Drum Corps International wrapped up their season right here in the 317. This season was full of ups and downs, but not very much competition–the only back-and-forths were between first, third and 12th. I did not have the luxury of touring with any groups this year, but I was fortunate enough to see two out of three world championship events.
My finals week kicked off right here at Mt. Vernon. Music City Drum & Bugle Corps was here for the entire week, but their first open rehearsal, where people can sit and watch, was not until Wednesday, August 6. This was my first time hearing a drum corps live since August of 2024 and it definitely put me in a festive mood.
Two days later, on Friday, was Semi-finals, one of the official DCI competitions that I got to see live. That was the night that I decided to spend inside of Lucas Oil Stadium watching the shows on the field. I left school and rushed downtown so I did not miss one of my favorite shows of the season: “Rocket” from Spirit of Atlanta.
It was an electrifying start to the night, the vibe they were going for was the late 60s space craze and they did it incredibly. They played one of my favorite songs for marching band in “Rocket Man” by Elton John.
I skipped the next few shows because they just did not really interest me, so I spent that time getting merchandise at a few booths. I was not able to take pictures in the concourse because it was just that crowded, but I ended up getting a few shirts and a crewneck.
Later on in the night I was back at my seat for a few shows, starting with the Troopers. They did so incredible that their show made a few members of my group tear up. After that were the Blue Stars with their show “Spectator Sport.” This was the only show that I was genuinely skeptical about as they were one of the last corps to announce their show a few months prior and the theme alone just did not stand out. Unfortunately, my feelings never changed, and I just did not like the show. However, the performers did a great job with what they were given.
It was only up from there on. I got to see the Mandarins, who recently overhauled their percussion staff. Their show really astounded me, and ended up being in my top three shows of the year. After that, the first of the top six corps took the field: Phantom Regiment. This show was untitled, and that made the show significantly less interesting to me. Nevertheless, their show was incredible as usual.
After that was Carolina Crown, who had a very interesting show that never really caught my attention. However, it was the only show with a decipherable plot so I have to give them props for that. I skipped the Blue Devils show because I just did not want to watch it; it was that bad.
As for the top three–they were all incredible in their own respective ways, but no marching band show has ever made me feel like the Bluecoat’s show: “The Observer Effect.” The entire show, from start to finish, had me in a chokehold. The climax of this show was the ballad hit, and good lord–my soul left my body. They truly had winning material. My perspective on how I approach the arts was completely different then how it was before that night.
The next day was finals, and since I did not have tickets to enter the stadium, I decided to go to memorial park to watch those same groups I watched perform the prior night warm up.
That was a lot less impactful than watching them in the stadium, but still I had fun. Scores for that night are available at dci.org/scores. The Boston Crusaders ended up on top of the Bluecoats in a generational upset.
Going home after that weekend, I felt so much more fulfilled than I had in the two years I had gone prior. I had garnered so much motivation to write music and be a performer that I had lost over the summer.
