today. I saw one member get caught in another's cape, and yet another member had their cape torn off to be left lying on the ground. To be fair, the wind was pretty ridiculous and even an aussie got blown off at one point. But still, I think there's a reason why corps stopped wearing capes, and I don't think the benefit right now is quite worth the cost. One thing's for sure: after all that black I found it very refreshing when the guard pulled out some red during the last section of the show.

Another point worth bringing up here: it seemed like just about everyone is using the moving start these days. I like them, I think they add to most shows, but it can be overdone. Crossmen I think are guilty of that this year. They set up and just start right into their show, moving for a good minute or so before the announcer even introduces them. I guess I wouldn't have a problem with this, but the drum major is conducting throughout, and never turned to salute, that I saw. It gave me a bit of an awkward feeling to see the announcer ignored completely by the major, and from some of the mutterings in the crowd I don't think I was alone. Maybe once they feel comfortable they can move without being given time, or else rely on a different major from elsewhere on the field.

How strange to have two shows back-to-back with such similar themes. First we have Forbidden love, then we have Temptation. First, let me say that I love Boston Crusader's new look. The white truly does pop from the field, and even the tassels that I thought looked awkward in pictures looked perfectly natural to me in person. Boston was also the most aggressive corps up to that point, and probably the second most aggressive corps behind only Crown. I don't know where they'll end up - that will depend on how everyone else does - but this corps has a power and a purpose to their show that I haven't seen since 2003. Even the visuals make sense and add to the show, something I've complained about in the past. Last year when the hornline had their obligatory dance section, it felt forced and out of place. This year, when the hornline gives us visual effect its within context and contributes to the show. There's a part where the horns play with their legs up on their neighbor's knee, a part where the hornline sits down in four rows and waves their plumes like in those new Prius commercials. There's even a part where the line tosses their horns in the air! There's plenty of interaction with the guard, who are just as sexy as everyone's said. The apple moment is just as effective as advertised, drawing laughs from much of the audience. Bacchanale is a terrific closer, and I caught people whistling it well after Boston had left the field. As an FYI, the staff really wants you to clap along during that part of the show. They had about five staffers, evenly spaced, who started clapping along in rhythm, but they didn't get much of a response. Something to remember, if you'll be seeing the corps this year. This is a show with a lot to offer, and I'm already looking forward to seeing it in August.

Intermission time. Nothing to report there, other than that I went back to my car to get my phone. I got a nice little hand stamp for re-entry purposes, I wonder if it'll still be there tomorrow?

Glassmen were first on after the break. This show isn't instantly accessible like their past several have been, but I still found it very enjoyable. They start of the theme of One pretty clearly, with the entire corps in an unbroken line across the field... except for one snare drummer who starts the show out with a little feature. There are a couple other moments like that during the remainder of the program, but overall I think the theme is rather incidental. Certainly I didn't need a theme to enjoy what the corps was playing. The music is unfamiliar, but very rhythmic and driving, and I'm a sucker for that. I'm not yet sold on the uniforms; I don't care for the triangles on the hip, though the curved line across the chest is a very sharp look. The drill seemed very geometric, even breaking the corps into small groups of right angles at one point. I'm not really sure what more to add. I think for some this will be seen as a return to the "boring" years, since the show isn't one that's going to be instantly memorable. That's probably unfair, and I hope fans will give it more than one chance, but I know there's at least some out there who will dismiss something they can't latch onto right away.

Okay, when it comes to Carolina Crown, can we pretend the last two years never happened? I know those shows are the favorites of many on here, but I didn't care for them. My favorite Crown show so far has been 2006's "In.trance.it", and the popularity they've gained since then has actually made it harder for me to be a Crown fan. Well, shows like what they have this year will quickly make me a convert. I really like this! Remember what I said earlier, about Medea? Well last year I thought Crown was guilty of exactly that, of writing a show where the familiar source music was the star, and the program was just the chauffeur, making sure the star got to the right place at the right time. This year Crown's grown up. They've taken that familiar source music and bent it to their own needs. The corps starts in a line across the backfield, slowly moving forward in little groups until eventually the line is reassembled closer to the stands. Then they perform one of the most amazing transitions I've seen since Cavaliers 2002, collapsing the line into a block, moving from left to right, with assimilated section of the line switching to different music until the happy melody is replaced with an ominous drone. It's terrific! The visual effect of this show is also light years ahead of last year's program, with drill reminiscent of that 2006 program, and a flow that moves everything logically along to the next idea. The only part of the show that lost me for a moment was the very beginning of the second movement, where the corps seems to be quirky just for the sake of being quirky. About halfway through that, though, things seem to lock in again, and the show doesn't let back up. Crown's brass is even better than it was last year; I couldn't believe the runs I was hearing throughout the opener - on the move, no less. I'm still not sure if this show can win; it's pretty darn clean already in June. I could see a top three finish, anywhere from second to fifth, really. Placement's are hard to gauge, because while Crown's stepped their game up, it may be that so has everyone else. One thing's for sure, though: Crown easily deserved their win tonight.

Oh, a funny observation during Crown's show. The final push and last minute of this program are going to have you up and out of your seat, it's irresistible. Well the judges were on top of the pressbox just twenty feet to my right. When Crown got to that hit, I heard the judge nearest me giggling like a schoolgirl and stamping his feet quickly against the railing. Folks, for those of you who think the judges are heartless automatons who refuse to react to emotion on the field, you're just wrong. Judges were, and still are, fans just like us; you're kidding yourself if you think otherwise.

Regional favorites The Cavaliers came next, getting a nice applause as always from the Indiana crowd. The first thought I had when I saw them was how classy those uniforms looked. I mean, think about it. Tonight we had five World Class corps. Three of them wore brand new uniforms this year, and the fourth added an uncomfortable shade of green to their look. Only the Cavaliers remained unchanged, and they stood out for it. Something to think about. As for the show, well it's typical Cavaliers fare. No, they clearly haven't turned their horns loose, you'll have to check back later in the season for that. If you've liked their programs this decade then you'll love this. It's got some of the subtlety of Frameworks with the literal interpretations of Machine. The call and echo section is very effective once the physical spacing of the field is available, though I worry the effect might get lost when listening only to the audio. I also think they use the effect for too long, and the diminishing returns mean that eventually you start to think that the corps actually is phasing. The guard is ridiculously awesome in this show, using all kinds of three-dimensional space. They even climb on top of each other and go leaping off, sort of like what Cadets did in 2006 with the park benches, only without the park benches. In another section some of the corps proper is sitting down, and the guard comes rushing in, bouncing off the members like a game of plinko. More than once the guard has a feature where they're tossing equipment from one to another, including an awesome rippling flag toss that drew plenty of oooh's from the audience. I don't know if there's one signature visual move, like the lean-down in 2007 or the leap-over in 2008. Instead the drill has much more of that spiral of death deli slicer feel that Machine had. I think it's as impressive as we've seen since then. If I had one overriding thought about the Cavaliers its that they still do what they do better than anyone else. Is what they do still being rewarded by the judges? Well that's where the question lies. It isn't being rewarded by the effect judges right now, but I can still see a number of places where there's potential to add material. Will they make the right tweaks, and max out this program? I sure hope so, because it's already fun to watch.

So that's my review. If you made it through all of that, you deserve a cookie. Or maybe a free psych evaluation. It was fun to write, even if it took most of the night. I took plenty of pictures, though it's going to take a while to sort through them. I'll post a link once I have an album up online. If the rest of the shows are as good as I saw tonight, it's going to be a good year. Even the corps fighting for a spot in finals are just as aggressive as the activity's elites. Congrats to Crown on a well-earned victory, now don't let up. You've got a show that can bring you to great things.

[Matt_S]

Okay seriously, how awesome did this picture turn out?

[Jami]

Awesome review!

So happy to see my alma mater doing so well.

[crownwaffles]

I guess I wouldn't have a problem with this, but the drum major is conducting throughout, and never turned to salute, that I saw. It gave me a bit of an awkward feeling to see the announcer ignored completely by the major, and from some of the mutterings in the crowd I don't think I was alone. Maybe once they feel comfortable they can move without being given time, or else rely on a different major from elsewhere on the field.

I have only seen the live webcasts and video on demand, but it seems Crown does this as well. I may be missing the salute being done else where by another drum major, but it doesn't sit well with me either. Maybe, like you said, they will add it in when things get more comfortable, but until then it is a noticable part of the show.

[bluedm2010]

best review evar!

[Galen]

I read the whole thing. Where's my cookie?

[DcFr3aK]

I read the whole thing. Where's my cookie?

Word...I'm hungry! Especially after sitting here reading all of that!

GREAT REVIEW BTW!

Never felt as if I had just seen the show by reading a review! You should give yourself a cookie!

Can't wait to see the pictures you took!

-Travis

[Matt_S]

The cookies are free, but you have to come to me to get them; I'm not paying for your transportation.

If you'll be in Indianapolis for championships, you can hit me up then. I'm always interested in meeting drum corps fans, and I'll gladly pay up on my end.

[DcFr3aK]

The cookies are free, but you have to come to me to get them; I'm not paying for your transportation.

If you'll be in Indianapolis for championships, you can hit me up then. I'm always interested in meeting drum corps fans, and I'll gladly pay up on my end.

I'll be there for an entire week with some friends of mine!

You buy the cookies, I'll buy the drinks!

Edited June 29, 2009 by DcFr3aK

[nhsalan]

Okay, having said that, I want to get to some of my first editorial commentary of the night. Guys, DCP doesn't really matter.

snip

We can argue all we want about how representative DCP is of the audience at large, but there is so much more to the DCI fanbase than us few regulars who post on here with any frequency. Sometimes it's easy to imagine that we here are the community, but we're just snacking on hors d'oeuvres in a side room while the entire conference takes place around us.

snip

DCP is just sound and fury, signifying nothing. It's fun, it's entertaining at times, but I worry that it might also be a lot of effort gone to waste. It's odd to say that, when I'm putting so much time into writing this review, but don't mistake this as saying that DCP is necessarily bad. It's just that there seems to be a lot more good we could all be doing out there in the real world, instead of pretending that anything said on DCP will ever carry the same significance as one concrete act done to help the activity thrive.

Matt,

I truly appreciate your review and the time you spent to write it.

More importantly, I appreciate the observations you make above. DCP is a FANTASTIC outlet for the drum corps fan. I deeply appreciate that there is a place where we can all go to read reviews like yours, argue about the latest "fad", praise the great things that happen between competing corps, let parents know there kids are okay (i.e. Glassmen last week) and just generally gather for fun.

There are however, those here that take it so seriously, and in their own minds at least, elevate their OPINIONS to the level of the tablets that Moses brought down off the mountain.

We would ALL do well to remember your thoughts, and your actions in support of the corps ( just how many shirts DID you buy? ) It's those kind of concrete actions that make things better, not complaining about color choices in the flags, bass guitars and electronics in the pits or even "GASP" the latest judges rankings. None of that really makes things better, it's just for our own entertainment

If some more folks here took your advice seriously, our drum corps activity would be stronger and we would all have more fun, at the shows and on here as well.

Thank you for supporting ALL the corps and for a FANTASTIC review.

Best to you all, and enjoy the shows.

Edited June 29, 2009 by nhsalan