Drum Corps International’s foray into electronics is mostly not a disaster, based on the incredible performances by five World Class corps Saturday night at Drum Beauty in Stillwater.

Four of the elite drum and bugle corps — Phantom Regiment of Rockford, Ill., the Cavaliers (pictured) of Rosemont, Ill., the Madison Scouts of Madison, Wis., and the Blue Stars of LaCrosse, Wis. — just used an amplified front-sideline percussion ensemble (xylophones, marimbas, timpani, etc.), with some adding tastefully played electronic keyboards and sound effects. Only one corps, Spirit of Jacksonville, Ala., went all-out techno, with a loud bass guitar, keyboards, vocals and everything overmiked. Spirit’s show was meant to mimic a rock concert, using the music of Kansas, but it sounded like a front ensemble with drum corps accompaniment. Interestingly, the corps that did the least with electronics and amplification, Phantom and the Cavaliers, also did best in the competition, with the Cavies coming in first and Phantom second. Spirit finished last, tied with the Scouts. Based on Saturday’s results, it’s only drum corps’ restraint that is keeping electronics in check. The more the technology is used, the better the chances that it won’t be successful — until a champion-caliber corps puts on the equivalent of a modern, high-quality Broadway show on the field using electronics. (That’s when DCI changes the rules to allow corps to use spotlights and a chorus line.)

DCI’s electronics experiment continues tonight in Mankato at the Thunder of Drums. Unfortunately, two of the World Class corps from Stillwater, Phantom and Spirit, will not be there. The rest of the lineup will be the same as Stillwater, plus Pioneer of Milwaukee. Show starts at 7 p.m.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 at 7:31 am and is filed under Audio, Techno chatter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.