DCI World Class Prelims
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
Bro and I went downstairs to the hotel Starbucks to get breakfast for the 3 of us to start our day. They don't have mobile order so we actually had to wait. The horror! They also didn't have any breakfast sandwiches by the time we got there, and they didn't know how to make Bro's drink, but they did anyway. It was new on the menu. Also, V said that her nitro cold brew was NOT nitro, but they did have the equipment for it so I'm just going to chalk it all up to the fact that they are not a stand-alone Starbucks. Add to that the customers that have never ordered their own Starbucks before ("What's a medium?"), and THAT'S why the line is long.
Bro and I walked to Lucas Oil shortly afterward, while V stayed behind in the hotel to get some work done. The gates did not open as posted at 9:30, so we sat in the shade and waited. They have a clear bag policy now, and while we were in line, I wondered how two women were going to get in with a gray backpack and a leather purse. The security guard searched their bags, and then another one told them that they couldn't go into the stadium with those bags. I'm not sure what happened to those bags, but I did see the ladies leave the line. The guard in our own line saw that I had a clear bag and told me to go through the metal detector with it. So it beeped, of course, because I was carrying chargers and stuff. Bro thought that maybe they weren't working because a lot of times they're not plugged in, but the guy did tell Bro not to touch the sides of the metal detector. I don't know why that matters, but I got inside with all my stuff and I was happy. The day before during travel, I got patted down at airport security because of whatever metal was in my bra, and my bag got searched extra because I forgot to take out my Kindle. When I got to the hotel, I had notices from TSA inside my luggage, indicating that they had searched it. It was a trifecta of Don't Trust Sherry, so today was great in comparison.
We shopped around the DCI Marketplace. I wanted to get my DCI Orange Cone, but didn't see any, and I was sad. I guess I should have gotten one when I saw them earlier in the season, but it is my tradition to get one at Finals. I bought EARasers at their booth in preparation for the next day of up close drum corps, and the lady fitted me with medium ones. I'm glad I was wearing a mask while this kind stranger peered into my ear. Their tech wasn't working, so they asked me to come back later when they would be fully setup. They're so trusting that they let me walk away with my new earplugs and cleaning brushes, and I promised I'd return at intermission to pay them.
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| Big Screen |
Bro and I went to our seats in Section 242, Row 5, seats 10-12. He had made sure that I had a desk for this long day of drum corps! I love my Bro.
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| My Desk for the Day |
The Star-Spangled Banner was performed on trumpet by a gal from Indiana State University, and I think her name was Jenna, or Jana, or something. Sorry about that!
*score placed corps going on to Semifinals
COLT CADETS 65.225
Repertoire: "To The Stars" -- They played the theme from both the "Star Trek" TV show and the recent slate of movies, as well as "Rewrite the Stars" from The Greatest Showman. They were light on the horn side with just 15, against 18 battery and 15 people in the pit, but they did some great horn work during "Rewrite the Stars". They only had 3 color guard, so it was a small but mighty bunch.
RAIDERS 65.825
Repertoire: "Use Your Imagination" -- information was not available online for the repertoire, so I thought that the title of their show was some kind of inside joke when I was doing my prep work. I did know some of the songs, but don't know the titles, except for A. Newley's "Pure Imagination". The narration said "I want to be kind." They wore aprons because they were crafting stuff and ultimately made a sailboat, and had a matching flag for that. I like their double flags.
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| Double Flags |
LES STENTORS 67.525
Repertoire: "Making an Impression" -- I heard some "La Vie en Rose", as well as another French song I'm familiar with, but don't know the title. They also played "Frere Jacques" (traditional), and "Can Can" by J. Offenbach. When they were setting up, Bro asked, "3D Frame? It's already in 3D." I giggled. Turns out that they used the space between the frame and the painting to make it look like they were inside the painting. Wait. Why didn't they dance the can-can? I was disappointed, even though the guard did great work. I especially liked the ripple of their rifle toss. They had pretty, glittery flags with an impressionistic pattern at the end. The colors were muted though, so they didn't really show up well against the green of the field.
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| 3D |
7TH REGIMENT 66.188
Repertoire: "Prevailing Winds" -- I don't know any of these songs, but I liked them. They formed a "7" and an anchor on the field using ropes. Very nice mellophone duet! Pretty color scheme, too.
RIVER CITY RHYTHM 69.95
Repertoire: "Road to Nowhere" -- I don't know these songs, except for maybe "Bacchanale" from Samson & Delilah. It's a tarp-o-rama. The tarps were totally unnecessary. Good drums!
LOUISIANA STARS 70.025
Repertoire: "Spellbound" -- I Put A Spell on You by J. Hawkins; House of the Rising Sun (traditional); Incantation and Dance by J. B. Chance; Bad Guy by B. E. O'Connell & F. O'Connell; Black Magic Woman by P. Green; Danse Macabre by C. Saint-Saens
The show opened with a vocal / trumpet duet. I don't really like the color scheme, and it's not even blue/orange. Nice horn solo. They did some rocking out during what is traditionally the ballad, but I liked it.
<Intermission>
I made sure to pay for my EARasers, and also bought a Blue Stars shirt for Double N because they didn't have any in his size at the Blue Knights booth. I also got some lunch: mini corn dogs and potato chips. I got a lot done! Bro kept going back to concessions for a certain sandwich but they were still waiting for whatever bread was needed. They offered him pizza, but that is kinda not the same, people.
LEGENDS 72.975
Repertoire: "May Your Light Shine Forever" -- Ilia’s Theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture by J. Goldsmith; Mothership by M. Bates; Main Theme (from Requiem for a Dream) by C. Mansell; Midnight City by A. Gonzalez, Y. Gonzalez, M. Kibby, & J. Meldal-Johnsen; Maiden Voyage by J. Pluth; Squib Cakes by C. Thompson; For Good (from The Wicked) by S. Schwartz; From Now On (from The Greatest Showman) by J. Bicks & B. Condon
Choir corps during "From Now On". I would have liked for that to be louder, but this is a big stadium and that's hard to do without amplification. There was too much talking that I couldn't understand / hear.
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| That middle screen is NOT a guy holding a light saber. It is a drum corps sabre. |
THE BATTALION 73.16
Repertoire: "Expand" -- I recognized "Also Sprach Zarathustra" by R. Strauss, but I don't know what else they played. Welcome to DCI Prelims, Battalion! They did a really good job for their first time out here, and they are just going to grow stronger.
SOUTHWIND 73.125
Repertoire: "Stand" -- Stand Up by C. Erivo & J. B. Campbell; Level Up by V. Teng; Man in the Mirror by G. Ballard & S. Garrett; Elevate by E. Frazier & R. Reed
Their hoods didn't always stay up on their heads, so that was distracting me. Lovely flags with the chevron pattern. They also had a yellow chevron prop. Costume change! I like the drum wraps a lot. They also had a nice purple detail on the top of their rifles.
CALGARY STAMPEDE SHOWBAND 74.15
Repertoire: "Life Finds A Way"
I was, like, "Is this about dinosaurs?!?" I miss knowing what drum corps is playing next based on what uniform I see entering the field. But I didn't have a problem with the Stampede. They played Stravinsky's "Firebird". The soloist seemed like they were hatching out of an egg made up of color guard bodies. Pretty purple/pink flags. They played the 1st 3 chords from "Lost" and I started tearing up. It led to "Somewhere" from West Side Story. That show had me smiling a lot, except for when I was teary during the ballad. It actually sounded more like drum corps for a marching band with woodwinds than some actual drum corps. No "Jurassic Park", though. Sadness.
GUARDIANS 76.213*
Repertoire: "From Scratch..." -- Musical Selections by C. Shaw, Big Freedia, B. Tyler, Adele, and Original Music from B. Hylton
Ooh, records! But...why tarps? "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was great. I loved how during the solo, two other corps members rotated around him as if they were on a record player, and he was the metal thing in the middle that holds the record. I don't know what that's called. Bro wants the gold record. I didn't get the significance of the sousaphone. I did like the sound effects of the scratchy record sound. I was hoping that there would be some DJ scratching sounds, but no.
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| See? It's a turntable! |
SPARTANS 77.55*
Repertoire: "On The Edge" -- Mustard Gas by C. Crescenzo; Backlash by S. Dobson; Retrograde by J. Blake; Spark by H. Uehara
I really miss how traditional the Spartans used to be. They were the last holdout for no electronics, and real uniforms, and now they have fancy stuff and sparkly pants. Did the drum majors know that they would both be doing the salute? Because I feel like they didn't know. Bro didn't like that their conducting was not in synch. The corps sounded great, though.
<Intermission>
I saw on my app that the mailman was at my door. I went ballistic because they're supposed to be holding my mail, and sent a complaint to the USPS. Then when I watched the video, ti looked like the mailman was actually taking back the packages. He probably realized that he should not have left them there. Oops. I hope I didn't get him fired. V is here now! She did not have to wear doughnut holes.
BLUE DEVILS B 78.813*
The checkers are red now. They should have left half of them black so that we could play with them. Then they were yellow at the top as the show progressed. I...am...cheese! Great job, BDB. Congrats on your bronze medal in Open Class!
GOLD 79.263*
We got a complete show AND a costume change! Their writing on the tarps said "Never Fear Memories". For a while, they didn't have the first word unveiled, so I was relieved when they finally showed it, because that would have been a different mood. Congrats on your silver in Open Class, Gold! Happy to see that all 3 medalists were from California.
VANGUARD CADETS 81.525*
Well, that's a LOT of improvement since the start of the season. Listen to how big they sound now! They opened with the corps covered by a big silk. Their mini-Babylon prop now goes up to the front of the field really quickly. Both triangles now open up at the same time. I love the focus on the different drum sections. The trumpet line is great, too. I've never seen this show finished until today. It all pulled together really well, deserving of their gold medal in Open Class. Congratulations, SCVC!!!
JERSEY SURF 74.825*
Repertoire: "Meet Me in Atlantic City" -- Pure Imagination (from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) by L. Bricusse & A. Newley; Wayside Festival by R. DeJong; Big Girls Don't Cry by B. Crewe & B. Gaudio; Sherry by B. Crewe; Walk Like a Man by B. Crewe & B. Gaudio; Can't Take My Eyes Off You by B. Crewe & B. Gaudio; Who Loves You by B. Crewe & J. Parker; Livin’ on a Prayer by J. Bon Jovi, R. Sambora, & D. Child; December 1963 (Oh, What a Night) by B. Crewe & J. Parker
The billboard for the Four Seasons show had the dates for this year's finals week. They played my song! I could use more volume, though. I like all that Frankie Valli stuff, and they were moving like the Four Season! Fun show, Surf!
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| Mermaids! |
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| Heart Formation |
GENESIS 79.813*
Repertoire: "Dorothy" -- Over the Rainbow (from The Wizard of Oz) by H. Stothart, H. Arlen & E.Y. Harburg; Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John; Songs from the Wood by Jethro Tull; Ballad of Heroes by B. Britten; Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by S. Bareilles
LET'S GO, JOHNNY!!! We like to help parents cheer on their kids. V does not know the song "Who's Johnny". I am old. The show's concept is if Dorothy was the witch in "The Wizard of Oz". I wish Dodie could have seen this show. I like the concept, as well as the big mirror with backlit shadows. Good music, too.
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| Witch Hats! |
PACIFIC CREST 79.713*
Wait. Tarps? When did they add those? Ooh, an Ouroboros tarp! The tarps are extensions of some of the props, showing them melting into the void. Dice! Maybe from PC's Vegas show. Now the other chair is on its side. The old uniform! The guy wearing it is trying to avoid getting pulled into the void, and (SPOILER) he makes it out at the end. I would like that tarp, please, with the prop, so I could put them in my driveway, or on my drought-ridden lawn. Cool glissando effect while they are kneeling and leaning back, like they're being pulled into the void. ACK! Those lines, though. I heard more throwback to old corps, and they played a recording of old announcement from the first DCI finals in Whitewater, announcing corps. I liked that a lot. What a great show to celebrate DCI's 50th anniversary.
MUSIC CITY 81.713*
Repertoire: "Gasoline Rainbows" -- Original Music by S. Gwaltney, C.J. Barrow, et al
I didn't really like any of the visuals of this show. The music was good, though. Good drum feature, too.
THE ACADEMY 82.487*
They've added narration to talk about the life of Willy Wonka. It was totally unnecessary. Oompa loompa feet! They put a "W" gates at the end, and the gates finally opened! I love how the kids run through them, chasing after a flag of the golden ticket. Very cool.
<Intermission>
We had lots of time, so we went back to the marketplace. I saw a few DCI orange cones at the registers of the DCI booth, so I chose to buy a 1978 championships DVD (SCV won that year). I went to the registers and now only saw one cone, so I went to that lady and asked if I could buy a cone. She said I could buy that one. Oh my gosh, did I get the last one?!? I also added a DCI 50th pin. If I had been there longer, I might have bought more 50th stuff, I was so excited.
I thought that I was going to buy a PC Into the Void shirt, but decided that I didn't like the design or colors. Bro said that I should just cut up a bunch of shirts and make my own Void shirt out of old drum corps ones. I would totally use the Vanguard V. PC added pint glasses to their regular stuff, so I bought one of those instead. The lady that was helping me asked me if she knew me. I said, "Maybe because I'm always at this booth?" She asked if my name was Sherry. I said yes. Turns out that I am friends with her brother, Caesar. That's why she looks familiar! Her daughter, Bella, spins in the PC color guard. I don't know why Caesar never told me that he has a niece in drum corps, but I will be cheering for Bella tomorrow.
Big, Loud, Live in theaters has joined us. Hi, Double N and Dodie!
MADISON SCOUTS 83.725*
Repertoire: "Installation 85" -- Rubric by P. Glass & T. Braxton; Love on a Real Train by Tangerine Dream; Bangkok by S. Vai; Star-Crossed by D. Sipes; As The World Caves In by S. Cothran; 34 Klezma by Snarky Puppy; Original Composition by D. Montoya, Jr.
Yay, another song from Chess!!! There is not enough room for a fleur-de-lis with that big old prop in the middle of the field. I like how they march under the arches and split, though.
TROOPERS 86.675*
Repertoire: "VorAcious" -- When Johnny Comes Marching Home by L. Lambert; Without Warning by S. Melillo; Ecstasy of Gold by E. Morricone; Nothing Else Matters by J. Hetfield & L. Ulrich; Dance of the Earth by I. Stravinsky; Original Music by T. Snyder & P. Rennick
Ooh, double trust fall at the start. OIL! That's the coolest cello I've ever seen. Their instruments are gold, so the normally silver ones wouldn't detract from the whole Black Gold theme. I like how realistic the fire flags look, so it seems like they're throwing fire when they toss them down from the oil rig. DRUMS! I hear some "Ouroboros" in there. Dodie said that the show made her cry. That's what awesome shows do!
Bro and V left to get food, so they missed the next corps.
BLUE KNIGHTS 85.250*
Aw, I guess the old school flags were just placeholders, because they're not in the show anymore. The other side of the ube polvoron props now have brightly-colored patterns, with distorted dots. The color guard has a costume change. They take off their capes toward the end so that they're only wearing unitards. I like that horn feature. That's a loooooong note at the end of the ballad.
V's back now, with hot dog in hand.
COLTS 87.213*
Repertoire: "The Silk Road" -- Meetings Along The Edge by R. Shankar & P. Glass; Arabian Waltz by R. Abou-Khalil; The Dragon Boy by J. Hisaishi; José / beFORe JOHN5 by A. Holló; Divas & Dunes by A. Zigman; Kashmir by J. Bonham, J. Page, & R. Plant
Show opens with what looks like worms breaking out of their pupae. Nice moth wings! I didn't know that tie-dye was a part of silk history, but OK.
Bro is finally back with my veggie burger and fries. Thank you, Bro! It was yummy. I'm glad that he finally got to eat the sandwich he had been waiting for since lunch time. APPARENTLY, they ran out of stuff because they never did open some of the other major concessions stands, and because they didn't have enough pizza to compensate for not having bread earlier in the day. People were unhappy. Those poor concession workers. The ones I encountered were very kind to me, and customer service can be difficult, so I hope they don't all quit tonight.
CROSSMEN 86.625*
Repertoire: "A Mobius Trip" -- Symphony No.2 Mvt 4 by G. Mahler; Equus by E. Whitacre; Addis Abba by G. Lago; Alfonso Muskedunder by T. Terje; Re-Entry (from In the Shadow of the Moon) by P. Sheppard
I like the colors in this show. Great music. Yay! Shakos! Next time, old school hats, maybe? Hi, Bones!!! I've missed you. Later on that night, V asked us if Bones only shows up on Finals night. She totally missed him today.
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| Bones! |
PHANTOM REGIMENT 89.725*
Repertoire: "No Walk Too Far" -- Before Time by T. Bergersen; Godspeed! & The Chosen by S. Melillo; Eli's Theme (from Let The Right One In) by J. Söderqvist; Symphony No. 5 by G. Mahler
Aaaahhhh, there's that Phregiment sound I've missed so much since pre-pandemic. I love that brass. Great drums, too. The guy behind us was describing his daughter so that we could find her on the field in the color guard: she's wearing a bright red dress (they were all wearing shades of red), and her hair is in a bun (all of them had the same hairstyle). Oh, dads. I wonder if he was so focused on taking pics of his daughter that he didn't realize that they all look similar. Go, Amanda! That kick step at the end: YES! I'm glad that it seems that Phregiment is back to where they were before they went all weird.
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| She fit a lot of hair under that helmet! |
<Intermission>
I told my friends that my boyfriend was about to sing. I guess Dodie had forgotten about my boyfriend and she asked what he was going to sing. I told her to just wait.
MANDARINS 89.175*
Go, Charles! It was a little bit harder to hear him in this big stadium at first, but he eventually cut through somehow. They added some gold bling to his uniform! I like the bright yellow accent of the rifles. I didn't recognize "The Wall" in the music before today. Because I'm an idiot.
Dodie now remembers my boyfriend. V now remembers what happens in this show.
THE CAVALIERS 91.138*
Repertoire: "Signs of the Times" -- Fugue in G Minor by J. S. Bach; Fly Like an Eagle by Steve Miller Band; Way Too Long by Bent Knee; Original Composition by M. Martin; The Floor is Lava by Bent Knee; Concerto No. 10 for Brass Band by L. Neurohr; Queer Gods & Being Human by Bent Knee; Sign of the Times by H. Styles
I recognized them easily because the top of their uniform is old-school Cavaliers. There's that Cavies bright brass that I love so much! Trick ending. The drum majors were all frozen in some kind of time pose at the end of the show, like looking at their watch, or holding a pocket watch. Double N said that the pendulum feature of the drums and tubas was ridiculous. Well, actually the phone said "tabasco", but he meant "tubas". I'm going to need to pay attention to whatever visual is happening at that point tomorrow, although I'll probably have to see it on the screen because we'll be too close to see any kind of formations.
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| See the time on the flags? |
BLUE STARS 91.375*
Repertoire: "Of War and Peace" -- War and Peace Symphonic Suite by S. Prokofiev; Ballad of an Unknown Boy by S. Prokofiev; Variations for Oboe and Military Band by N. Rimsky-Korsakov; No One Else by D. Malloy; Confrontation on Eadu by M. Giacchino; Dust and Ashes by D. Malloy
Well, of course it's them! I could tell from the number of props alone. Aw, there's a hole at the top of the final star formation. I hope that person is there tomorrow and Saturday. Great guard work! Good job, brass! I thikn the chaises used to be the dog sleds from 2019. Maybe the cannon wheels are from the bicycles in 2008. OK, maybe the latter is less likely, but V thought the same thing.
THE CADETS 92.875*
Repertoire: "Rearview Mirror" -- Adrenaline City by A. Gorb; St. Louis Blues by W. C. Handy; Theme from To Kill a Mockingbird by E. Bernstein; American Gothic: III. Pitchfork by M. Daugherty
I'm gonna need some closed captioning for this damn show. All of the talking was quotes from Jack Kerouac and it wasn't very loud or enthusiastic. Great music. Costume change into shirts that look like the traditional uniform. I like that look better than the one with the chevrons facing down. "The future is West." Bro thinks that the Cadets want to move West. We'll give them Nevada.
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| Before costume change |
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| After costume change |
A group of kids from a drum corps sat next to us prior to the Cadets. The guy next to me talked to his friends about SCV being the next corps. One of them didn't know what "SCV" meant. I almost told them to leave. Anyway, the guy said to his friend that this corps was "West Coast Style", meaning that the corps played more melodic. Then he switched seats with his ignorant friend, so I didn't hear everything else he said.
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD 94.075*
I knew they were going to do more with those props! Toward the end of the show, they collapsed them to form a circle, and the guard brought long silks from the corners of the field to the middle. Beautiful! This is why Rudy needs to see this show in theaters at the end of the season, so he could see the end result of all the tension. I heard a guy yell VANGUAAAARD! during the last song, but I don't know if I can replicate it.
I heard that kid from before saying that he likes Bluecoats, but the show is really "Bluecoats-y", and it was too psychedelic for him. Let's see if I agree.
BLUECOATS 95.70*
Repertoire: "Riffs and Revelations" -- Taming the Dragon by B. Mehldau; The Garden by B. Mehldau; Taizo by H. Hey; Nautilus by A. Meredith; moonmoons by A. Meredith; Momento Magico by Y. S. Nah
They lost me during the first paragraph of what I'm going to call "The Spoken Word Show". I did like seeing the dumbbels roll over the corps, though. I'm definitely going to need to wear my new EARasers tomorrow for that Keytar solo because it bothered my ears today and we were sitting in the second level. Double N said that the kid playing the solo wasn't even born yet when the keytar was invented. He's sure right about that. We're old. This might be my hot dog corps. Cadets are in second place for that because of the talking, but I can tolerate it more because it's not long, loud paragraphs.
CAROLINA CROWN 95.55*
Repertoire: "Right Here Right Now" -- With All Ther Love In My Heasrt by J. Collier; Chandalier by S. Fuller & J. Shatkin; Chasing The Moment by M. Klesch, T. Hannum, A. Monteiro, J. Ancona, & T. Peterman; Benedictus by K. Jenkins; Own The Moment by A. Monteiro & T. Peterman; Toccata Andromeda by P. Halley
Lots of oohs and aahs in this show! Ha ha: Rick-rolled! I think I've seen that big prop in a WGI show, except not so big. They play peek-a-boo while hiding under the big silks. Very nice use of the big silks throughout. Bro feels socially awkward during this show because it's kind of like forced audience participation. He should talk to JeffEvs about that, because JeffEvs does not even want to clap along when Rockapella requests us to do that. I wanted to hear "Right Here Right Now" but Bro said that the corps probably wanted to actually hear the recording of their show instead of it being cut for licensing issues. Oh.
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| Crown Formation |
BOSTON CRUSADERS 96.50*
Repertoire: "Paradise Lost" -- A Child’s Garden of Dreams by D. Maslanka; What a Wonderful World by B. Thiele & G. Weiss; Bad Hombres (y mujeres) by A. Sanchez; Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by B. Crewe & B. Gaudio; Symphony No. 7: Mvmt-3 by D. Maslanka; Requiem in D Minor, K. 626: VII. Lacrimosa by W. A. Mozart
Love that tango! Who knew you could turn "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" into that?! Great guard work! I've never heard Boston play so well, either. Great show. I look forward to seeing it again. You know that, as a Lakers fan, it is difficult for me to root for any Boston organization in a competition, especially against anyone in California. But I really like this show. I wonder what their shirts look like.
BLUE DEVILS 97.45*
I mean, they're just. so. CLEAN! Great job all around, BD. I'm now OK with "Moon River", up until the high note after the duet, so now I'm OK with most of it. BD tends to grow on me like that. I wish that other people could see them as many times as I do during a season so that they would stop complaining about slotting and bias. Their cleanliness is just undeniable.
On our way out, we saw the people that helped me at concessions, and they were really tired. Poor people. We walked back to the hotel and debriefed as we drifted off to sleep.
Next up: Semifinals
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