DCI

I hate being hot. I hate sweating. I hate sitting in the blazing sun in the middle of summer while the sun fries my alabaster skin like two strips of crispy bacon.
However!! There are exceptions to almost all things in life. One said exception is witnessing the glory that is a DCI performance while sitting in metal bleachers in sweltering heat with a heat index well over 100 degrees.

What is DCI, you say? Well, let me first proudly display my band geek flag. DCI stands for Drum Corps International. It's basically marching band on steroids. It's the major league of marching music. Here's a taste courtesy of the Blue Knights - Denver, Colorado.

Incredible, right? That's just a teaser, too. The amount of work these corps (which, by the way, the mean age of participants is 19.4) put in is astounding. Most of them are full-time college students, or high school students aspiring for degrees in Music once they head to college. It really is amazing, and I could ramble on and on about how awesome they are. But, until you witness a live performance, you just can't appreciate the magic that is DCI. And no, I am not overselling this.

In my last post I mentioned that I got to cross off a bucket list item when I got to see Phantom of the Opera. Well, here's another one I'd like to get crossed off; going to the World Championships of DCI in Indianapolis. One summer in August, I WILL be going. Occasionally I get lucky, and a show makes a stop in Nebraska. My luck struck a year ago in Seward, and my sister and I got to witness a show at Heedum Field (snow cones in hand to try to beat some of the heat...can't imagine how hot it must have been wearing full marching uniform). Seven corps performed, and each performance blew my mind.

But anyway, if you feel like checking out some videos, there's a gang of them on youtube. Just search DCI performances, Or, hop on over to DCI's page and you can discover a wealth of knowledge. Here you can find the best 2015 DCI moments. Worth a watch, IMHO.

Props to my friend Jessica Cates on posting this video that inspired today's post. This clip shows just how in character these kids get for performances. Is that passion, or what?

-S