DCI Prelims
Thursday, August 8, 2024
Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, IN
The morning started with all 3 of us being very tired due to lack of decent sleep. The day before, our hotel room was at 81 degrees. We thought that the room would cool down once we tried to adjust the temperature before dinner, but by the time we tried to go to bed, it was at 85. Too tired to deal with potentially moving to another room and having other complaints lilke Monica in Friends, we decided we could wait until morning to alert hotel guest services.
So we got dressed and had breakfast at the Italian restaurant downstairs in the hotel, called OP. I have no idea what that stands for, but could not get the Naughty by Nature song out of my head every time I thought about it. Yeah, you know me! Breakfast was very nice, and not too expensive for a hotel breakfast that wasn't free or buffet.
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| American Breakfast with Eggs Over Medium and Chicken Sausage |
By the time we returned to our room, the room had started to cool down. Hotel services came to check on us a few minutes later, and we thanked them. DCI Prelims wasn't going to start for another couple of hours, so we watched the Aged-Out Podcast to listen to what the drummers were predicting about this weekend's outcome. They were pretty close to Bro's predictions. One of the guys was live-editing an Excel document, and typed "Jerfey Surf", so we're calling them that for the rest of the weekend, and maybe beyond.
V had a meeting to attend and some work to do, which was great timing after the podcast for Bro and I to walk over to Lucas Oil Stadium. On the way, Bro and I slowed down for a vehicle to pass us, then Bro realized that we were waiting exactly where the vehicle wanted to go,,which was to empty the trash can. Oh, sorry. We're very tired. We arrived at Lucas Oil and somehow got in a line that did not include a manual search of my clear bag nor did it require being wanded. But we did go through the security machine and I again lamented that Disneyland needs to upgrade their security procedures to skip all of the touching of our bags for a few bad apples I'm telling you, when that day comes, I will celebrate.
We shopped inside at the DCI Marketplace, happy to be in a cool place for the next several hours because it was pretty warm outside. I saw plush creatures at the Spirit of Atlanta booth, but wanted to see the show in person before making a purchasing decision. The guy told me that they were almost out of the plush, so I kept that in mind for later. I bought a SCV magnet and Bro got a long-sleeved shirt on sale that he decided to wear instead of the one that he brought to the stadium. I also bought a shirt from Pacific Crest. It was blue and had a California sunset on it, and it was a pretty design. It took a while for me to purchase it because I was their first person to buy the shirt and they hadn't loaded all of the different sizes into their inventory site. So I waited a while and commented that it was dark in their booth, comparing it to the other ones that had lights in them. Bro offered to swipe them from someone else, but the lady said that she would go to Wal-Mart and get some. Just trying to be helpful! On our way to our seats, I saw a man struggling to take a selfie with the Phregiment drum major's cardboard standup. I offered to take his picture and he was grateful even though it took several times to get the right angle for it to be to his liking. We even had help from others waiting to take their own picture. O rmaybe it was his friends. I don't know; I was confused a bit because he was wearing a Bluecoats shirt, but it's not like I've never taken pictures of other corps stuff wihile wearing my SCV stuff. This is a foreshadowing kind of moment for you that are paying attention.
I like to take pictures of uniforms, happy to see SCV included this year.
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| BD Cape Maybe they'll let me have it after Finals Day. |
I pointed out to Bro that they had some cheesteak for sale that I had never seen before. A lady walking by told us that they're really good, and that she worked there so she knows. Bro then called her the Lady That Was Listening to Us the rest of the evening. I was annoyed that they had Smartwater listed on their digital menu but only had Dasani, and they cost the same.
Our seats were in Section 242, Row 12, Seats 16-18. We were at the top of our section, and my seat was literally on the aisle and at the top of the stairs. We were at about the left 25-yard line. Bro saw a gentleman in our section and asked me if it was former DCI head Dan Acheson. I thought so, and we wondered why he wasn't sitting with DCI bigwigs even though he was no longer working there. So I called it the Dan Acheson section.
Look at our happy faces! I love this photo because we don't look like we've had no sleep.
Chris Godina (?) played the trumpet for the Star-Spangled Banner.
Top 25 corps go to Semifinals and are marked with a *. Only those corps I haven't seen before have repertoire listed on this post, because that's less work for me to do.
Here's a spinning cube!
LES STENTORS -- 66.075
Repertoire: "Elements" -- Vanishing Point by R. Standridge; Earth Dance by M. Sweeney; Danza Cubanas by R. Sheldon; Sky Dance by R. Saucedo
Guy in our section shouted, "Vous-etes magnifiques! ALLEZ!!!" The guy had a lot of patches on his corps jacket and was very engaged in everyone's performance throughout the day. A true fan.
They had screens up for the 4 elements: air, water, earth, and fire. I like the dance elements during the fire segment, especially when the brass players danced with the color guard.
7TH REGIMENT -- 68.80
Repertoire: "Through the Red Tape" -- Appleseed (from Attack on Titan) by H. Sawano; All Falls Apart by Polyphia; Marigold by Perphery
I don't understand why the flags have hands reminiscent of Michelangelo's Creation painting on them. The red tape on the horns makes them look red. Bro and I both missed the moment when they cut the tape that was spread out from different sections of the field. I was too busy trying to get photos of the trapped drummers. I was hoping that they would toss their rifles while they were on the ramp up front, but no.
COLT CADETS - 70.5
Repertoire: "The Woods" -- Peter and the Wolf by S. Prokofiev; Ballad from Into the Woods by S. Sondheim; The Path Between Mountains by J. Kennedy
Capes! They put two flags together to make wolf eyes during a recording of someone singing "I Only Have Eyes For You", then later on, we see flags of wolf faces. Grandma, what big eyes you have! Oh, she killed him and swung his tail around. Oh, Red. 
RAIDERS -- 71.3
Repertoire: "Fan the Flame" -- Spark by E. Sheeran & A. Dessner; Raging Out of Control by M.Terry; Fire of Eternal Glory by D. Shostakovich; We Didn't Start the Fire by B. Joel
I like the opening drum feature. Actually, I liked all of the drumming parts. Choir corps during "We Didn't Start the Fire"!
RIVER CITY RHYTHM -- 74.075
Repertoire: "Falling" -- Such Great Heights by B. Gibbard & J. Tamborello; Balancing Act by W. Miller, B. Hoover & P. Weber; Can't Help Falling in Love by E. Presley; New Born by M. Bellamy
I wish they would have played "Hi Ho" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, or "Mine, Mine, Mine" from Pocahontas, but I don't always get my wishes. Some of the corps members laid down on the field at the beginning as part of the train tracks. I like the miner helmets with the lights.
COLUMBIANS -- 75.20
Repertoire: "BE)NT" -- Trisense by E. Nakagawa; Elastic Heart by S. Furler, T. W. Pentz, & A. Swanson; Bone FX 3 by Q. Carson; Original music by D. Shanefield, R. Ulibarri & J. Arreguin
That's a very strong brass sound! I like the big pink / white flags and the pink / yellow / purple ones.
THE BATTALION -- 75.35*
Repertoire: "Dead Reckoning" -- Malaga by B. Holman; Malagueña by E. Lecuona; Spanish Fantasy Part 1 by C. Corea; Spanish Fantasy Part 4 by C. Corea; My Spanish Heart by C. Corea
They played the theme from "Bluey" to test their sound system. The intro sounded like Selma Hayek, maybe because of all of the Latin music? They had a very strong brass section, especially the baritone soloist. Their flags have fire designs on them. The drum major died at the end. So dramatic.
<1 hour Intermission>
Bro and I shared a cheesesteak sandwich, which was pretty decent. Then we were still kind of hungry afterward and we shared a veggie burger, too.
GOLD -- 77.525*
Oh, the hat from last year is back! But I still don't get how this is a sequel. So...their child died? Because the empty uniform was small. Brass dons choir robes, but I don't know if I would call that a choir corps. They wave to the angel at the end during "The Prayer".
BLUE DEVILS B -- 80.60*
I took lots of pictures of Kiyoshi and his friends for his mom. V thinks I yelled loud enough for him. Um, the 2 in the Fibonacci sequence is backwards. Oops. Well, I guess for the person that placed it there, it was correct...but that person was facing the audience, soooo no.
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| My favorite shot of K this day |
SPARTANS -- 81.038*
Repertoire: "Youtopia" -- Frontier by H. Herndon; Sweet Release: Church: Renewing Vows by W. Marsallis; Alfonso Muskedunder by T. Terje; What Was I Made For? by B. Eilish O'Connell & F. O'Connell; Air Waltz by O. Davis; Original music by A. Goldberg, M. Sachetta, B. Teel, & B. Spencer
Cool band of aliens on their screen, which also functioned as a closet. See? Why can't BD hide their clothes? I like the neon rifles. Beautiful butterfly! I also like their percussion feature.
JERSEY SURF -- 75.813*
Repertoire: "Surfadelic" -- I Feel A Groove Comin' On by B. Womack & J. Ford; What Is Hip? by D. Garibaldi & E. Castillo; Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe by B. White; Boogie Wonderland by J. Lind & A. Willis
They have bright colors that make we want to eat candy. Get that Barry White voice in there!
SEATTLE CASCADES -- 77.225*
Repertoire: "Sky Above" -- Across The Universe by The Beatles; Out of The Blue by N. Westlake; Kaval Sviri (The Flute Plays) by Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir / Sky Above by J. Collier; Imagine by J. Lennon
Is it a lighthouse? A rocket? Oh, it's a telescope! I like the brass feature when they hand off to each section.
GENESIS -- 78.375
Repertoire: "Signal" -- Arrival by The Alchemist; Alfonso Muskedunder by T. Terje / Waltz for Sweatpants by C. Fry; Ka Bohaleng/On the Sharp Side by A. Selaocoe; Waloyo Yamoni by C. Tin
Obelisks. Did they get those from Blue Knights? Oh, they light up! And change color! I wondered if Sleestak would come out of them. The half-shawl they wear has kind of a cool effect, but I didn't really like the colors.
MUSIC CITY -- 81.550*
Repertoire: "Leave It At the River" -- Wayfaring Stranger (Traditional); Down by the Riverside (Traditional); Fire Water Paper by E. Goldenthal; Buckets of Burden by C.J. Barrow; Pyramid Song by T. Yorke, J. Greenwood, C. Greenwood, E. O'Brien, P. Selway, A. Hammond, & Hazlewo; Down to the River to Pray (Traditional); Liquid Spirit by G. Porter; Riverside Rebirth by C.J. Barrow
Fun trombone solo during "Down By the Riverside". I like the drum feature and their sparkly flags. I would have liked to hear live singing of these songs though, not recorded. V doesn't think the ending was worth all the bucket stuff.
THE ACADEMY -- 81.775*
"Someone Like You" does not work with the trombone and the sliding. Listen to someone sing it: it's not jazzy, nor should it be. It also doesn't blend with the rest of the brass. They've completely butchered one of my favorite sings. It would have been much better as a mellophone solo. That's it. I can't even remember what else happened during the show because I was so upset. If I had a hot dog corps this year, it would be this one. How dare you, Academy!
SPIRIT OF ATLANTA -- 82.675*
Repertoire: Creatures -- Reborn (from Hereditary) by C. Stetson; Smoke on the Water by R. Blackmore, I. Gillan, R. Glover, J. Lord, & I. Paice; Frolic (from Rabbit and Rogue) by D. Elfman; Feste Romane by O. Respighi; A Close Friend (from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) by J. N. Howard; Night Creature by D. Ellington; What Could Have Been (from Arcane: League of Legends) by A. Miller and A. Seaver
Me when the creatures on stilts enter: "WHAT ARE THOSE?!?" Then some winged woman comes out to communicate with them and I don't know what happened. I love the sets! So that made me want to go straight to the Spirit booth afterward to check out the plush again.
<Intermission>
V went to the booth with me after using the facilities. Look what I found on the side of the booth!
They ran out of the plush while I was buying stickers of the creatures. The plush didn't really look like the ones in the show, so I didn't rush to get one. V almost did for me, but when I saw the stickers, I didn't care about the plush anymore.
V and I decided to get Value Meals of hot dog, popcorn, and soda, but they wouldn't sell them as a value meal because they only have that for football games. Oh, they had everything available, just not at that price, which is hella lame, and they should just digitally remove it from their sign for non-NFL events. I mean, how hard would that be?
PACIFIC CREST - 84.988*
Nice white big sheet over the brass coming from the bed. It was also impressive to watch them put it back into the box so quickly. The lead color guard had a different-colored skirt at the end, maybe signifying Frida's life changes. Nice rifle work around the bed on the left side of the field. I saw lots of improvement since we saw them in California. Great job, PC!
CROSSMEN -- 84.525*
Repertoire: "Lush Life" -- Lush Life by B. Strayhorn; My Favorite Things by Rodgers & Hammerstein; So What by M. Davis; 'Round Midnight by T. Monk; Night in Tunisia by D. Gillespie; Blues in the Night by H. Arlen & J. Mercer; La Création Du Monde by D. Milhaud; Original Music by D. Shanefield, R. Ulibarri & J. Arreguin
Hello, Bones! He didn't spread his cape until the opening ig hit. I love the way they play those standards!
People who go to not-their-seats during a corps' show are annoying as fuck. I had to tell people to sit down because they were coming up the stairs in front of me and blocking my view. So they sat on the stairs for a second before realizing there were empty seats right next to them and sat in them.
BLUE KNIGHTS -- 84.813*
Repertoire: "Busk" -- Signal to Noise by P. Gabriel; Busk by J. Catherall, J. Audesmore, & L. Gilreath; Pampeana #3 by A. Ginestera; Rings by J. Catherall, J. Audesmore, & L. Gilreath; New Moon in the Old Moon's Arms by M. Kamen; Orbital by J. Psathas; Baba Yetu by C. Tin
Or "Knigths", as it was first shown on the schedule. This show is about rings and pole dancing. It was not about "Lord of the Rings", which is hat I thought when I saw the thick, gold rings. V says that "busk" means "street performer". Like Esmerelda? That's why the guard seems so casually dressed as opposed to the corps, who seem to be wearing something akin to knight armor? We liked the jingle of the rings at the end, like Sonic collecting coins.
MADISON SCOUTS -- 86.575*
Repertoire: "Mosaic" -- Unholy by S. Smith & K. Petras; White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane; Asturias by I. Albéniz; Egyptian Danza by A. Di Meola; Momento Magico by Y. S. Nah; Sati by Salim–Sulaiman
Oh, I get it. They're pieces of tile. They have purple bands on their hats and small feathers instead of the traditional Madison plumes that I'm used to. Great job, musically!
TROOPERS -- 87.963*
Repertoire: "Dance With the Devil" -- The Other Side by T. Snyder, P. Rennick & J. Shelton; Hyperlink by P. Graham; House Of The Rising Sun by The Animals; Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (from Kill Bill: Volume 1) by S. Esmeralda; Wait Of The World by S. Melillo
There is a lot of devil symbolism which might make some people uncomfortable, like pentagrams and triple 6s. Very cool "House of the Rising Sun" guitar solo...by the devil. The sun from last year's show is black and not moving for most of the show. "Back to hell!" -- I love seeing the old uniform. V doesn't like that part because she felt it was over the top. I'm OK with it. Also, Luke Skywalker kills Darth Maul at the end, so I didn't mind. Seriously, they have light saber-like weapons. I want a shirt that I saw earlier of a female Trooper silhouette.
COLTS -- 89.350*
Repertoire: "On Fields" -- Fields of Joy by M. Kamen & H. Fredricks; MacArthur Park by J. Webb; Fields of Gold by G. Sumner; Autumn Leaves by J. Kosma, J. Prevert & J. Mercer; Original music by CJ Barrow, J. Nelson & M. Miller; The First Circle by P. Metheny & L. Mays; Strawberry Fields Forever by Lennon-McCartney; Sowing the Seeds of Love by R. Orzabal & C. Smith
I heard the announcer say "Randy Bastard", but I don't think that's the drum major's actual name. I thought the show would be about corn fields, but it was about lacrosse. Is there lacrosse in the Olympics? The bale of hay got a little out of control, and it reminded me of a conversation Bro and I had earlier. Do you think the rhythmic gymnasts look at DCI and think that we can't handle props worht a damn? Oh, there's also killing fields. And poppies. If you lay on one side, you see red, like blood, but when you lay on your other side, you see white, like lilies or poppies growing out of the field. Through most of the show, I was thinking of Austin Powers, imagining him saying, "You're a randy bastard!", and giggling to myself inappropriately. It was like I was in church and it was uncontrollable.
<Intermission>
THE CAVALIERS - 88.212*
Repertoire: "Beneath the Armor" -- I Want You to Want Me by R. Nielsen; Music for Prague 1968 by K. Husa; You've Changed by B. Carey & C. Fischer; Man in the Mirror by G. Ballard & S. Garrett; Bring Me to Life by A. Lee, B. Moody & D. Hodges; Original music by R. Saucedo, M. McIntosh, C. Walker & M. Black
SPLOOOOIEEEEE! V asked why the Cavaliers aren't wearing green. I told her it's because it's beneath the armor, and it was! I liked their arrangement of "Man in the Mirror". The show felt flat to me, though.
BLUE STARS -- 90.550*
Repertoire: "Universal" -- The Harmony Codex by S. Wilson; Inner Universe by Y. Kanno; Oremus and Adoratio by J. Karlsons; Nocturne by T. Kaco; Stardust by H. Carmichael; All the Stars by K. Lamar, M. Spears, A. Shuckburgh, S. Rowe and A. Tiffith; Saturn by S. Rowe, C. Lang, R. Bisel, J. Solomon & S. Zhang; I Remember (Death in the Afternoon) by W. Cann, C. Cross, B. Currie & M. Ure; Yellow by C. Martin, J. Buckland, G. Berryman & W. Champion
I think I can camp in that Jupiter tent. But it needs to be a lot bigger in comparison with Saturn. Star formation! Very pretty brass lines. Great job, Guard! I like the catch after the quiet "ding"! I'm glad they didn't have their usual 100 props on the field.
MANDARINS -- 91.225*
Sparkly ghosts! Oh, they put the black/white screens back now, "closing up shop" as V says. Cool. Well done, Mandarins!
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD -- 93.000*
I like the addition of pink/yellow flags and gold cape on the color guard lead. Speaking of which, great work, Color Guard! I was especially impressed by the lead, who caught a sabre with one hand and the sword was upright.
PHANTOM REGIMENT -- 94.275*
Repertoire: "Mynd" -- Moonlight Sonata by L. van Beethoven; Surfacing by D. Hall; Equilibrium by P. Lovatt-Cooper; Fly or Die by Gilles Rocha; Pillar 3 by A. Akiho
Well, that was a fantastic show, and my favorite of the night! Outstanding duet with baritone and trombone. That Phregiment brass that I love. Their bodies are in cages, and at one point, they were all in one cage somehow. I'm just saying. The cubes were spinning at the end, with a color guard member hanging from each.
CAROLINA CROWN -- 94.313*
Repertoire: "Promethean" -- American Prometheus by L. E. T. Gorranson; Run! by B. Wallfisch; Define Dancing by T. Newman; Fraternity by T. Deleruyelle; Fission by J. Mackey
I was like, is this about the Olympics? There's a torch. A big one. Also, there are mountains, so Mount Olympus? I dno't know. A flag of an eagle ate his liver. Also, there's gold at the end, like at the Olympics! I'm glad they're not wearing those non-hats that irritate me. Brass lines were very good, and they formed their signature crown at the end. I enjoyed this show, whether or not it had anything to do with the Olympics.
BLUE DEVILS -- 95.875*
That brass line is o good! Color Guard was really good with their hoops today as they were at the perfect height when they tossed them, and they kept them all under control, unlike earlier in the season when they were all over the place.
BOSTON CRUSADERS -- 96.600*
Repertoire: "Glitch" -- Shaker Loops by J. Adams; G-Spot Tornado by F. Zappa; Orchestral Suite #2 by J. S. Bach; Take Five by P. Desmond; True Colors by T. Kelly & B. Steinberg; State of Independence by E. O. Papathanassiou & J. Anderson; Worm Hole by R. George, C. McNutt, I. Moyer, & M. Zellers
Color Guard was soooo good! I felt like they were saying, "You got hoops, BD? Hold my beer." The hoops were a major part of the show, and they used them quite well. The male color guard lead at one point was using both a rifle and a sabre. Ooh, twinkling LED Lights on their heads! I love the glitchy moments. That trumpet solo was so high!
BLUECOATS -- 97.525*
Repertoire: "Change is Everything" -- Change is Everything by Son Lux ; Foreplay/Long Time by Boston; The Four Sections by Steve Reich; Rose by M. Laurello; Plans We Made by Son Lux; Agape by N. Britell; Love/Lover/Friend by C. Rose; Threshold by Sungazer; Dymaxion by Darcy James Argue's Secret Society; Lost It to Trying by Son Lux
The colors remind me of Ronald McDonald near the end. Those rectangular bench-like things remind me of the Cadets with their raspberry zinger design, but without the colors. Very clean! They covered the end zone by 5 yards, and then the benches closed them in even more. I didn't like that.
We couldn't leave through our usual doors because they made us go all the way back to the entrance. So we had to walk extra to get home, which was very annoying. We got back to our hotel room where it was nice and cool. Instead of blogging right away, I realized that I was about to pass out from being so tired, and went to sleep.
Up next: DCI Semifinals
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