June 30, 2024 – Chicago, Illinois
Touring multiple DCI shows during the short summer season requires much rubber to hit the road and wings in the air. After five days of traversing the landscape in the Kia, I am sitting here at the car rental complex at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. I just returned the budget rental that transported me 750 miles from Grand Rapids, MI, to DCI shows in Rockford, MI, and Muncie, IN, with some fun adventures in between. Now, I am waiting for friends flying in from afar to join me for the two remaining shows of my early Mid-West DCI tour. The six amigos will be renting a seven-passenger van that will transport us to Lisle, IL, and Cincinnati, OH, from which we will all fly back to our ordinary lives following four days of drum corps immersion therapy.
This morning, I left Indiana Dunes National Park, where I enjoyed a leisurely day of exploring the dunes and beaches and spent the night sleeping out. I headed westerly around the southern shore of Lake Michigan into the concrete jungle of Chicago, the Windy City. Traveling through the city on elevated highways gives one a dramatic view of the cityscape of tall skyscrapers and twisting roadways. This was a different perspective than seeing the tiny structures sticking up in the distance, silhouetted in the setting sun across the lake as seen from atop the dunes yesterday. Wind is the theme of the day, as it was kicking up the surf on Lake Michigan this morning. Wouldn’t it be cool if a drum corps did McCoy Tyner’s Fly with the Wind as a theme repertoire? I cued that up on the car stereo as I flew along the elevated highways through Chi-town.
I always wake up more excited on show days, anticipating more thrills at the 50-yard line. Tonight, the Cavalcade of Brass will be at the Benedictine Stadium in nearby Lisle, IL. The Cavaliers will host six other world-class DCI corps for an early season match-up in this order of performance: Madison Scouts, Blue Stars, Colts, Phantom Regiment, Boston Crusaders, Carolina Crown, and The Cavaliers. To start us off, there will be performances from Rosemont King Cobras, Eclipse, Sound of Sun Prairie, and Colts Cadets. Ten performances in one evening is a lot, but I think my thalamus gland can take it.
I will be in the company of five other drum corps brothers. We are celebrating the life of Sandra Bertelle, a former performer and visual judge. Sandy paved the path for other women DCI and Winter Guard judges. She was known and loved by many in the activity, including her former colleagues in the judging world. I learned much from Sandy over the past seven years since meeting her through brothers Garry and Tim. Other members of this esteemed company include two founding board members of Carolina Crown, Doug and Bill, and Tim and Sandy’s friend and fellow drum corps fan, Jim. Ironically, Sandy organized this gathering because she felt it necessary for us to all be together. After all, life is short. And it’s getting shorter for some of us with medical issues, hers in particular. A rich drum corps legacy resides with these people that I would not have otherwise met if I hadn’t run away with the drum corps in 2017 as a volunteer and writer. I am honored to be among them. To sit with them at the 50 tonight will be very special and a departure from my usual solo fan status. In honor of Sandy, we will eat, drink, and be merry together for the next three days. I will do my best to keep you posted.
June 31, 2024 – Naperville, Illinois.
11:00 AM
Cooler temperatures prevailed last night at the Benedictine Stadium in Lisle, but this did not dissuade the corps from bringing the heat. Oh, how those horns melt the matter between my temples during the ballad parts of their programs. Precise movements in unison are sublime. Fast drills and high tosses combined with intense sounds excite the pleasure button, sending sparks of body rushes. I will not dive into the show themes yet. There is more to sink in. For those who care about the scores, the top four placements from the Central Indiana show in Muncie did not change: Carolina Crown, Boston Crusaders, Phantom Regiment, and The Cavaliers. However, there was a swing in placement, with the Colts pulling ahead of the Blue Stars. Madison Scouts came in seventh place, but you would think from the response from the fans, it would be much higher. Having experienced three shows now, I can say with certainty that they are all getting better and better. The six amigos were surrounded by friendly drum corps fans who enjoyed the repartee of this esteemed and seasoned drum corps cabal. Colin McNutt, the master percussion writer and teacher for the Boston Crusaders, joined us in our spare seat. BAC was the clear show favorite, as exhibited by the response from those around me, scoring first in percussion and color guard.
The post-show morning with a full day off provides for some quiet downtime. We are at a comfortable hotel in Naperville, Illinois. Everything we would need is within a few blocks. There is a constant din of traffic on the nearby highway, and the power equipment buzzing away on this active Monday morning mixes in with a few bird songs in the surrounding well-maintained landscape. Franchise business signs dominate the viewshed amid the trees and acres of blacktop sprawling across the countryside. This is America. It stretches for hundreds of miles in a radius from Chicago. Observing the tall buildings of the Chicago skyscape from far across the lake yesterday was an interesting perspective. Seeing it up close and personal while wending through the city on the way to the Airport was quite another. This cityscape outside downtown is relatively flat, with no more than 4-story buildings and thousands of acres of impervious surfaces. Kevin, you are not in Vermont now. Writing these words of reflection while away the time as others prepare for the day and checkout. We are about to head to Ohio for the Summer Music Games in Cincinnati. Six souls will rocket across the landscape in a seven-passenger minivan at a diagonal dissecting Indiana. I am no longer in control of my destiny. I will be in the way back seat. Wish me luck.
8:00 PM – Mason, Ohio
After several hours of speeding along the concrete interstates, curled up in the back seat, I am safely transported to our destination. Sitting on a patio in Southwestern Ohio at a short-term rental, a 4-bedroom house in a quiet neighborhood, I can catch up with you. The six Vagabond drum corps fans have bonded together these past two days. I am the outlier, given the history and contribution to the drum corps activity that these individuals have made. My marching legacy was a small-town corps in upstate New York. These folks marched in competitive corps and have helped form and shape major world-class DCI corps. Given our personalities and attention deficit disorders, things got off on somewhat of a shambolic start yesterday as we assembled at the O’Hare car rental center and proceeded on our way to Lisle. Today, after a great evening of drum corps and a leisurely start, our travels went much smoother as the sextet began to find the common rhythm. Brother Tim skillfully guided the coach through the open roads and urban stretches of the Eisenhower spaghetti. Siri guided us here to our short-term rental house somewhere north of Cincinnati, where we will spend the next two nights. It is time to fulfill Sandy’s goal of food, fun, and merriment.
During our long drive, we conversed about the drum corps activity. First, I should explain that I have often observed that the scores are not necessarily a reflection of the reaction in the stands. That is, the highest-scoring corps is not always the one the crowd reacts most favorably toward. That was evident last night, in my humble opinion. I humbly add that I have no real critical judging experience other than what I feel and how I react. Quite often, my reactions are uncontrolled emotional sparks that electrify my skin, raise the hair on the back of my neck, and soak my eyeballs. These visceral responses are caused by the combination of the sights and sounds on the field, the reaction of others around me, and my personal attachment. Familiarity with a particular corps has an additive effect. That is as far as I will go for now. I will keep you posted.