I lifted this from DCP, it's too good not to share....
I was trying to come up with a single, short, all-encompassing overview of what went down this week in Bloomington, but that's just not possible. There's just too much ground to cover, so I'll take it in chunks, because there were just so many positive things that different corps brought to the table, and why I think some were more successful than some of the "established" top-3ish corps. It was all about story telling: Glassmen's Carnivale; Bluestars, and their awesome use of music and movement to convey the imagery of "LeTour"; The Bluecoats and their use of archetypal imagery to tell their "Boxer" story; Carolina Crown and the sheer wit, brilliant musicianship and wonderful color guard in conveying their story of a Mad Composer. That's just a few of some of what made this week the most memorable DCI Championships that I've ever been to.
First, I want to talk about our newly-crowned World Class Champion, Phantom Regiment.
The tale of this year's Regiment is more than just a story about a great drum corps passing a number of extremely worthy competitors to win a title at great odds, although that's a hell of a story by itself. The real story is how the Regiment was able to break through the "4th Wall" and grab the audience, not so much pulling them into the story of Spartacus, but bonding with them in a way that made everyone in the audience leap willingly through that imaginary wall, that created a synergy between the performers and the audience that I don't think has ever been experienced to that degree in a drum corps competition. The whole three day experience developed into nothing short of a love affair between the Regiment and their audience coming from a spontaneous bond that was not unlike what performance artists in the '60s would call "a happening."
Just as a point of reference, my own junior corps were what is known in showbiz lingo as "Money Players" ... Our performances depended a lot (for better or worse) on the involvement of the audience. When they we were on and the audience was on there was an energy flowed between us and the crowd that amplified the experience ... It inspired us to greater heights, and gave us the energy to really lay it all out if you will.
Conversely if the audience was flat, we tended to be flat as well. It was a symbiotic relationship, a groove between the artist and the audience that made the experience something greater than the whole. I hate to get all metaphysical, but that's exactly what it was ... the connection of that energy was like a high that we thrived on. We loved our audience, and on the best of days it was reciprocal.
I've been jazzed about Phantom Regiment since I saw them at Stanford. Even knowing that Regiment ALWAYS builds on the effects and adds the bells and whistles, there was a certain coherence about the show that looked like they had the potential to take this a lot farther than might be evident on the surface.
That potential really started manifesting as they started adding to the show ... Oh, they had the musicianship from the get go. The talent was there. All the little changes, additions, costuming, props, herald trumpets, it all built on the foundation. But what really started making it happen, more than anything else in selling that show, was when they started letting loose with the magic ingredient: A complete commitment to the selling the theatrical elements of the show. Fully committing to approaching drum corps as theater. It was genius.
It was when they totally brought on the attitude. Cranking it up, getting in to character. With every level that they amped-up the attitude, and committed more deeply to their characters, the more they reached out to the audience.
And then it clicked. They connected on that deeper level with their audience and found their inner gladiators.
When the Regiment took the field in Bloomington, the sheer presence that they projected reached out to the crowd completely. They didn't just take the field ... They owned it and everybody else in the house had just been borrowing it. Now they might as well take the IU logo off the fifty and put down a double chevron. They were home.
Every bit of play acting, from the soldiers brutal treatment of the slaves, to laying the seeds of ******* between the drum majors ... It all got to the audience, quickly, and suddenly were were in it with them. Willing participants in the passion that was to come. In doing this they took theatricality in drum corps to a new level, almost creating a new type of performance art. The more over-the-top they took it, the quicker and easier it became for the audience to get involved.
Like I've said, I've been in and around drum corps almost all of my life. I've been in a top 4 corps, and I've experienced what I felt was an unbelievable connection to the audience, but nothing that ever approached the level of intensity of the connection between the Regiment and the audience in Bloomington. It was as if every bit of fire and passion that Regiment was putting into their show was coming right back at 'em from the crowd, almost willing them to take Spartacus to new heights and us along with them. It was literally about sharing the love. Pure and simple.
At some point spontaneous audience interaction just started. Happening with audience member after audience member joining in with the corps screaming an impassioned "I AM SPARTACUS!". We were there, we were with them. We were them. It was good.
This special bond only increased as the week progressed. By Saturday night the contract was sealed: They had us, we had them. We were gonna' get through this thing together and the love just flowed back and forth between the corps and the crowd. It was pure Magic.
We drum corps folk tend to be a pretty partisan lot ... I regularly honk a NorCal shade of Blue. Friends around me were into different shades of Blue, Green, Red ... The whole spectrum. On Saturday night when Regiment hit the field, it didn't matter ... Regardless of home team, we were one. We were Spartacus.
The show was sublime ... the highlight of a night of truly gifted performances by every corps that took the field. But the energy at retreat was flowing into the Regiment in a major way. It was between the audience and the Regiment. The had won our hearts, and while that was amazing, the collective consciousness wanted, no, demanded it to go further.
As the Regiment Drum Major lay on the field in between the other corps' majors covered in his death shroud (another brilliant extension of the moment) we waited.
The scores were announced as the tension built amidst a reading that included other surprises for many that night. By the time Carolina Crown's 4th place score was announced, the air was thick and quiet. 3rd place .... Cavaliers!
Spartacus was still alive.
What happened next has already been well documented. You can probably find the video on YouTube. As legendary field announcer Brandt Crocker sliced though an agonizingly long pause, awarding second place to the Blue Devils. Memorial Stadium erupted in an explosion of audience approval the likes of which were, arguably, unlike any reception received by the crowning of a new champion in DCI history.
The rest of retreat was like a blur, the bittersweet approach of end of the evening tempered with the knowledge that we would get to see our heroes take the field one more time.
They did not disappoint. Phantom Regiment honored their audience by going back, resetting, and giving us a full performance of their World Championship show as an encore ... From the very entrance of the returning Roman Army and their slaves to the inevitable conclusion of Drum Major Will Pitts untimely demise.
Again, it was magic.
As a final gift, Regiment shared with us with a performance of their most treasured music selection, and corps' hymn, Wagner's "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral".
Then it was time to let our victors have the field to themselves for reflection, celebration, and the beginning of the next step of their lives ... Wherever it may take them.
Horse from screaming, I found a couple of other "old timers" to share thoughts with. Our opinions were unanimous. We had just been witness to something unprecedented in the annals of drum corps history.
Dismiss this as the overly-sentimental musings of a life-long drum corps fan, or not, as you will. It is my belief, that the story of the 2008 Phantom Regiment, "Spartacus", and three magical nights in Bloomington, Indiana, will go on to become the stuff of drum corps legend.
I feel privileged to have been there to share the experience.
) The Short North--the area a few blocks north of downtown--is much more active, fun and diverse. 
Sorry, I haven't been keeping up with posts on the boards lately.
