DINERS, DRUM CORPS, and DRIVES...DCI East 2025 Edition

[truman]

Come along as my wife and I take a couple days traveling through Pennsylvania in search of great drum corps and food. The plan is to spend some time seeing BD, Phantom, and Boston rehearsals during the week of DCI East. First stop…Hamburg

 

Wed 7/30

About 30 minutes west of Allentown is the small town of Hamburg. For well over a decade Hamburg High School has hosted the Blue Devils during the week of East.

The sprawling site provides them with multiple practice fields, great housing in the school, plenty of space, and unfettered access to a nice turf stadium with a great box vantage point. The Devils usually stay for 2-3 days, and being only 45 minutes away, we have watched them there for many hours.

The first stop was for dinner about 10 minutes South of Hamburg on Rt 61 at the Kwik Shoppe.

This family owned “drive in” restaurant has been in business for 57 years . The menu offers a wide array of made to order “fast food” options, and some great ice cream specialties. We had the double cheeseburgers and a side of fries. The burgers had that great flat top crisp while being juicy and not overdone. The fries were perfectly cooked, and made fresh for our order. We grabbed 2 flying saucer ice cream sandwiches to go for the ride to the school. For around $25 with tip, it’s SO much better than any fast food chain option.

 

 

 

We always like to take the back roads to the school, through some beautiful farmlands.

 

One road name always gets recognition.

 

 

 

 

We arrived to find the brass in sectionals on the side field, percussion in the stadium, and guard down by the school.

There is always a special feeling when I first arrive at a rehearsal. After weeks of seeing flo performances and following posts as they tour the country, pulling into a school and seeing the trucks and busses, hearing the “sounds”, has a magical feeling-one that seems to never change year after year.

We were able to do some close up prop inspection. The design of the chairs is brilliantly impressive. The brass came along and pushed them to the stadium, and we made our way in.

 

The brass and percussion were working Kashmir as we stopped at the rest rooms.

From the end zone it was sounding very solid.

It was a beautiful night, but still very hot and stupid humid

By the time we made our way to the 50 at track level, they had gotten to the brass fugue section. This “cut and paste” from 2003 had me hooked from the first time I heard the show. I was immediately transported to the great memories of our family trip to Orlando, when our little girls were hanging with the battery, and got a tenor pad autographed by the members and staff. Some iconic names on that pad. My knees buckled some as we heard it live for the first time.

We took seats on the side one 45.

The corps was working hard, and I was immediately reminded of what I try to remember every year…Flo is not it, live is a whole different deal.

It was a unique chance to see the brass and battery drill without the guard.

The energy level was about what you would expect on a long hot and humid Wednesday.

They were spending time on the back half of the ballad, and we noticed some new Billie Eilish voice. In particular the brass was having trouble getting time as they set the block in the back corner of side2, right before the turn and the promenade. After some deliberation, it was determined that the solution was to ramp up the dutting.

 

The guard came in and ensemble started at the top of the show. Good god, what an opener. As Todd Ryan told the corps from the box, the build up to the first hit is a gathering of events that creates chance after chance for physical errors, and when those don’t occur, the culmination for the audience is powerful.

The treatment they give Uninvited is masterful. I recommend checking out the Alanis Morissette original. Talk about drum corps music that you can walk away humming!

 

As they chunked through the show, a couple of things got my attention. There were spots of performer inconsistencies and focus, usually very rare for BD. The vibe and some comments from the box were, let’s just say, less than typical BD like.

Not a fan of the annoying dude whistling through the PA for calling the end of water breaks, just as an example. My experience is that a simple “ok let’s set up…” has always been all the Blue Devils have needed to get back to work. Despite the vibe thing, the number of hall of fame staff on the field is always impressive, and the member efforts were appreciated.

The run through was solid. The guard is spectacular. The show is really cool!

We headed out to our hotel about 20 min away down RT 78 toward Harrisburg. The Quality Inn Midway was easy on and off, quiet, clean, comfortable, priced right, and had a decent breakfast.

Next up… A long drive to see PR lunch

 

Edited August 7, 2025 by truman

[truman]

THU 7/31

Phantom does not post their housing or schedules, but I did get a nice response to an email confirming they would be in Huntingdon PA on Thursday, and possibly into Friday. We arranged to meet some good friends, (one a PR super fan), who were driving up from South Carolina, at around noon. Rain was almost a certainty, but hoping for some later clearing, we headed out on the 90 min trek through the beautiful blue mountains of central PA.

 

We found PR getting ready for lunch when we arrived about 11:45. The daily schedule on the food truck was a bummer

 

Because of the sketchy weather, and for logistics related to housing, they had decided to do sectionals indoors as needed, with an early dinner, pack, load and leave, moving toward Allentown. Thanks go out to the staff who shared the rehearsal location for Friday, as it had just been sent out to them. Great Valley in Malvern, about an hour south of Allentown, all the way back across the state. We also found out later that Malvern did not approve overnight stays in the school, so PR decided to do a hotel for the night. I’m sure the members were good with that! The early pack and leave meant some great R&R for them.

We immediately shifted our plans. We decided to go another 45 minutes west to Altoona, where we would meet our friends at the Boyer Candy Factory store.

From there we would trek back across the state to Hamburg to catch BD night block-which according to future radar, was gonna get rain. We had a hotel planned just past Harrisburg for the night, and from there we would head to Malvern in the morning.

But first-some coffee! We saw PR eating lunch as we headed for the Standing Stone Coffee Shop in downtown Huntingdon. This place is the real deal, roasting on sight, and offering a great looking menu of baked goods and sandwiches. I had a French press of their signature blend, and she had a cold mochachino latte thing. The big score was a free burlap authentic coffee bag for decoration or crafting or something.

 

 

 

It started to pour when we got to Altoona and the Boyer factory. We always try to stop here whenever we are “in range” to stock up on Mallo cups. They have weekly deals, “irregulars” and my favorite-the dark chocolate Mallo cup by the case. Our friends, “Shag” and “PR girl” arrived just as the rain was clearing up. It was their first time there. Shag pointed out that we essentially had left Hershey to drive a 3 hour round trip, just to get chocolate. lol

 

 

After some catching up, we headed back toward Hamburg. The radar was still

looking sketch, so we decided to check into the hotel on the way, get some dinner, and would get to BD about 7:30.

 

The Country Inn and Suites just off 81, north of Hershey, was excellent. Very clean, a big room, and easy on and off, located right next to a sheetz. An indoor pool and jacuzzi, which we decided to try out before dinner.

 

Nearby we found the Manada Hill diner. I had a chicken salad on rye with a bowl of vegetable beef soup, chips, and a side of cole slaw. She had a Athenian pannini-(gyro meat) with fries and a cup of corn chowder.

Server was excellent, food was top notch, and bill was less than $30.

4.5 stars!

 

Word from Hamburg was that they were in sectionals, and the rain was holding off!

We arrived to find the corps in the stadium in a brass/perc ensemble, but without electronics. The temperature had dropped almost 20 degrees and there was some wind. It felt almost cold-like a jacket needed.

It seemed likely that one of the staff leading things from the box may have been a relatively late addition, as there was some clear lack of familiarity with the reference terminology of set and measure numbers.

Hard work was being done on the field. The forecast was improving, and the sound cart “train” arrived with the speakers and boards and set up quickly. It was something to see how many brass had to come off the field to get their mics set up, I would say at least 25-30. This is pretty common now.

Hard to tell what sounds are coming from where. I am over being grumpy about it all, and choose to just either like or not like whatever is being done by whatever they choose to do it with.

The guard came in, and they chunked through some stuff. Most notable was the opener, in particular some good dynamics work they had done when the brass enters.

The guard was fighting the wind, and TJ told them to make smart and safe decisions about when and if they tried tosses.

With about 15 minutes to go before the run through I felt something “click”. The intensity level seemed to ratchet up several notches. They had to be enjoying the cool conditions, but there was no question, THIS was BD, and the run was much stronger than the night before.

 

We hung in the parking lot well after they finished, having great drum corps talks that are only possible among the most avid of drum corps fans.

 

We got back to the hotel about midnight, and crashed pretty quick.

 

Next up-finally some PR and EAST day 1!

Edited August 7, 2025 by truman

[truman]

Fri 8/1

 

Breakfast choices at the hotel were pretty standard. Scrambled eggs, sausage, waffle making, and a good selection of cereals, fruits, yogurts and toast, bagels etc. Being so close to Hershey, the families with young kids were to be expected, and the noise level was annoying. Honestly, some of the adults were more annoying than the little kids.

 

After another quick visit to the hot tub, we headed out through some back roads around Hershey to the PA turnpike, and got to Great Valley High School about 12:45 to find our friends already watching Regiment in full ensemble. It was a little overcast and breezy, but a great temperature and humidity for the members.

The talent and intensity of the performers and staff was on point. Some great comments, some enthusiastic responses, and some very good drum corps going on.

A smaller stands area made for a very cozy and powerful vantage point.

 

As I expected, I quickly fell in love with the show. I have my own thoughts about what the show is saying, and how it speaks to me. It’s both morbid and inspiring.

Although no schedule was posted, we could tell by the progress of the “chunking” that it would be around 2:00 for a run. It was fun to watch the girls who roll the cages away at the end trying to perfect both the timing and distance that the props went, attempting to have them cross the yard lines and roll to a stop at the perfect moment, on the targeted dot, and always in sync and in line with the other side.

Our first live view did not disappoint. Just some straight forward in your face “make you feel stuff” drum corps. I had a little trouble holding it together when the flugel came in for the ballad. She plays beautifully, and it’s pretty powerful.

 

The breeze through the curtains actually added to the intended mood. Much different in person than on Flo.

 

 

Afterward I had a chance for a quick chat with Mr. Emmert. I have no question that he is the main catalyst for the unmistakable Phantom that has been emerging the last couple years. In typical leadership class fashion, he diverted all congratulations to the members and staff. We agreed happily that the weather would not interfere with the end of the 2 year wait for the JBirney PR experience.

Before we headed for the stadium, we decided to grab some food to take along for pre show.

Sassano’s is a small Italian deli in a little strip mall just off Rt 30 in Paoli, with many authentic sandwich choices as well as fresh pastas, sauces, and soups to cook at home.

It was just 2 older guys, one taking orders and one making every sandwich. I knew the decision was not going to disappoint later.

 

A little construction congestion up the Northeast Extension of the PA turnpike, but we arrived at the stadium about 3:45 and got a choice parking spot on the street just outside the main gate. While parking in the “park”’has always been our go to, some old guy health issues are making the long walk to the gate much harder.

We hung out talking drum corps and the time passed quickly. Our tailgate picnic did not disappoint. My meatball and provolone was legit, and her roast beef and swiss with roasted red pepper horseradish sauce was superb. Both on a focaccia like roll-another 5 star rating for us.

 

A trip to the souvies, and then it was time to “suit up”. We chose some throwback 2003 BD garb that we wore in Orlando, with the full wristband, dog tag and necklace regalia, as if we could channel some appropriate motivation to our beloved Devils.

 

We could see the crowd outside the gate waiting to get in, and it seemed large and slow moving. When things had thinned out a bit, we headed in.

The cause of the congestion at the gate was made clear. They had only one “security scanner” that everyone had to go through. When we got there, the single guard was just waving everyone through it, and there was no bag check search or the such. The 3-4 ticket scanners had to keep yelling for people to scan tickets, and one could have easily just avoided them and gone right in. Definitely not your typical major stadium rigamarole.

Saw Scades and Crest from the track as we made our way to our seats for Troopers.

 

Here’s my quick review of who we saw:

Troopers

This show is filled with drill form homages…an 11, a crossed sabres, and of course the sunburst. Jacket uniform change thing is well designed and done fast and effectively.

While I was glad to see the Cello brought back, I could have done with less of it. I wish the “die” took place where he is “shot”, or at least farther front. The “wounded stumble” didn’t work for me. I love the ending, the hat, the ghost, the JJ patch and all,but I think it’s a bit too long, and could lose about 15 seconds, (and some cello) and it would be more effective.

I find myself somewhat glad that this is the “Final Sunset”, and look forward to where they take things next.

Colts

They certainly squeeze every bit of GE they can from this show. Well done!

Blue Kennigetts

A little overboard on the drip patches for me, but the overall thematic design structure and coordination is well done. They have a great top 12 package of design and execution. So the oboe thing…

I believe this was the first ever woodwind to perform in a drum corps at this storied venue. There was some murmuring and grumbling around us when it started. I was fully expecting the typically purist JBirney crowd to let loose some boos. That didn’t happen. The polite golf claps when the first oboe segment is over gave way to more grumbling when it started back up again. While I don’t find this use either particularly effective or objectionable, I do wish it was “not so much” in length.

It’s a dig deal to get back to a Saturday night performance for BK!

Stars

Wow brass! REALLY GOOD! I'm ust not a big fan of this show design theme-but they are doing it very well!

PR

It was all I expected. Beautifully performed and presented. Props live are so much more effective than flo. The tuba trip and tumble out of the one prop makes you realize how challenging all that is. They all have to jump them bars throughout the show. Glad he is ok, but the horn not so much.

That leads us to my feelings about the soft tag ending. I have never been a big fan of telling your audience to stop cheering and sit down. Because everything is pre timed with electronics, scenes and the such, I think it comes on too fast. After spending three minutes just igniting the crowd in the closer, I saw most just starting to stand and then immediately sitting back down. I would love to see the ability to pause and allow for the S/O to simmer a bit before they launch the soft ending. I find myself hoping for a kick or Chevron, but that doesn’t appear to be in the plans. Thanks PR for what you made me feel.

BD

Well well…the uniform colors and flag choices added the expected burst of GE that BD always brings. The opener is fire, the soloists were solid, the 03 stuff had me choked up, the ballad is getting there and the ending is spectacular BD stuff. They move and place the props with precision. The show is quite a gathering of some very big moments, and many are starting to pop. It was a very solid performance with notable improvements on the things they had been working on, but I felt there is still room for an additional energy intensity burst, as well as some meat on the bone to clean both musical timing wise and some visual.

All the opportunity to medal is there. Going into this show, I felt PR had a legit shot at passing them. Leaving, I was much less confident of that.

In chatting with a couple nice guys seated next to us, one had asked the question “what’s wrong with BD?”. After they performed, I answered…-Not much!

Coats

Firstly, I am admittedly biased for a number of personal reasons and I know that. This is a great show and corps. I do find the performance level and difficulty somewhat over hyped, and the popular references to “raising the design bar” to be without much merit. Seems like a lot of the same stuff that they have been doing since tilt, not that there’s anything wrong with that! The side chain stuff was technologically impressive, but not really that pleasing to me. They do get a lot of velocity and effect with crafty design and showmanship. The other thing for me has nothing to do with members, but is more with some of their fan base and social media tone. I think the best way for me to say it is that the 6 words can take on a completely different tone and meaning when you are winning.

That said, they are going to be hard to beat.

They have the formula and are very confident in it.

It was a quick walk to the car, and we headed for one of my favorite traditions, the post show breakfast!

There used to be our go to, the City View Diner in Whitehall that was open 24 hours. Post covid, many of the late night non-chain options are no more. We have never tried the Ham Fam right outside the front gate, assuming it would be slow and packed. The IHOP 5 minutes away was the choice, being open until midnight, and we got there before 11:00.

 

We arrived to find they were staffed with 2 cooks, one busboy, and only one waitress. She already had her hands full with a large two table party and 3-4 booths. She said she would be right with us, but after a couple of minutes, one of the cooks came out and got us seated and brought us drinks, including plenty of extra coffee urns. You have to appreciate that team attitude from an employee, she could have just stayed in “her lane”, but decided to help instead. Despite telling us that our waitress would take our order soon, it was her that returned after a few minutes, announcing she would do it. She had a great sense of humor, required to deal with the shenanigans that always ensue for these gatherings. We checked out recaps and shared our take on the shows while she returned to the kitchen to cook.

It was still all her as she brought out our food. Standard consistent breakfast, everything cooked right.

 

I told her that I wasn’t sure what the cook’s percentage of the tip usually was, but that she deserved some extra consideration, and she commented that the cooks don’t get tips. She came back and checked on us, and brought us the check. We made sure she got a generous cash tip for herself, and had our first and only interaction with “our waitress” when we paid. Gotta give a lot of stars, mostly because of the efforts of one great employee.

More laughing and parking lot conversations were still going on when they closed up at midnight.

One of the topics was about our plans for the next day. Our friends had tickets for Saturday, but we had planned on wanting to follow PR to Williamsport Saturday, and so bought Friday only. While the draw of PR was strong, we decided to spend another day with our friends going to see Boston, and then going to the park for warm ups. Shag is a drummer, and a huge McNutt fan, and has been since his Cadets days. I am a huge Cedar Park Lot fan...so win/win

We headed the hour back up the turnpike to home, and finally hit the pillow about 3:30.

Next up…BOOM!

[truman]

SAT 8-2

Coffee!

We were up by 8:30, but starting a bit sluggish. Weather forecast was great as we headed back down the Pike. We made a stop in the Poconos, at the Long Pond exit, at Donut-z and more!, a small local bakery/deli. Fresh NY style bagels, with a flavored cream cheese “bar”, donuts and pastries and breakfast foods. The place was hopping, but we got our order quickly. A sesame bagel, with bacon scallion cream cheese, a raspberry “twist” and a couple mini bundt cakes. The bagel was perfect, as were the pastries. More big ratings given here!

 

About 20 minutes north of Allentown is Slatington, a very typical small old PA town. Settled in the 1730’s, it’s named for the abundance of slate quarries in the area. Boston has been here before, and the signs around the facility represent how welcome they are.

 

Brass and guard were doing visual in the stadium, and FE was set up in the sun on a second field, with battery warming up under some shade.

 

 

When the battery came to start their percussion ensemble, a crowd of about 50 had gathered. I was not surprised, but was very happy to see some great drum friends from Maryland walk up.

Everybody was standing behind the scaffolding about 20 yards away from the FE. Colin was up on the scaffolding, and after a couple minutes, he did one of the coolest things I have ever seen from staff at a rehearsal.

“Hold on guys…hey all you folks that are here to see us today, firstly, thank you so much for coming out! But, why are you back there? It’s weird having you behind me! There’s so much room down in front, I mean you came to see them, so get on down there and see them, go ahead, go down behind the pit on the front sideline if you want!”

He waited as everybody moved down and got close. Shag was pretty much in the pit.

“Thanks again for being here, they love to perform, and it’s good for them to have such an audience so close. Ok Boston, let’s show them what you got!”

And they did. Man, this group is crispy clean, full of energy, and focused on every rep. There’s some really interesting instrumentation choices in the FE.

At one point Colin addressed the snares…

“So that roll, you can let the drum do the work, but it’s got to be louder. I mean most drum lines don’t play more than forte, but not us. I need like 3-4F there, I want you to rip my face off!”

All I could think of was Nigel from Spinal Tap, which we had seen again recently.

“See our amps there, they go to 11. Most blokes only have amps that go up to ten, and like, where can you go from there? Nowhere. But when we want that little extra push over the cliff, right?, we go to 11!”

The super cool block was over way too fast, and they headed to snack, with instructions for everybody to get back quickly to help push the pit to the stadium in hopes of squeezing in a little more work before ensemble.

 

 

We headed over to the stadium to find a huge crowd filling up the stands as the corps snacked. There was easily 500+ people there to watch Boom. They would not be disappointed. This drum corps is rock solid good. The show just rams moment after moment at you. The props are much bigger looking in person, and really pop more than you can get from Flo. It seemed that every performer I watched, on every rep, was bringing Finals night intensity.

The clarity of brass and percussion is remarkably arranged. If there ever was what I would say was a “guard focused”production, this would be it. The guard is fire. Brass and battery do “guard stuff” throughout the program. Never thought I would say that a tuba “drop” could hurt the guard score.

But the brass and percussion were tremendous at their stuff as well. The show seems to seamlessly allow for all the moments to shine. The ending is really cool.

They chunked through the show, and did not do a run through. We were disappointed, but I have always thought that expending that effort on a show day was questionable.

There is a saying that without struggle, victory is hollow. This organization has certainly fought hard against the struggle part in their 85 years. A gold in Indy would have meaning beyond what most in the activity could ever understand.

 

We headed the 20 minutes down to Allentown, picking up the famous Cedar Crest Blvd at its northern most point. We opted for a to go order of sushi and Chinese at Bamboo Asian and Sushi Bar, just minutes from the park. It was pretty standard fare, but fresh and tasty.

My first visit to Cedar Creek Park for Drum Corps “lots” was in 1978 as a performer. Since then, I have returned every year except for a couple. The gatherings we have had there, and the memories created, make this place one of the most significant in my life. There is no doubt that some of my ashes will be spread in the sacred spot under the weeping willow next to the stream.

 

The lot near the basketball courts and the pool was jammed, but we managed to squeeze our cars into a couple of spots thanks to my daughter and son in law. We set up our chairs under some trees as the “sounds” of drum corps filled the air. We ate our sushi and before long other friends found us. As I looked around the group, it was cool to see all the couples who had met through drum corps.

 

Before we knew it, 2 hours had gone by. Those with tickets started the walk through the park to the gate. We relaxed for a bit, then packed up our stuff and wandered around the park watching some warm ups.

 

We joined the crowd watching SCV battery. Good lord. I would not have to be the one to decide on the Sanford.

ust as they were finishing, the BAC battery was setting up. They now have claimed the basketball courts as “ their territory” for a couple of years. They actually rope off the court area with crime scene like tape, the local hoopsters give it up, and a huge crowd fills some small bleachers and the areas around them. The diddle fans whoop it up, even before they play a note. What an awesome setting for them!

 

We found the BAC brass nearby next to the pool. Man, what a sound!

 

 

We had said all our goodbyes earlier, and left the now quiet park toward home.

And like that, it was over. Sure there would be Flo from Indy, and the texts of recap analysis, dissecting the rankings and ratings. We will be rooting for some teams over others, but all that will become a blur just like so many years prior.

Some have asked what is the last straw, the change or thing that would make me want to walk away from Drum Corps. For many years, my answer was woodwinds. But this year they came, and with them came the realization that there is nothing that will ever make me walk away. I will always want to go, not really for what happens on the field, but mostly for the experiences and memories that are made off of it. I am truly thankful to have added 2025 to my gathering of those moments, and for those who made them so special.

 

 

 

[bluecoats88]

a good burger/sandwich joint in allentown somewhere around 8th/9th street i think is a little place called Coopers Burgers.  Excellent smash burgers,  and their cheesesteak was too big for my brother to even finish.  

[Boss Anova]

 'Enjoyed reading your Drum Corps Travelogue.👍