This was my first time to the DCI show in Edmond, OK and was a stellar line up of top corps. Troopers, Glassmen, Blue Stars, Phantom Regiment, Blue Devils, and a few others were in attendance. The show was set at the University of Central Oklahoma and like any other college, it has many buildings and grassy knolls to accommodate the student body. While this is ideal for the college student, it can be a nightmare for the drumline lot connoisseur. There are too many places to hide and if you judge your destination by sound, it can be deceptive with the sound reflecting off of adjacent buildings.
With that in mind, I went to the show with the goal to see at least three warm ups and I hit my goal. The full review is after the jump…
My goal was to see three corps: Troopers, Phantom Regiment, and the Blue Devils. Troopers because of a former student in the drumline, Phantom because it’s Phantom, and Blue Devils because they won last year and I’ve heard good things about the show design.
Once we found a spot close to the stadium, we went looking for drumlines. First up was Troopers…the tuning of the Pearl snares was very nice, the perfect blend of crisp and wet. As you’ll see in the pictures and videos below, they used Evans heads and had the snare guts fairly well taped on the bottom head.
For a very brief stint I saw Glassmen and I thought they sounded great but by the time I got over there they were done. Just timing issues. Instead I went searching for Phantom Regiment and finally found tenors in a sub sectional not far from their equipment truck. They eventually made it around the corner to the rest of the group and then from that point on, the crowd of spectators got a treat. There is no need for me to talk about their playing, just watch the videos below and see for yourself.
Before going in, I stopped by and watched some of the Blue Devils warm up. While I would normally post more than the one minute of video, the Blue Devils haven’t been the nicest to videographers in the lots. They would rather you go to their online store and buy a DVD than get free press – I’m sure you can find their website.
