Back of the Bus: Gassing Up

We are at Buc-ees, it is a Buy Stop

“We Have A Tie.”

Depending on who you are and what your relationship is to the groups performing, these words can be either extraordinarily exciting or absolutely deflating. As a writer, they’re more interesting than anything else. They can either destroy any preconceived narrative or confirm pre-existing biases, with anything that goes against them being pushed aside as “just a weird run for X group” tonight. Let’s dive into some of the narratives we’ve been exploring thus far and maybe, just maybe, find a couple of new ones here or there. 

Knights and Goddesses

The Blue Knights trail Pacific Crest by less than .4 for the 12th spot on Saturday Night. This race is a close one, and made that much closer by Percussion specifically. We’re going to dive more into this later in the article, but BK placed 10th in drums with a 17.1. Not bad, considering where the rest of the corps is placing, but Jeff Ausdemore, their Percussion Arranger, also knows a thing or two about the sheets, considering he was a well-known judge until taking over arranging there this season. 

In contrast, Pacific Crest ended up below Crossmen, Music City, and Spirit in drums, getting a 15.6. When you’re trailing the corps catching up on you by 1.5 in a caption, it’s tough to think about anything else. You’re ahead in most everything else, except a couple of things here or there, but that one caption is keeping things close. This is a frustrating place for a corps on the cusp of its first finalist appearance. 

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It’s hard to see Pacific Crest not come away with that spot at the end, but this will be closer than it looked just a week ago.

To Tell of the White Whale

It’s no secret that I have very strong opinions on Boston’s show. I marched there. I’m invested, for better or worse. I had a 5-minute rant on the most recent episode of Bring It In about the changes they made to their show before Drums Along The Rockies (linked below, time stamp 23:15 for the beginning of the rant). Quite frankly, I was a little stunned on Tuesday night when we got scores in from Broken Arrow. Anyone watching with me knew I was expecting 1. for BD to clear everyone by 2+ points (final margin over second was 1.55) and 2. for Boston to place 3rd or 4th (they got second). 

We’ve now seen everyone go head-to-head. Their margin with BD is getting smaller. It’s still hard to see this corps, and this show, end up in second at the end of the season, much less topping the Blue Devils. Some may call me a doubter (hi, Hunter). That’s fine. What the data is showing is that regardless of my thoughts and opinions, they’re closing the gap to some extent. Doubtless, adding a huge flyover at the end and tearing apart the ship props had a little something to do with that. As Crown learned in 2015, huge flyovers can only get you so far. 

This staff does know that and has shown they’re willing to change more significant aspects (such as cutting down that godforsaken drum feature). This certainly isn’t the final form of this show, and I’m excited to see where it goes.

DrumTalk

So, Percussion is a little more interesting this year than it typically is, huh? Last year’s Sanford-winning line is currently 5th overall. The corps placing first overall is barely holding on to a top-three spot in drums, with the seventh-place corps hot on its heels. Already a little funky, right? Well, the Cavaliers are winning drums right now. The eighth-place corps in DCI is currently first in Percussion. This isn’t a one-time thing, either! They were consistently competitive with Boston prior to the Crusaders heading over to meet with the Blue Devils in Denver and beat BD, Bloo, and Crown last night in Houston. Mike McIntosh, Josh Brickey, and company seem to be working their magic, almost single-handedly keeping the corps above the Blue Stars. Having some guy named Tom Aungst helping out here and there can’t exactly hurt, either. 

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Having a single caption outperform the corps is not remotely unusual. Outperforming it by this much is huge. Outperforming it by this much and ending up first in that caption is almost unheard of. Since DCI moved into Lucas Oil, there has not been a corps that won a caption while placing outside of the top six. Famously, the 2010 Phantom Regiment captured the Sanford (Percussion), and the 2019 Boston Crusaders captured the Zingali (Color Guard), with both corps coming in sixth on Finals Night. Something like this hasn’t been seen to my knowledge since the early days of DCI when the Anaheim Kingsmen won Percussion on Semis night despite placing outside the top 12 and not moving on to Finals (things were strange back then). 

Will the Cavaliers be able to stay ahead of everyone else? Who’s to say? Should they feel very good about what they’re doing on the percussion side of things right now? Absolutely. 

All Tied Up

87.675. 

That is what the Mandarins and Phantom Regiment both scored tonight. That’s also less than 2.5 points behind Mandarins' top score in the top division ever. Much was made of this matchup going into it (including by me). Many figured that even if this didn’t settle which corps would end up ahead in the end, it would at least give the fans an idea as to who has the upper hand. 

That… did not happen. Phantom prevailed on the music side of things, taking both Brass and Percussion, as well as one of the Music Analysis judges. That said, the other MA judge had Mandies in 4th with Phantom .6 back, AND the Brass judge had Mandarins with a higher content number than Phantom. On the Effect side, Phantom took one judge while Mandarins had the other three. Visually, the corps tied, with Phantom taking Proficiency by a large enough number that it negated their losses in Analysis and Guard. 

One can make an argument for either corps to come out on top at the end of the season. Both corps have great shows, excellent prop and space usage, and dynamic and memorable moments. Both shows have flaws as well. The way I’m reading things, it looks like the judges think Mandarins have more room to grow. However, Phantom is strong across the board, with the only subcaption they have below 7 being Brass Content at 9. Even there, the strength of their achievement put them ahead of Mandarins. 

If I were a betting man, I’d say Mandarins have a slight edge, but this one should come down to the wire. 

Quick Hits

• Guardians! Good start to the season, but that show title has me wishing there was some Phoebe Bridgers. Maybe we can get some Kyoto at some point? Here’s an excellent cover by someone very familiar with DCI that might be a good start for an arrangement… 

• Cadets are doing excellent in the captions being judged at field level, with each placing above their overall placement. This is a talented group, and the educational staff is doing well with them. Don’t sleep on Cadets in the next few years. 

• Colts and Troopers are tight. Two good groups, another battle that will go far, but I think we start seeing separation one way or another shortly before Allentown. 

• I see you, Music City drums. Good on ya, placing 14th overall and 13th in Content. 

• Don’t love the changes made to Bump in Bloo’s show. I get it, but still. Fantastic show top to bottom though.

• It’s too hot! We need to do something about Texas tour!

• DCX went down the other day for a bit, and it made me realize just how much I rely on that site for remembering random little bits of DCI history. Great site, and they’re doing a great job. 

• I’m going to catch Barbenheimer in the morning, so I will report back either on the podcast or during next week’s Back of the Bus with more on that.

Best of the Week

God, I love a classic Slow Walk™ from a Troopers Drum Major. It’s been around for years, and it’s easily my favorite part of any Drum Major retreat. Keep doing you, Troopers DM, and next time, feel free to walk a little bit slower. We’re waiting for scores anyways, might as well add some more style.

Matthew Carstensen is currently GEM’s Managing Editor. He has been involved in the Pageantry Arts for over a decade as a performer at the highest level, an instructor, and a fan. You can find him on Twitter, Threads, and Instagram at @SatNightLites. He currently lives in Florida with his dog.