by Jim Helsel
FMA Staff Commentator

In a season that was to be undenied, Bluecoats went undefeated for their second time, capturing their 2nd FMA Drum Corps World Championship in division 1. In a highly contested season, they edged out Carolina Royals run at the title by .525, while the overall spread between the finalists was just under 5 points.

Opening the night in exhibition was the defending senior corps champs, Blue Bananas. Their jazz/latin themed show had the audience constantly on their feet, especially their percussion feature of Copacabana. They definitely put on a performance that left no doubt as to why they were the champs.

Leading off the competition was Cornhuskers. Their show titled Dark Side of the Rainbow was a delightful blend of music from The Wizard of Oz and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Their closer was the highlight, overlaying Somewhere Over the Rainbow with Money. A worthy finals performance with a score of 94.390 for 12th place.

Next to take the field was Hornets. The Final Frontier definitely went where no corps had ever gone before. Blending low brass with screeching sopranos raised the hair of most in attendance. The highlight was the alien percussion instruments used. The sound was fantastic, though they never received the scores they should have due to the fact the judges just were completely dumbfounded as to what they were. Good enough to move up a spot from semis to take 10th with a final score of 94.775.

Blue Deviled Eggs, while one of the most successful corps in FMA, crumpled under the pressure of finals, due to the fact that the finals series were their only competitions this year. Their show, Blue Redemption, had the promise of being something really special. While a heroic effort to qualify for finals, they dropped a place from semis with a score of 94.740 for 11th place.

Next on the starting line was Lexington Legends. Their show, Glass Half Full, left the audience in a party mode crying for more. Start of Something New set the tone for the rest of their production.The highlight had to be What's Happening?!?! leading into I Know But I Don't Know. A solid performance overall, their GE scores were the only let down. A respectul 95.235 for 9th place.

Our only division I international finalist, Swiss Regiment, were next to compete. Their show, Faust, was a very technically challenging production musically.The drill was polished, earning them some decent scores. This may be a sleeper corps to keep your eye on in the future. Final position of 8th place with a score of 96.795.

A perennial crowd favorite, Leviathan were next to entertain the audience. Their delicate fusion of latin jazz had the audience in awe the entire performance. Their show, Making Believe, mesmerized the audience from the first notes of Chuck Mangione's Land of Make Believe. By the time they played Beethoven is Dancing Salsa, the fans had their beers in hand, dancing in the aisles, right through to the last notes of Perla Morena. Good thing a 15 minute break was coming up. Everyone needed refills after that high energy performance. 7th place with a score of 97.155.

Redcoat Regiment were next to lead off the top 6. Their show, With Great Power, had all the elements of a championship performance. Starting strong with the opener, the hornline was powerful and meant business. Their percussion section didn't have their best night, and it reflected in their score. The highlight had to be the 32 count chord by the hornline to end their show. Watch this corps in the future. Final sore, 97.180 for 6th place.

Nemesis were next to take the field.The most successful corps in FMA history were down to their final performance of Lean. Opening Bell was dead on, you could hear a pin drop at the end. Level Up let everyone know their intentions for the night. The highlight had to be the subtle harmonies throughout the hornline in The Moonchild. Taking overall High GE, they scored a perfect 20 in both GE Music and GE Visual, as well as scoring a perfect 10 in Visual Ensemble. The audience was swayed, but not the judges. 5th place with a final score of 97.870.

Performing their show, and then..., Corps IBEX was next to take to the turf. Their repertoire consisted of 3 movements, An Idea, Thought, Product. This concept can be interpreted on so many levels, from a car design to a show design. The performance was quite unique, in that it changed what was portrayed from week to week. The one thing that didn't change was their percussion section. Driving, subtle timbres throughout, they had you on your feet to see and hear what was next. High Percussion for the night, 4th place. Final score of 97.945.

In it's first ever top 3 appearance, Spectrum Force presented their show titled Growth Spurt. With all original music, the corps portrayed what a group of people collectively can accomplish as a whole, setting no boundaries to the limitless possibilities. Strong in all captions, this corps has made it's mark this year. The hornliine rivaled the best out there while the percussion section produced some of the most memorable rhythmns of the night. They were visually solid and finished the year in 3rd place with a score of 98.475.

Carolina Royals had a hard act to follow, but rose to the occasion. Their hornline was powerful and blew you about 10 yards back right from the start. Percussion section was clean, crisp, and persuasive. Visually, this corps was stunning, though a minor issue in their performance just may have cost them a title this season. In any other season, they could have won it all, but their 98.840 saw them finish this season as runner-up.

And in first place, with a score of....99.365, the Bluecoats! With their presentation of Duck Duck Duck, the original music titled Goose left everyone sitting on the egg this season. The hornline, oh that hornline, was so sweet this season. Powerful, subtle, they produced sounds that many a fan will spend hours with the headphones on listening to. The percussion section was the perfect complement to them, yet knew when to cut loose and take charge. Visually, sections chased other sections around, at times like a mass controlled kaos, yet so intricately performed. No one was to be left the goose except for their competition this season. Climaxing their undefeated season, they took High Brass, overall High Music, high Color Guard, and overall High Visual. Ladies and gentlemen, your Season 38 FMA Drum Corps World Champions, the Bluecoats!

Overall, this was one of the closest shows for a finals in FMA. The weather was perfect for the night. All 12 finalists should be proud of their achievements this season. Congratulations and if this is any indication as to what next season will be, I say bring it.

For a full re-cap, please visit:

http://www.fantasymarchingarts.com/event/25485

Bravo, Jim!!! such a great write up

Thanks Aaron. Got only one interview back for this division. Received a few from DII, so might go quicker. 5 more to go now.

I am only doing two write ups for all divisions.. one for color guard and one for marching band :)

I should do that, but it won't be as extensive as this is

Your write up is great. I enjoy your sense of humor and creativity. No pressure for me or anything lol

Do ya like the pun in the headline? I couldn't resist that one. Wonder what I'll come up with for DII. One of the DII interviews, was the corps that came in 4th last season, and 3rd this stated, ”that Aftershock program is a hard one to beat”, I don't think she realized it was my corps lol.

I think my favorite interview is the 3rd place corps in DIII. Their show was titled Northern Lights. I asked if they thought it ironic that the winning corps was Northern Lights.

I need sleep, it's like 1:20am Monday night here now.

Great job on the review Kiwidrummer !!!

Great job! Looking forward to more. :)

awesome review!!! you really did a very good job! thank you for your very kind review of Nemesis which i thoroughly agree with---certainly our best show to not medal!

Thanks gcurrier, very much appreciated. This past season was really unbelievable. The level of competition and complexity of shows will be hard to equal. While no tangible records were set,the point spread in DI was 4.975 and DII was even closer at 4.27. Those may be records in themselves, haven't had the time to research it.

Leviathan does not condone the drinking of alcohol at youth events, however if our fans have such a good time with our show that they want to celebrate with some libations and dance, who are we to judge!? Benjamin Franklin said beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy!

I'm still working on the marching band review. .. stay posted :)

Can't wait to read Aaron.

gcurrier, my sincerest apologies. In no way was my comment meant to insinuate that Leviathan condoned the consumption of alcohol.

The last show I attended was Denver in 2004, yes, I need to get back stateside more often. Beer was very much available at Invesco Field that year. While I meant no disrespect, as I'm sure people had a beer or two throughout the night, I only wanted to report the atmosphere that was present at the time. The main was the dancing, Leviathan rocked the house and was enjoyed by all in attendance. I will be more aware in the future. Again, my apologies to you and Leviathan.

eh i was just teasing! it does blow my mind when people are on the edge of drunk at dci events though...

Haha....no worries. Personally, the shows are awesome enough. Don't need beersies. I guess that's what happens sitting in the hot sun through a prelims or semi. Was just a bit of color.

i remember years ago when finals were in buffalo and Ralph Wilson felt about 260 degrees at prelimns--people passing out and alll...i probably acted drunk then but was just the heat promise lol longest day ever---when people complain about indy being indoors i always think of that day lol

Only just now reading this review on my best season ever. Thanks for the kind words! Well done!