Where and when was your first live corps show?

[Terri Schehr]

1 hour ago, OldSnareDrummer said:

1	Royal Airs	83.100
	2	Cavaliers	82.300
	3	Nisei Ambassadors	77.100
	4	Black Knights	69.550
	5	Millstadt Crusaders	68.800
	6	Kewanee Black Knights	57.280
	7	White Tornadoes	49.500
	8	Gabrielettes	41.600

My one and only time to see RA. 

[KVG_DC]

1981 - Ft. Wayne, IN 
1 Guardsmen 64.100

2 Saginaires 42.900

3 Americanos 41.400

4 Coachmen 22.600

5 Statesmen 12.700

Ft. Wayne went off the tour for while in the early 80s but was back in the mid 80s and attracting a stronger set of competitors as corps were starting to recruit more heavily from Indiana bands and Ft. Wayne was one of the hotbeds.

1985 - Ft. Wayne, IN

1 Garfield Cadets 94.900

2 Suncoast Sound 89.500

3 Troopers 82.200

4 Sky Ryders 77.700

5 Crossmen 76.200

6 Geneseo Knights 71.300

7 Colts 70.600

Northside High School was the host in their stadium by the river.  Which made for some real interesting traffic logistics.


Years later when the tour came back to Ft. Wayne in 2014, University of St. Francis was the host and that was a much nicer venue.  A couple years of world class shows and then they made it an Open Class site, then dropped from the tour again.

Edited September 4, 2025 by KVG_DC
DCX URLs don't go to the pages they show...weird.

[Chief Guns]

June 1986, Riverside CA, few months before my ninth birthday. Went with my uncle and auntie. 

We were walking thru the RCC campus headed towards the stadium, then my ears heard the most awesome and beautiful sound known to mankind. I couldn't comprehend or understand what I was hearing and why it sounded so amazing.

I had heard high school bands before, and they were really good, but they weren't this good! This was just............different.

We rounded the corner, and it was the Blue Devils horn line warming up, and they were playing Spanish Fantasy. Seeing them standing there, they looked like they were ten feet tall, and absolute Gods. 

Couple hours later, saw BD on the field and they tore the house down. 

Became a BD Honk right then and there and haven't looked back. 

 

[Terri Schehr]

3 minutes ago, KVG_DC said:

1981 - Ft. Wayne, IN 

Ft. Wayne went off the tour for while in the early 80s but was back in the mid 80s and attracting a stronger set of competitors as corps were starting to recruit more heavily from Indiana bands and Ft. Wayne was one of the hotbeds.

1985 - Ft. Wayne, IN

Northside High School was the host in their stadium by the river.  Which made for some real interesting traffic logistics.


Years later when the tour came back to Ft. Wayne in 2014, University of St. Francis was the host and that was a much nicer venue.  A couple years of world class shows and then they made it an Open Class site, then dropped from the tour again.
 

We were in the Ft. Wayne show in 1976. I only remember it because the lead bus  driver missed the exit and took us into Ohio. 

[KVG_DC]

Just now, Terri Schehr said:

We were in the Ft. Wayne show in 1976. I only remember it because the lead bus  driver missed the exit and took us into Ohio. 

Hah!  Were you come across the 80/90 toll road?  "Hello Toledo!"   Or from the south taking 70 your exit would have been at Indy, hard to miss and get all the way to Ohio there without noticing. 

If you'd have come across and taken US 30 you'd have run right into it.  

I would have been 6 in 1976.  I remember 1981 but I might have been taken to a show that early.  1976 is a bit of a blur and I remember more of the bicentennial stuff we went to that summer. There's a fair chance the drum corps show was part of that but 'bled into' other things of that summer in my memory.  1981 I recall going for the show because it was a drum corps show.

[Chief Guns]

3 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said:

We were in the Ft. Wayne show in 1976. I only remember it because the lead bus  driver missed the exit and took us into Ohio. 

Ms. Terri going off on the bus driver. Lol.

[keystone3ply]

DCI Finals at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Saturday, August 16, 1980 maybe? Band director took our leadership team & I was a senior. That 1980 Spirit of Atlanta horn line. OMG. They spelled out Jim Ott's name in the gold reserved seats on the visitor side - horn line warm up to Salvation playing toward his name. Then the "Let It Be Me" closer. It was an emotional night even for a dumb senior in high school. (BD explained to us what what had happened.) 

I also still remember the 27th Lancers, Bridgemen, Phantom, BD, Guardsmen & Scouts. Seems like the Scouts were upset with their placement at retreat & let us have it? I was hooked. I'd love to go back a relive that night. And I miss my HS band director today as he died way too young. I thank him every year for that trip. 

Edited September 4, 2025 by keystone3ply
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[KVG_DC]

Oh and the scores there for 81 were still the tic era.  Hence how the Statesmen nearly tic'd themselves off the sheets.  1985 was the 'build up' system.  So it wasn't just the 'quality of the corps' in the numbers but the scoring system as well.  

[KVG_DC]

Hmm. Looking at the line up for Fort Wayne in 1980 I might have seen that one.  Honestly I don't recall the year, just that I fell in love with the whole activity instantly.

[KVG_DC]

Ok looking back I'm fairly certain now that we went to the Fort Wayne show prior to 81.  1979 had Phantom there and I remember that because the closer was Elsa's. I didn't know it at the time but that was so iconic I sort of started getting interested in classical more around then.