Drum Corps International
Finals
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
We all woke up early in the morning so that we could walk over a mile to get to the start line of the Street Beat 5K. This time, it started in Military Park. Bro and V decided to jog, and I don't do that, so I walked by myself. I wish I had known that they would leave me by myself so that I'd have my earbuds and listen to music, but that's OK. I hit a personal record anyway (at least a personal record in recent months). We ended up at Lucas Oil, so we were closer to the hotel than when we started, which was nice. Unfortunately, Bro's knee gave out on a him a bit, so he was limping for the rest of the trip.
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| Done! |
We went back to Yolk for breakfast. I had their special, which is like a Grand Slam breakfast from Denny's with the bacon, sausage, eggs and pancakes, except I upgraded to Nutty Monkey Pancakes. Oh my goodness, those were yummy. They were pancakes with bananas and chocolate chips in the batter, then peanut butter on top of one, with another pancake over it like a sandwich, topped with more bananas and chocolate drizzle on top. V and Bro ordered another one and upgraded to Very Berry French Toast. We all shared the 2 plates and we were happy and full.
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| YUM. |
Then it was time to rest and take naps before going to lunch, so we put up our door haiku. All of the door hangers have a haiku. I just realized that the 2nd line should not have a contraction in it, to make it a true haiku.
We tried to go to Gandolfo's deli nearby, and tried to open the door,but they had just closed for the day. So we ended up at our old standby, Buffalo Wild Wings. Adam, our server, misses living in California. I would miss it, too, if I moved away.
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| I'm going to use that last line in haiku that I write. |
Due to his knee issues, Bro walked to Lucas Oil while V and I went back to the hotel to get our stuff first. We met up with him and braved the hordes of drum corps fans in the DCI Marketplace area to get to our seats, which were in Section 139, Row 14, Seats 1-3, on the right 38-yard line.
Sergeant Patricia was back, and this time she led us in singing "America the Beautiful". Why were those guys in our section standing up for the song? Do they know that it's not our National Anthem?
Exhibition: 2015 Open Class Champions Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets
Whooo HOOOOOO!!!!! BRANDON!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I saw him this time.
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| SCVC Drum Major Carl Huang |
Directors of the Year were announced.
Open Class: Legends
World Class: Blue Knights
The INpact band played "Everything is Awesome", and then Al Chez joined them to play Bruno Mars' "Runaway Baby". At one point after his solo, Al went to look at the music on one of the flute player's stands. I don't know if he was lost or not, but it was funny.
Sponsors were recognized.
In honor of the recent passing of Vic Firth, his family seat was left empty for the evening.
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS DRUM AND BUGLE CORPS "THE COMMANDANT'S OWN"
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| USMC Leaving the Field |
The Star-Spangled Banner was played by the USMC. That made me happy.
CROSSMEN
They were on first, and we were ahead of schedule, so they probably wouldn't get a timing penalty today. I really like how they intersperse bits of "Someday I'll Fly Away" into the program. Great, jazzy soprano solo, as well as the mellophone solo during "Someday..." She really sings high. Pretty, but I do wish it was a horn being played instead of vocals.
BLUE STARS
The horn players are in pairs while they watch the Siamese Twins. They also have numbered flags during the High Striker portion. They lift the guy up, throw a rifle over him, run under him, and catch, over and over, until the last person, whom just hoists him on her own shoulders.
V noticed that the timing judges dressed up for the occasion.
BOSTON CRUSADERS
I learned from twitter that the shako that the DM holds during his salute is one of the original shakos from the 1940s. All the banners worked today. The horns were quieter today. Maybe it's because I'm 13 rows further from them. I don't know.
CAVALIERS
Their long strides allow them to quickly cover a lot of ground. That, with the plume position on their Aussies, makes them seem to go by in a blur when they're running all over the field. It's just really cool and classic Cavies.
MADISON SCOUTS
I wasn't able to watch the show from the stands, so I watched a bit on the monitor at the concessions stand. There wasn't any sound, though. I like that "C'Mon, Get Happy" segment.
I like that the Lucas Oil staff puts up barriers so that people can't enter during the performances. At least they did for our section.
<Intermission>
BLUE KNIGHTS
I'm really going to enjoy listening to this show on the CD. So beautifully played!
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
Get it! So very awesome. Bummer that the pianist's mic turned off in the middle of the opening solo, but kudos to everyone else on the field for keeping it going until the marimbas saved the day. I just noticed tonight that the corps flaps their arms like birds during "Pure Imagination". I love how the crowd erupted multiple times, especially during the drum feature when the corps is in a block on the left side, and also when they all lit up. I love that one of the corps members winds up everybody with his arm and the corps leans back to react, then the lights are on. I am going to miss this show! Always the innovators. Thank you, SCV, for the incredible entertainment this season. Hey, where are the green age-out plumes? Bro said that it messes with the visuals, but I like the tradition.
CADETS
Couple in back of us cracked me up a few times tonight. Their exchange as Cadets set up for their show:
Man: I don't understand what the numbers are all about.
Woman: It's about the number 10.
Man: The other numbers.
Woman: He's always doing weird shows. Like the door opening and closing on the field...or when they're talking throughout the whole show...
Man: I do not like the short pants. I like when they go all the way up to the waist.
That's a lot of 10s. Oh! The groups of numbers that they say add up to 10. Their drill is fast and cool. Music was very well played.
BLUECOATS
V and I think that the crowd was rude when they started their "Blooooo" when the Cadets were still cleaning up and still on the field. I like the echo when it's actually them (I do not like when they use recorded sounds -- just play it live! What is this, air corps?!), but sometimes it sounds like clown horns to me. Nice soprano and mellophone solos!
BLUE DEVILS
Bro told us to watch the snares during the K-Pop segment, so I somehow took my eyes off of my wolves to watch them. Oh, they're having fun, too! They're also really good. The CG pretends to play their sabers like flutes during the Pied Piper segment. The little girl does a great job, and mouths "I wish" at the end. Great solos throughout. I'm going to miss my wolves.
CAROLINA CROWN
I wonder why the audience loves that red opaque silk so much, because there's not that much going on with the 3 or 4 people trying to escape. I mean, SCV did an *entire show* of people trying to escape from hell, and it was much, much cooler. I know I'm biased, but if you watch that segment, the best part about it is the solo, and they were cheering during the solo, so I know it wasn't that. Rifles: Just. WOW!!! Ending moment has CG lead wrapped in gold instead of white now.
Brandt Crocker announced that 22,085 people passed through the turnstiles of Lucas Oil Stadium tonight, a record high.
The gold and silver medals were presented to the Open Class winners, SCVC and BD-B, respectively.
"Let the finale begin!"
Vanguard's age outs wore their green plumes, so I was happy. Cadets' guard formed a "10". Crossmen's guard flapped their wings like birds, and the man behind me commented, "they're just going to do that the whole night like fools". Crusaders' guard battled with their swords. APPARENTLY, there was also someone dressed in the old-school uniform to celebrate the 75th anniversary. Corps director Jeff Fiedler brought out one of the Tesla coils for Vanguard.
Scores
12) 85.025 -- Crossmen
11) 85.150 -- Blue Stars
10) 86.800 -- Boston Crusaders
9) 88.325 -- Cavaliers
8) 88.750 -- Madison Scouts
7) 90.325 -- Phantom Regiment
6) 91.850 -- Blue Knights
<Intermission>
BLUE KNIGHTS
I'm really going to enjoy listening to this show on the CD. So beautifully played!
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
Get it! So very awesome. Bummer that the pianist's mic turned off in the middle of the opening solo, but kudos to everyone else on the field for keeping it going until the marimbas saved the day. I just noticed tonight that the corps flaps their arms like birds during "Pure Imagination". I love how the crowd erupted multiple times, especially during the drum feature when the corps is in a block on the left side, and also when they all lit up. I love that one of the corps members winds up everybody with his arm and the corps leans back to react, then the lights are on. I am going to miss this show! Always the innovators. Thank you, SCV, for the incredible entertainment this season. Hey, where are the green age-out plumes? Bro said that it messes with the visuals, but I like the tradition.
CADETS
Couple in back of us cracked me up a few times tonight. Their exchange as Cadets set up for their show:
Man: I don't understand what the numbers are all about.
Woman: It's about the number 10.
Man: The other numbers.
Woman: He's always doing weird shows. Like the door opening and closing on the field...or when they're talking throughout the whole show...
Man: I do not like the short pants. I like when they go all the way up to the waist.
That's a lot of 10s. Oh! The groups of numbers that they say add up to 10. Their drill is fast and cool. Music was very well played.
BLUECOATS
V and I think that the crowd was rude when they started their "Blooooo" when the Cadets were still cleaning up and still on the field. I like the echo when it's actually them (I do not like when they use recorded sounds -- just play it live! What is this, air corps?!), but sometimes it sounds like clown horns to me. Nice soprano and mellophone solos!
BLUE DEVILS
Bro told us to watch the snares during the K-Pop segment, so I somehow took my eyes off of my wolves to watch them. Oh, they're having fun, too! They're also really good. The CG pretends to play their sabers like flutes during the Pied Piper segment. The little girl does a great job, and mouths "I wish" at the end. Great solos throughout. I'm going to miss my wolves.
CAROLINA CROWN
I wonder why the audience loves that red opaque silk so much, because there's not that much going on with the 3 or 4 people trying to escape. I mean, SCV did an *entire show* of people trying to escape from hell, and it was much, much cooler. I know I'm biased, but if you watch that segment, the best part about it is the solo, and they were cheering during the solo, so I know it wasn't that. Rifles: Just. WOW!!! Ending moment has CG lead wrapped in gold instead of white now.
Brandt Crocker announced that 22,085 people passed through the turnstiles of Lucas Oil Stadium tonight, a record high.
The gold and silver medals were presented to the Open Class winners, SCVC and BD-B, respectively.
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| Up For Grabs |
"Let the finale begin!"
Vanguard's age outs wore their green plumes, so I was happy. Cadets' guard formed a "10". Crossmen's guard flapped their wings like birds, and the man behind me commented, "they're just going to do that the whole night like fools". Crusaders' guard battled with their swords. APPARENTLY, there was also someone dressed in the old-school uniform to celebrate the 75th anniversary. Corps director Jeff Fiedler brought out one of the Tesla coils for Vanguard.
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| Vanguard Contras |
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| Cadets 10 |
Scores
12) 85.025 -- Crossmen
- Jim Jones Leadership Award: Drum Major from Madison Scouts
11) 85.150 -- Blue Stars
10) 86.800 -- Boston Crusaders
- Zingali Color Guard Award: Blue Devils
9) 88.325 -- Cavaliers
- Best Visual Performance: Blue Devils
8) 88.750 -- Madison Scouts
- Jim Ott Brass Award: Cadets
7) 90.325 -- Phantom Regiment
6) 91.850 -- Blue Knights
- Fred Sanford Percussion Award: Blue Devils
5) 93.850 -- Santa Clara Vanguard
4) 95.900 -- Cadets
- Best General Effect: Carolina Crown
3) 96.925 -- Bluecoats
2) 97.075 -- Carolina Crown
1) 97.650 -- Blue Devils
Congratulations on championship #17, BD! The field is yours!
Encore
Blue Devils -- "Ink"
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| BD Drum Major is Happy |
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| BD Snares |
That was such an unpredictable drum corps season, what with all of the different lead changes among the top 4 corps, even during finals week. Recaps showed scores all over the place, and so do the final caption awards, which are the average of Prelims, Semis and Finals nights. BD, in the end, held onto the lead even when the ordinals weren't always in their favor, because their scores were still high.
Vanguard's after party was at Plat 99 in our hotel, so we attended. Unfortunately, a couple of other groups were there and had taken over much of the place, so we didn't really get any mingling done with other SCV fans. Instead, the 3 of us sat outside and ordered drinks.
V ordered "The Nightman Cometh", which contained redemption indiana bourbon, nardini amaro, st. george raspberry liqueur, lemon & beet juices, demerara syrup, plum bitters, dry ice*
*warning: please do not inhale or swallow the dry ice
Ooh, danger! Also, it was pretty, and tasted good.
Bro ordered an Old Fashioned with the Redemption Indiana bourbon.
I ordered "Last Man Standing", which contained bulleit bourbon, le reviseur cognac, green chartreuse, benedictine, carpano antica formula, cold smoked*
*please allow a few extra minutes to cold smoke this cocktail
Yeah, "cold-smoked". It was yummy.
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| Drinks for V, Sher and Bro |
Our server felt bad when he told us that the kitchen had closed, so he brought us popcorn. V had some, then she remembered she still had popcorn from the stadium and started eating that instead. Bro ate some, then remembered that he doesn't like popcorn, and stopped. I tried it. I ate some more. It was really good, and I tried to tell them that it wasn't regular popcorn. They looked at me like I was insane, then Bro tried it again, and agreed that it was different. I thought it had, maybe, olive oil. We asked our server. He told us it was made with truffle oil and truffle sea salt. Well, no wonder I liked it so much! Bro ate more popcorn. V eventually relented and ate the truffle popcorn, and finally tasted the difference. We laughed a lot. We were DRUNK. Those drinks were damn strong. V even cursed at me. It was hilarious. I was not, however, too drunk to think of a cool title for a movie: "The Other Side of Daylight". Maybe I'll ask someone to write a song about it. Maybe not while I'm drunk.
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| Drunk Siblings |
The next morning after check out, we walked to Scotty's Brewhouse for lunch. V ordered a beer flight, and one of the choices was a Dorian Stout. I looked at her funny and said, "Did you say 'Dorian Stout'?" She said, "Dorian". I looked at her again. Then she realized why I had her repeat it, and offered to let me taste. Normally, I don't drink beer because I don't like it, but I did taste this one, and I liked it. It had notes of chocolate and coffee, so that explains how it might not just be because of the name. The beer is from Scarlet Lane Brewing Company in McCordsville, IN.
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| Enjoying Dorian |
We went to TILT, but Bro didn't find anything that he wanted to win from the claw machines. We took Uber to the airport and hung out among the drum corps folk. I left first, and listened to people asking each other what that dance break was about during BD's show. They stopped talking when a guy from BD got in line with his medals around his neck. My flight from PHX to LAX was delayed because of whatever, so I got to LA much later than scheduled, and then I couldn't find my bag. I was in a mood about it, but it turns out that the guy whom told us that all of the baggage was out already was incorrect, and I waited in a slow line for nothing. Then the FlyAway took forever to pick up people (the bus was full) because the other bus driver kept passing everybody, according to the people that got on our bus. At least I had my bag, right?
The drum corps season is over now, so Bro and I are in withdrawal again. I'm glad that I don't have too long to wait until the other obsession takes over again.
Thank you for all the fun this week, Bro and V! I love you guys.
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