“Drums of Fire” … Doc Harris Stadium … Camas, WASHINGTON

[DrumCorpsRadio]

A delayed venue review and some show photos. Having never been to Camas before, I headed to town several hours early from Portland - not too far and easy enough to do. Downtown was WAY nicer than I expected with several great restaurants and bars. Got a snack a small Pacific fusion restaurant and drinks at a huge brewery before walking to the stadium. After the show, I was walked back downtown for drinks at a cool craft beer spot before heading back to Portland. This is a great town for a drum corps show for those interested in helping the local economy a little before and after a show.

The venue was very nice with a large performance side seating area completely covered by an overhang. Depending on your perspective, the concrete stadium design with overhang is either amazing or terrible. It was LOUD in that stadium. Hearing the crowd roar for the most local corps (Columbians) and the crowd favorite near my seat (Troopers) was amazing, but the sound was so loud at times that you could not tell what was actually being performed. 

In terms of show operations, this show was run 100 times better than DCI West which I saw in person two nights later. Oregon Crusaders may not be fielding a corps, but they put on a good show with the obvious and important caveat that four corps is too small for a show and, if you have no choice but to do a show with four corps, there shall be no intermission and especially not a 45 minute long one. Anyway, entry and exit was easy, ticket taking was a breeze, there were numerous food options all supporting local organizations plus programs, souvies, the whole bit. Compared to DCI West where gates opened 30 minutes late, staff were unaware of where bathroom locations might be, food/drinks were limited to only one level of the concourse, and souvies were OUTSIDE security, Camas hit a home run. Well done!

Columbians

Troopers

The Academy

Blue Knights