Back of the Bus: Start Your Engines
This Week in the Pageantry World
The 2023 DCI Season has started with a bang, as we’ve finally got all of the world class show reveals out of the way, as well as the first five competitive shows of the season. It has already proven to have intrigue and shake-ups, as well as a premiere show that, by many reports, came close to flat-out cancellation.
The Garden of Love
The Bluecoats were the final World Class corps to announce their show (which has been a theme of theirs in recent years). Their announcement came as part of a broadcast in conjunction with other Ohio-based groups as well as FloMarching, on an evening where the only other DCI show to be live-streamed was Corps at the Crest - San Diego, as well as a replay of DCI Central Indiana, which guaranteed that a significant amount of the attention of viewers at home would be on Alliance, OH, with the west coast show not beginning until after the Bluecoats wrapped up.
After a bit of a rain delay, Bloo premiered The Garden of Love, based on JacobTV’s avant-garde piece “Garden of Love.” Throughout the show, narration drawn from that piece, itself drawn from a poem by William Blake, overlaid the corps in a similar fashion to last year’s production. Speaking of last year, Riffs & Revelations introduced the drum corps world to the work of Anna Meredith, who gets used again to great effect in this show with her piece Bump. In fact, every other composer they’re using is not only a familiar face to the drum corps community but also one that the Bluecoats have utilized before, with Pat Metheny, Bon Iver, and Chick Corea rounding out the list.
The Title Race
Last night, in addition to the Bluecoats unveiling their show, we saw the first competitive performance from the other medalists from 2022, with the Boston Crusaders bringing White Whale to the field in Lynn, MA, and the Blue Devils performing The Cut-Outs in Vista, CA. Both corps won their respective contests handily, with the Blue Devils topping the Mandarins by 6.1 and the Crusaders beating the Cadets by 3.4. With Carolina Crown getting a 75.00 at their first show, it looks like our title contenders are solidified, and the race will be on.
Notable shows to keep an eye on this week for these matchups will be Wednesday’s Summer Music Games in Cincinnati, with Boston, Crown, and the Bluecoats all seeing each other for the first time this season, as well as Saturday’s CrownBEAT in Lexington, SC, which features Carolina Crown and the Bluecoats.
Wednesday’s show will be the last time we’ll see Boston head to head with Bluecoats and Carolina Crown until DCI Broken Arrow on 7/18, as they’re going west to Colorado to meet up with the Blue Devils at Drums Along the Rockies in Ft. Collins.
Movin On Up
In the next tier, the Mandarins and The Cadets unveiled their competitive programs last night. The Cadets came out of the gate on fire with their production of Atlas Rising and a bold new look for the corps that emphasizes the athletic nature of the show. Taking inspiration from the mythological figure of Atlas, the Cadets are looking to shoulder the burden of their history while taking a step forward and getting back into the upper echelon of corps that they inhabited for so long.
The Mandarins took their show name from Nina Simone’s Sinnerman. Still, when it comes to impact, few moments will draw a greater response this year than their ballad hit of Hozier’s Take Me to Church (Did I cry last night watching it on the stream? Why would you even ask such a question, I am aghast at the temerity). Regardless of their placement, this will be a show to remember for years to come.
The other three corps in this tier are the midwestern-based trio of Phantom Regiment, Blue Stars, and The Cavaliers, all of whom have seen each other over the past few shows. Right now, Phantom seems to have the upper hand over the other two, though Blue Stars have been known for years as a corps that peaks late, and with the all-star design team in place at The Cavaliers, it’s hard to imagine them staying down for long.
In this tier, the shows to keep an eye on will generally involve very similar groupings to what we have already seen, as there will be no new matchups between these corps this week. That said, tomorrow’s Rotary Music Festival and Friday’s Midwest Classic will feature more head to head to head matchups between Phantom, Blue Stars, and Cavies, so those will be important to watch to see if anyone is gaining the upper hand.
Bubble Buddies
Inner Bubble
Our next tiers are the corps fighting for a spot on Saturday Night, and these are the corps that look to be on the inside track for an appearance.
Troopers and Colts have seen a lot of each other over the past week, with Troopers getting the better out of those matchups. Both corps are still looking at a couple of areas of development, though in most captions, judges seem to be saying there is a decent ceiling for those corps. The Content/Achievement gap appears to be narrowing in the Analysis captions, Music for Colts, and Visual for Troop, so we should be seeing everything those corps keep in their back pockets for the later season start to get integrated into the shows over the next few weeks.
The other corps that looks to be in this tier right now is the Blue Knights, as they have made massive strides since last season, and everything coming out of the BK camp has been highly optimistic. That being said, the Denver-based corps doesn’t make their premiere until Friday’s MidCal Champions Showcase, so we will have to wait until then to see the results of their off-season improvement.
Outer Bubble
On the outside looking in, three corps debuted last night, with The Academy and Pacific Crest taking strides forward from last season at Corps at the Crest and the Madison Scouts unveiling The Sound Garden at Drums on Parade. All of these corps have finalist aspirations and have stepped up accordingly. Another corps in this tier looking to find their way back up is the Crossmen. Their show, Meetings At The Edge, delves into some classic Crossmen fare, and with it, they’d like to reclaim a spot in the top 12 that they’d held for the past ten years before dropping out with last year’s A Mobius Trip.
Keep an eye on the Midwest Classic, as the Crossmen will be making their season debut, as well as matching up with Scouts, Troopers, and Colts. If you can’t make it to Rockford, that show will be available on FloMarching.
Let’s Get Serious
There was much uncertainty leading up to Wednesday’s Tour Premiere due to wildfire smoke significantly negatively impacting air quality in the Midwest. Reports from members said that multiple corps opted not to rehearse outside at points due to this, and the Cavaliers decided not to perform entirely. There were legitimate concerns that the event would be canceled outright, with the air quality improving enough that DCI felt comfortable moving forward with the event.
Corps over on the west coast, especially in California, have dealt with wildfires and the side effects of that for years, and after the issues that the East Coast and Midwest have faced this spring and summer, many have wondered how this will affect the activity with wildfires becoming a more significant factor earlier on in the summer.
Combined with the heat issues faced during the southern swings, there are more and more growing concerns that will need to be confronted by Dan Acheson’s successor, in addition to managing the organizations and finding ways to expand DCI’s reach and accessibility. One of DCI’s marquee events, Drum Corps At The Cinema: 2022 DCI Tour Premiere, was not held, and the pared-down event that replaced it drew many existing fans watching it over FloMarching, but also I’d be curious to know how many first-time viewers that drew compared to the Cinema experience.
Too Hot to Handle?
Heat has become a very prominent issue on the 2022 DCI tour. We’ve had corps cancel rehearsal blocks, and move others to the middle of the night. We’ve had shows delayed an hour and a half, and other shows where it was so hot that corps performed at a standstill. What’s going on and why is it so dang hot?
Best Thing I’ve Seen This Week
@badboamemes on Instagram is absolutely killing it
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 at @SatNightLites. He currently lives in Florida with his dog.