Corps at the Crest
Saturday, July 11, 2026
Rose Bowl
Pasadena, CA
The last day of World Class drum corps in So Cal for the season, and it's ending with the premier event at the Rose Bowl. I bought tickets early for the show, thinking that our fancy seats were not available, and then after I bought seats with the masses, I received an email about the fancy seats. Thank you to Stuart and his team at Pacific Crest for taking care of me! This is why I continue to be a supporter of the corps.
Glenn, Dodie, Bro, and the niece met at my house to carpool, much to the delight of WonderPup, because she got to play with everyone while we waited to leave. Waze led me on a different path than the one to which I'm accustomed, but we were able to get into the parking lot quite smoothly. We left a little later than usual due to the heat, so the line was already very long to enter the stadium. They also had a different set up and now they have the security stanchions, meaning we didn't need to have every bag checked by hand. There was some confusion at security, though, because some thought that they still had to search the clear bags. The people being turned away had larger bags, and it looks like they were able to check them at a nearby booth instead of needing to walk a quarter of the way around the stadium to do so. There was no wifi service there, though, and my data was having a hard time connecting me to Ticketmaster. I eventually got on Glenn's hotspot to connect. Many people had the same issue, and that makes me question all of the fees the service charges. Screenshots of the bar code are not allowed due to the live ticket bar code, so that doesn't help. Oh, how I miss paper tickets sometimes. I also wish they had a separate entrance for our section, and now y'all probably think I'm an elitist. Oh well.
The souvenir stands were outside the main Rose Bowl gates, but still after the ticket and security process. This way they had more room and were all together instead of strewn about here and there. Bro showed me that they were able to get the baby rifles for BD and SCV, so I made a beeline for the PepWear booths and got an SCV one for myself. We like that the emblem is carved into the wood of the rifle, and not some cheap paint job.
We went up the elevator to the club section, and received our wristbands. I put my stuff down at my seat, then got the food they offered before sitting down with everyone else to eat. Bro asked me waht I wanted from the bar, and I asked him for a white wine. The food we had was cheeseburger sliders, crudites with ranch dressing, and mac and cheese. The MnC was the best of everything, but the crudites were nice and refreshing so I had seconds of those later. While we were laughing about the music in the club not really matching what was going on outside, I spilled my wine. Oops. At least we were all done eating by then.
The Star-Spangled Banner was sung by an operatic soprano, probably the one who usually sings at this event. Sorry I missed it, but security took so long that I was still inside eating my dinner.
Our seats were on the Club level, on the right side of the stadium. We were in the back row, which I was good with since it allowed me to stand up if I needed to without blocking anyone's way. Also, my bag fit in the space behind me so I didn't have to worry about my rifle tripping anyone.
FREELANCERS
Is "Macarthur Park" their corps song? I feel like they play it every year. Dodie: "Or maybe it's the one they're really good at." Both could be true. I didn't get to hear most of the performance because I was cleaning up from the wine thing.
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| Freelancers |
BLUE DEVILS C
Their shiny flags are how shiny I want Gold's screens to be. Bro: "Also, the balls." Yup. I think this would have been a better show if it was called "Metallica". Like, all Metallica songs.
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| I just realized that those pyramids on the right are down for the full show. |
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| Shiny Flags |
GOLDEN EMPIRE
They used the air pump on one ball, but the other ones got wrinkly during the show. People around us liked the drum ensemble features. Oh, at the beginning, they're the pendulum balls on that flag.
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| Dewrinkling |
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| Starting the pendulum |
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| Flag Toss |
IMPULSE
They use the tables as a stage. When they are in a straight line, it reminds me of the Sorry slide. I love the "Sorry" song. I need to add it to my Spotify. When they "Draw Four", they form the number 4, and I didn't see it.
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| Groups of 4 during Draw Four |
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| Stage Made of Tables |
BLUE DEVILS B
They took so long to start that I was able to go to the restroom and be back in time for the start of the show. It helps that the restrooms are nearby and not crowded. This is also when I picked up more crudites to enjoy. The niece said that the corps forms a B, and a D, and a B. See what they did there? I didn't.
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| Blue Devils B |
GOLD
I love the lavender boxes, but they don't really match the show, also known to me as "Tinkerbell and Friends".
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| Gold |
<Intermission>
Dessert is served! I got a chocolate chip cookie and stayed away from the dry brownies that disappointed me last year. Those would be good heated up with some ice cream on top, though.
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| Showed the niece the beautiful view of Pasadena at the back of the stadium. |
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| We're back after intermission! |
CASCADES
Cymbal player backflip! Their trombone feature is during the last part of one of the Nirvana songs. Horns were nice and strong after the sousaphone solo. Glenn noticed there were no yard markers. Hmmm. This show is rockin'!
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| I don't know what's happening here. Are they raising a barn? |
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| Slapsticks |
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| Sousaphone Solo |
ACADEMY
I didn't even notice the silver rings today, maybe because we're so far from the field. That's not good.
Bro: They should do the Blue Devils thing during warm up and rock out with the drums and electric guitar in the pit.
They took a very long time to start again, so Bro's idea would have at least entertained us during the wait. Then there was still an amp or something missing.
Glenn loved the sword swallower bit. There was a big cheer for the person tossing up their horn. I like the cymbal player tricks, especially the cartwheel.
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| Loved those umbrellas from last year |
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| They have not yet built the circus tent. Maybe they can borrow stuff from Cascades. |
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| I just realized that the first ensemble solo is In the Center of the Ring. |
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| Sword Swallower and Trumpet Bells |
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| One More Circle |
PACIFIC CREST
Looks like the logo formation is coming, but it's not there yet. Lots of moth / dragonfly / butterfly formations. Very nice sound, PC.
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| What we think will eventually be the PC logo formation |
BLUECOATS
Those rifles! I so so love the flag movements at the end of the ballad. It's like they have a move for every note. No tarp tonight, but there was one yesterday, which had no positive effect on me. Or any effect at all.
BLUE DEVILS
I love that "ding!" sound when they catch their sabers together. Have I told you that I love their pants? Whoa, those snares! Beautiful music, BD.
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| Tell me those pants aren't pretty. |
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| Huge Ass Wings |
VANGUARD
Aaaaaahhhhhhh! Glenn heard too much synthesizer. I think there is too much synth throughout the whole show, not just SCV's. "As they leave the field with their famous bass drum cadence, let's give another hand to Santa Clara Vanguard!" But, Ryan...I want to HEAR the bass drums. Bro prefers silence from the audience during this, too.
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| See the jump ropes in the middle of the picture? Each person in that line jumped one by one while playing their instrument. |
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| SCV Bass Drums |
Encore
Pacific Crest played some of their show, as well as their corps song, Biebl's "Ave Maria".
Scores
OPEN CLASS
5) 63.750 -- Blue Devils C
4) 64.100 -- Golden Empire
3) 66.400 -- Impulse
2) 68.275 -- Gold
1) 71.125 -- Blue Devils B
WORLD CLASS
6) 70.085 -- Cascades
5) 74.600 -- Academy
4) 76.225 -- Pacific Crest
3) 84.650 -- SCV
2) 86.675 -- Blue Devils
1) 87.575 -- Bluecoats
Afterward, we met up with Tim, whom had kept a few of the original seats I ordered. We talked with him, his friend Sam, and Tim's son Clark, pretty much until security started to sweep us out of there before they made a final trip to the souvenir booths. It was Clark's first DCI show, and he enjoyed it, being a current high school marching band member himself.
Thanks for the great drum corps shows, DCI. Looking forward to August!
