Back of the Bus: Heating Up
Hopefully, this will be a short edition of Back of the Bus this week; it’s been a busy weekend with Drums Along The Rockies, getting 2Hot2Handle wrapped up, settling into my new place, and finding some time to finally catch Asteroid City (spoiler alert: It’s Good). Let’s do it.
Feeling Blue
It’s been a very Blue weekend in DCI, with the Blue Devils winning last night in Fort Collins handily and Bluecoats finally pulling ahead of Crown in Little Rock. Two very well-deserved results and the only surprise here for me was that Bloo hadn’t pulled ahead of Crown earlier. This sets us up for Broken Arrow on Tuesday night, with Boston 1.5 behind the Devs, and even though they’re currently in second by score, both Crown and Bluecoats were ahead of the Crusaders at their last meeting. Last night’s scores make me think that margins might be tighter in Oklahoma than many expect, even though I believe after these corps go head to head again, things might open up just a little.
All of our top corps still have some work to do in show development, though, unsurprisingly, the Blue Devils seem ahead of anyone else when it comes to that. Boston made some cuts and changes over the past week, though I'm curious how much of that actually addressed the issues that have been present since the start of the season.
2Hot2Handle: Up In Smoke
Last summer was the third hottest summer on record for the US. Every. Single. Show. in the state of Texas on the 2022 DCI tour, as well as some in Oklahoma, had their start times pushed back due to heat-related concerns. Some corps ended up performing in rehearsal gear instead of their uniforms, and the Lawton, OK show became a standstill exhibition due…
Crown feels like a wildcard right now. They’ve taken leaps and bounds with regard to Percussion design following the additions of the new staff but managed to end up behind both Cadets and Cavaliers in Drums in Little Rock, the first time they placed behind either group this season in that caption. Will it be a one-off? Is this the start of a new trend? Only the future will tell. What is significant is that when it comes to Bluecoats’ lead last night of .5, more than half of that is because of Percussion.
Catch the Wave
Parents, it’s time to talk to your kids about a Saturday night in Indianapolis that includes Pacific Crest. The California-based corps smoked BK last night in Fort Collins and isn’t looking back. They’re currently ranked 12th, and though they haven’t met up with Crossmen or Madison just yet, it seems that they’re getting very comfortable with this show. It didn’t exactly feel like any corps had a lights-out run at Drums Along The Rockies, but two-pointing BK with an off run is very telling, I think. Let’s see if they keep this momentum up.
Putting It Together
We’re going to see our top 4 corps together in Broken Arrow. We’re going to talk about this a ton tonight on Bring It In, I’m sure. I won’t waste too much time here on BA or a deep dive into San Antonio. Feel free to listen to the pod for that. What’s more interesting to me RIGHT NOW is the race for 5th. We won’t really get much clarity on that until Saturday. Phantom and Mandarins seem to have 5th and 6th locked down, but the order is anyone’s guess.
Right now, the way I see it, each corps’ strongest movement is the other corps’ weakest. Regiment opens up their show with an absolutely monstrous rendition of Supremacy by Muse, with more energy than many corps have in their entire show, AND they changed it a couple of days ago to go even harder. It’s absolutely incredible, and you’ll want a front-row seat to get blasted in the face by it. That said, their ballad is Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto, a stunning piece. And they added ballad beats to it. I can’t say it any better than my friend Aaron did on the podcast last week, so I’ll just drop that below this. It isn’t clicking for me right now.
On the flip side, Take Me to Church is my favorite ballad this season, full stop. It made me bawl the first time I saw Mandarins perform, and it is the defining moment of their show. I’m gonna keep banging the Vince Oliver drum, and it’s because of moments like this. Mandies are doing fantastic with Sinnerman, and the back half of their show is up there with almost anything else when it comes to performance energy and how they connect with the audience. And then there’s the opener. The pre-show is awesome; it gets you just in the right headspace for the intensity that this corps is just so so so good at. Then the corps comes in with their opening hit, and it just comes across as uninspiring and a little bland. The rest of their show is so brilliant and dynamic that it makes this movement stand out that much more. The only runs you hear, pushing the moment forward, are right before the final chord of the opener, with much of the rest feeling less melodic and more static.
Drum Corps Week(end) 3 & The Bear!
GEM's Daniel Montoya Jr. discusses DCI Week(end) #3 and the parallels between a back-of-house kitchen staff & drum corps design teams. To contribute to The Recap, offer suggestions, and/or ask questions, email us at therecap@generaleffect.media.
Both corps have already started adding changes to flesh out their productions, and I’m sure more are on the way. I hope both can take these shows to the next level. Both EXOGENESIS and Sinnerman are stunning and well worth the top-half spot in finals they’ll get. But there’s still almost a month left, and both of these shows will just get better.
I. Can’t. Wait.
At the Movies
Gonna switch gears a bit and talk about how good this summer is for movies. We started with Across the Spider-Verse, one of the outstanding animation accomplishments in cinema. If you haven’t seen it, go watch Into the Spider-Verse, and then catch ATSV at your nearest Cinema that’s still playing it. It’s worth it. The animation is gorgeous, the sound design and music selections are impeccable, and the colors throughout? Absolutely something special.
Speaking of gorgeous colors and impeccable music selection, Asteroid City is a lovely movie that I won’t spoil but will touch on. It is very, very Wes Anderson, so if that’s not your vibe, this won’t be the movie for you. It is absolutely beautiful, perfectly lit, includes a ton of classic folk, and another delightful score by Alexandre Desplat. Additionally, it will reward a rewatch, and I can’t wait to do so.
Much has been said about Oppenheimer and Barbie, and the discourse™ in certain circles online has gotten a little unbearable (our own
weighed in on it). Both look to be fantastic contributions to the world of cinema, whether we’re talking about character studies of figures that have been mythologized in American culture for over 60 years or auteurs who have developed a cult following for their films. Watch both back to back. It’ll be a day well spent.If you’re leaning strongly one way or the other, let me give you an elevator pitch for both. For Barbie, one of the reference movies Margot Robbie uses to inspire her character is The Truman Show, one of the greatest movies about commercialism and authenticity ever made. For Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan, a man intensely devoted to practical effects, reproduced a NUCLEAR BOMB on the big screen.
Best of the Week
The Screen Actors Guild joined the Writers Guild of America in striking this week, bringing pretty much all movie and TV production that hasn’t finished filming in the US to a halt. With executives refusing to compromise for new deals that help ensure actors and writers on the lower end of the financial spectrum are taken care of, it seems that we’re in for a rough time in terms of new content when the current shows and movies in post-production get released.
Does this mean more time for band? Rewatching your favorite scripted shows to boost their numbers? Whatever it means for you, support those in their fight for a fair wage. Not every actor makes Matt Damon or Brad Pitt money, and they deserve a living wage too.
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 and Threads at @SatNightLites. He currently lives in Florida with his dog.