Brit Reacts to Drum Corps | Carolina Crown 2013 E=mc^2 

Sorry guys. I feel like I let you down on this one 😔. It seems I had my science hat on too tight and missed amazing musicianship. I can get incredibly hyper fixated on a thing if I get it in my head that I need to decipher or solve it.

The reason people were recommending the show is because it is one of the only DCI shows to get a perfect brass score!

I read a theory once that said each section of the show was meant to represent each part of the E=mc^2 equation. E for Energy which gives us a high energy opener. The equals sign is represented by the drum feature. M is for mass which is represented in the ballad by a love story. And then c^2 is the speed of light which gives us a high tempo closer. All while pulling inspiration from Einstein on the Beach. It’s just brilliant design!

All of the vocals are from the opera Einstein on the Beach by Phillip Glass. It has a lot of repeated lines that don't always make sense as sentences.

Thats what a perfect hornline sounds like. 20 points awarded out of 20 total available. Such an insane achievement from these musicians. Absolutely phenomenal show. Thank you Charlie for watching this one. If youd like something awesome to watch in your free time (id love to see you react to it but you dont have to) theres a video on youtube of the General Effect Judge's tape from their Prelims run of the show. Its paired with the video you just watched, and you hear his comments and critique. Well, they also make him cry many times with this show. "Carolina Crown 2013 Judges Tape" will bring it up if you search it. Such an awesome opportunity to hear what the judges are focusing on!

The rotating triangle is actually a prism. If you notice there is a single line of guard members representing light going into the prism on the left side and multiple lines of guard on the right side showing how the light is diffracted in the prism.

Please watch Phantom Regiment 2008! It’s based off the story of Spartacus and won that year! It is probably one of the most loved shows among the dci community

Their horn line was unbelievable that year. They got a perfect brass score.

So, I point this out almost everywhere this show gets posted because so many people miss it and it's some of the best show design in DCI ever. You got it almost exactly right. Those two props at the end were depicting wormholes (you can't escape a black hole). If you look closely, you can see one guard member on the left side of the field reach into the prop, and simultaneously a hand pokes out of the prop on the righthand side. That first member then goes into the prop, and a third member pops out of the righthand side. At the same time, the rest of the colorguard goes into slow motion for a few beats as they reach a significant fraction of the speed of light at relativistic speeds- exactly what would be seen by a observer. They all then try to reach the other end of the wormhole... but die of old age before they ever get there. Meanwhile, the two true lovers are reunited at a distant point almost instantaneously. tl;dr: Carolina Crown demonstrated Einstein on the.. uh, Field... with a neat (and accurate!) scientific illustration. Absolutely brilliant show design. Perfect brass line. Amazing book overall... and a well-deserved and totally earned first-ever win for the corps. If anyone who performed in this ever reads this comment... it's one of my favorite shows ever.

Somewhere I'd read that the end shows a teleportation through the black hole from the left to the right. Just after they bring them out, the girl on the right puts her arm in and you see it on the left. Then the guy travels to her through the wormhole from left to right. The dancers signify the distance they're traveling. It's longer than the human life span so they perish (fall down) during the journey. It's a beautifully constructed and masterfully executed show. One of my all time favorites. Would love to see your reaction to early 2000's shows (my era 😃): Blue Devils 1999, SCV '99, 2000, 2004, any Cavaliers between 2000 and 2010. Love watching these. So much fun seeing a (formerly) non-drum corps person geek out.

I seem to recall that back in 2013 it was the complexity of the horn playing and how well they did it, that set the show apart. The progression of Drum Corps is all about achieving new levels of creativity and excellence, setting the standard higher and higher, and then for all that follow to aspire to and try to surpass. It's a very competitive activity, but in a good way. I found the love sequence quite stunning.

I love your dci reactions dude ! PLEASE DONT STOP

The two props at the end are supposed to be a wormhole. If you watch closely, a guard member enters the left one at the same time the guy is pulled out of the right one, showing that he teleported through space and time to be with her. The other members who don't take the wormhole cant make the journey as the distance is too great and so they die. Also, the last formation of the show is the crown set, which is carolina crown's signiture, and is in virtually every one of their shows in some form or another. Crown is known for their storytelling and incredible brass writing and playing, and they win the brass caption award almost every year. In 2013 they scored a perfect brass score of 20 on finals night, the first and only perfect finals brass score. This is also the only year they won the championship, thus cementing this shows legendary status. Theyve come close a few other times, most notably in 2012 and 2015, and in my opinion, they should have won both those years :)

This felt like the most well performed escape room… Thank you for introducing me to this too. I had no idea these performances/competitions existed. It’s mesmerising to watch

e=mc2...love...Love being the most powerful force in the world. Einstein on The Relativity of Love...he said... When scientists looked for a unified theory of the universe they forgot the most powerful unseen force. Love is Light, that enlightens those who give and receive it. Love is gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others. Love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness. Love unfolds and reveals. For love we live and die. Love is God and God is Love. You already know what I think about this. ☺ Love pulls us from a black hole. Powerful! And you already know what I think about marching bands of any kind with my nieces having been involved.

Fun Fact: The head drum major, Linda Harvey was my middle school band director 2019-2021 before she moved, she taught me everything about my instrument, and is the reason i stayed playing in band, every year during my highschool marching season i see her, thank her and hug her, she is an AMAZING person

Sorry, it’s the music nerd in me. When you mentioned the Peter and the Wolf theme, you sang Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin.

Above all, Carolina Crown is famous for their unbelievably skilled brass lines. This show in particular received the first (and only) perfect brass score in DCI history. The degree of difficulty is through the roof and they executed it flawlessly with a seemingly orchestral degree of musicality. It's natural to focus on a show's overall theme the first several times you see a production, but it can also be fun to go back and focus your attention on one particular section of the corps at a time to get a deeper feel for their respective contributions that are layered into the larger whole. Keep the reactions coming! We love seeing your fresh perspective and insightful questions about this amazing activity that has impacted so many of our lives.

Alot of the time in DCI, the shapes of the ensemble are more for complexity and eye candy rather than actually having a symbolic meaning.

Fun fact the guy saying the poem is currently the bluecoats head brass instructor. The same guy that instructed in 2023 for the Garden of Love

I never noticed the black hole thing at the end, but I definitely think it was a purposeful design choice. I played percussion in a world class wgi organization (which is kind of like dci) and I learned a lot about show design. Designers definitely put a lot of thought and meaning into little details so don’t think you’re crazy for trying to connect dots. The judges for these competitions receive show “synopses” from each group about meanings and purposes for the things they do.

Bluecoats 2014 has to be coming up soon for you! Truly one of the most innovative shows there’s been

Yes...Phantom Regiment 2008 (Spartacus) is a must; along with Phantom Regiment 2003 (Harmonic Journey). Also, Carolina Crown 2011 (Rach Star).

You can't beat a perfect 20 hornline score!!!!!!!!! 💢🚀

You should also check out Bluecoats 2016, Blue devils 2017 is a must. Cadets 2023, Troopers 2022, Cavaliers 2017, and Mandarins 2023 are all really awesome

Absolutely a legendary show! And quite the legendary hornline! Glad you reacted to this one!

There’s so many good shows I don’t know how this man will watch them all

Also look up the video “DCI Athletes”, they hook up oxygen and heart monitors on one of the tenor drummers and compare him to a track runner

A lot of this piece is based off of "Einstein on the Beach" by Philip Glass. It's a minimalist opera that's pretty interesting, but definitely requires a bit of an aquired taste. The lyrics at the beginning come from that and are mostly nonsensical if i remember correctly, except for the counting

YES PLS WATCH PHANTOM REGIMENT 2008

You should react to Crown 2012 next. Arguably the one of the best and most difficult shows they've ever fielded.

You caught the rotating triangle!!!

Someone show this man Harmonic Journey

For more marching based shows, half the enjoyment is the impressiveness that they are able to create these shapes or move while maintaining such perfect continuity. I think this show is just generally a showcase of really mathematical time signatures and complex marching sequences, like in the 3d pyramid drill. They also did a 3d cube in another year which is cool. I personally love the more drill heavy shows, and can find the more recent shows sometimes a bit confusing, but always my favorite thing in any show is when the corp comes together as one to create a big moment, which usually happens in every show at some point. My recommendations are Phantom Regiment from 2003, blue devils 2017, and another all time favorite corp of mine, the Cavaliers from 2010

Also watch star of Indiana 1990-1993 four years of a corps going from mid pack to top spot before your very eyes. Some of the marching/choreography is mental and it’s 30 years old!!!

At the end, I believe they are meant to represent worm holes, as you can see someone go into the one of the left and come out of the one on the right at the same time, as that is the only way he could have possibly made it across that distance, proven by how all the other dancers try to traverse the distance on foot and don’t make it, thus fulfilling the whole love poem and making the impossible possible.

The brass judge tape for this is so funny, dude is just vibing the whole time and really didn’t have anything negative to say.

You were right about the blackholes! The props at the end represent wormholes. You are very well educated!

Some more recommendations: Phantom Regiment 2003, Cadets 2000, Cavaliers 2002, Boston Crusaders 2018, Colts 2023, Troopers 2022

Sometimes, with the more abstract shows, it's good to just sit back and watch and listen -- let the brass curl your toes! Then go back later and see all the details they put in. It's too much to take in all at once! Keep it up!

Charlie, for a deeper dive and your own interest, you may want to listen and watch the "judges tape" comments. It was done in the preliminary rounds, meaning either the Quarter-Finals, or Semi-Finals. There are multiple judges, and this one was in charge of giving a score for the "General Effect". Paste in youtube search "Judge Tape: Carolina Crown "E=mc2" | General Effect Music | 2013 Prelims".

Hey, plug your flux capacitor in and go back to the 80’s /90’s and get a dose of madison scouts. I’ve followed dci since 83 and the transformation has been truly amazing . The emotion of a ballad to raw power and stunning visuals . The kids that perform these are an absolute inspiration.

As a huge Carolina Crown fanboy here's some things I could catch. At <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="678">11:18</a>, if you listen a little bit closer, you can hear the trumpets are (i think) perfectly alternating triplet runs up and it creates this "wawawawa" effect. at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="865">14:25</a> the flight of the bumblebee is actually moving up and down across the entire hornline. Hard. At <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1282">21:22</a> the two props are a wormhole. One guard member goes through it and fast travels to the other side. The other guard members die of old age because they tried to travel the normal way. As far as I'm aware, most of this is based on an opera play titled Einstein on the Beach. Also, the drumline is generally placed together because (although i'm not a drummer), they need to listen to eachother while playing to be perfectly in time. (might be entirely wrong but it would make sense) Finally, I do love Carolina Crown's brass so I'll recommend 2023. It's more recent, and it actually sounds like a MOVIE. Also less hidden meanings! If you want to move onto other corps, I'll recommend Mandarins 2023. You've covered most of the corps that have a shot at or have won before (minus Cadets, but they recently declared bankruptcy and last won in 2011). Other of the top corps (generally considered) are Boston Crusaders and Cavaliers, who I don't know much about. If you want one of those two, I'd recommend Boston. Your reactions to drum corps are everything I've ever wanted from a reaction!

With the way he was amazed by the 3D pyramid, his mind would probably explode from any of the early 2000s Cavaliers shows.

I love Bluecoats “Tilt” routine in 2014! It is awesome. Gail

The Cadets 2000, a very fun, crowd-pleasing show!

I love how in tune you are with picking out details! Do keep in mind that CONCEPT shows like this one (especially crown 2013) focus on the motion from shape to shape, rather than shapes themselves. Drill writers in the DCI realm are really cheeky about how they make things flow from set to set. Thats the real magic in the drill.

Have you checked out Bluecoats 2016 “down side up”?

@<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="760">12:40</a> the percussion is often the source of pulse for the group so often the drums are in the center or behind everyone else. It helps the group stay together.

Blue Devils 2011 - The Beat My Heart Skipped. A must watch - they use simple props but they are very effective with their drill. And the music is incredible - sure to bring a tear to your eye

I was on visual staff for the corps this season and as far as looking for meaning in the drill shapes there are motifs (that s curve is a common occurrence in the show) but the meaning behind wasn’t much other than “we use this shape as a visual motif.” Much like how Babylon had the “!” In many spots in that show. The voices at the beginning are from the Opera “Einstein on the Beach” and I always interpreted it as someone’s overly excited mind going through thoughts and ideas but not completing them. A lot of the voice if not all of it is from that opera. Someone mentioned in the comments how each movement is a part of the equation. Was never told this while on staff so that’s a cool interpretation. The black holes at the end of the show are actually portals and if you look at the one the majority of the guard is around, you’ll see first the shako go in and come out the far one by the female performer. Then the male partner enters the left portal and comes out of the right portal. Overall this era of DCI was still on the notion of you see what you hear and hear what you see when it comes to the drill. Modern drum corps still does this but with a lot more choreography and prop utilization.

Just some color guard terms: The guns are called "rifles," the swords are called "sabres," and the flags are yk, flags

I don't know if anyones mentioned this, but I have the urge to explain how you liked how the group of winds were making that flower shape in the drill and the drumline was in the middle as a group. The reason the drumline always stays so close together is because its how we keep in time. Its different from the winds, who can mix up with other brass instruments that are not alike with theirs. A big way that a drumline keeps in time is listening to each other. My band director always tells my drumline at my school, "If you need to use the drum major to keep in time, you're doing something wrong." Its just how we are conditioned weeks on end with playing with each other, and to listen to your left, right and back. There's something called a center snare, and they are often in charge of watching the drum major and keeping time and the others listen in. Sorry for the whole rant. Its my section in marching band, but this is why drumlines always stay in a line or group, and kinda positioned away from the winds, to the side or to the back. It helps us keep in time, and it helps the wind players keep in time also, with them listening to the drumline.

The vocalization is based off the contemporary play "Einstein on the Beach"

I'm loving this journey into the world of DCI.

Drumline is usually detached and located at the back center of formations cuz the drums carry the tempo and pulse for the winds and front ensemble (hence the term drum major, who displays the drumlines tempo for the winds to keep the music together.)

another interesting trivia Carolina Crown always puts in the shape of a 3 pointed crown in their shows ie their symbol

This man needs to watch Blue Coats 2014, Tilt!!

i’m joining your patreon you deserve to go to dci finals! if not this year then next year!

I wanted to scream “ITS A METAPHOR JUST HIT PLAY!!l” 😂 but then I realized it’s because I’m excited to see your reaction. I love it when new people are introduced to DCI cannon. Finally getting the love it deserves

Please check out bluecoats 2014 “tilt” and or Carolina crown 2011 “Rach star” both awesome shows.

To answer your drummer question, Its good acoustic design to always keep the drums in a group because it allows them to hear each other better and play as cleanly as possible together.

Re: The black holes at the end. You can't quite see it on the video due to the camera placement. But on the opposite of the "black hole" is what looks like a chalkboard with math equations. When the guy completes the equations, he turns the chalkboard around to show the black hole and a female guard members arm pokes out to beckon him. He then steps into that black hole only to "emerge" from the other black hole on the opposite end of the set. The idea is that he used Einstein's equations to build a wormhole he could use to reach his lover. When the rest of the guard ran to follow, they were caught by time dilation. That was such a great, layered show.

To answer why battery(the drums) move together, is to keep consistent and connected time, I was battery captain for a few years so it was really important to be clean, consistent and reliable always on the field to hold and moderate tempo

I love that bit where you thought it was Peter and the Wolf and then you proceeded to sing Rhapsody in Blue. It was, in fact, Walking With Heroes, by Paul Lovett-Cooper, a British composer known for his work with the Black Dyke Brass Band.

Im a bit late to finding this video, but this is my favorite show of all time! If you want another go at it focused on the musicians viewpoint, they won that year and the winners always get a "victory run" or basically a for fun encore. During that run one of the horn players put on a gopro so you can see his viewpoint. Its definitely worth a watch! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gjTI8PwQZrQ.html (another one of my favorites is Bluecoats 2014 Tilt)

The thing to understand most about Crown is that they are called "God's horn line" for a reason. Even in years when they place fairly low in the top 5 they consistently win the brass caption. You should look at some of their earlier cream pants band stuff. I would highly recommend 2011 "Rach Star". Just the best mix of rock and classical, and Keith Emmerson's Piano Concerto into the ending is the stuff drum corps dreams are made of. Common Good is my favorite of the cream pants era. Inferno or Relentless are also bangers in the "space pants band" era and could prepare you for their show this year which promises to be dark and broody. Some other shows that were transformative in the DCI spectrum Star of Indiana 1993 introduced the early modern drum corps style with integrated movement in every section not just the colorguard. Bluecoats 2014, the first use of electronic amplification. Bluecoats 2016 the first use of complete corps costuming and they broke the fourth dimension in performance with their halfpipes. This is an activity that I have followed since 1983 have been to every final and every year brings me more joy than the last. Welcome down the rabbit hole, we're all a little mad down here!

There used to be a show I enjoyed watching about the preparation and training it took to perform a DCI show. I don't remember what it was called but it would be interesting to see you react to it.

Fun way to do finals - watch warmups in Military Park prelim and maybe even Semifinals nights, then go watch the shows finals night. I did it this way in 2013 and a few other years and it was an awesome way to do it.

I've never noticed this before, but at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="117">1:57</a> the rifles used at the start of the show are actually hidden in the tuba bells! You can see them sticking out on the closeups

Marching snares get their snappy sound from a longer body for fullness with, yes, a thicker, super tight drum head that will compete with lightning cracks lol There's lots of cool How It's Made type stuff for the Ludwig factory I'd definitely recommend. They're one of the top brands for marching percussion instruments 😎 Was in drum line for years 🥰 The crazy practices & comradery are unreal 💖💪

To help give you some musical context, a vast majority of this show are arrangements from Philip Glass's experimental opera Einstein on the Beach. It's a non-narrative portrait about, you guessed it, Einstein! I feel like this show took that and really enhanced the human elements of it into something wildly compelling.

Also watch 2006 CASCADES "machine" Its some of the most remarkable choreography ive ever witnessed on a marching field.

Time for Tilt

That bit at around <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="583">9:43</a> you were humming sounded like Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

Your interpretation of how the music, visuals and show felt is your own. That's one of the beauties about it. So many times the visual designer or music designer would come to our practices and explain their vision for how they want the audience to interpret the show; but 9 times out of 10 everyone had a different interpretation/feeling of emotion involved with each part of the show.

not sure if anyone has requested these shows (i’d be surprised if they didn’t) but blue devils 2014 and 2017 may be the best shows i’ve seen when it comes to coordination and musicianship. they won in dominating fashion in terms of scoring. worth the watch, i’d say!

We have drum corps in the UK too, or rather we did. It started to demise before Covid and Covid killed it. Unlike DCI where these kids rehearsal EVERY DAY from May to August the UK corps only do weekends so the standard was never the same but we had some amazing shows over the years. Especially late 90s early 2000s. Corps were never as big but boy did they try their best. Happy to share some links with you. It’s a shame the way things went as the activity was cool here for a long time with some very creative stuff with the resources and talent they had. DCI corps have budgets in the millions of dollars but I guess you can see that with the gear they have these days.

Fun fact: for years when I was younger, I wanted to spin the rifle in a band for DCI, preferably Cadets of Bergen County

I love this show

If there's a set meant to represent a word or specific image, you'll see it clearly, don't worry about that. Outside that, as you continue learning, you'll see that sharp angles and linear forms are associated with staccato passages while rounded forms appear in more legato, smooth passages. Very generally speaking.

Blue Coats 2014...... that tilt is amazing!

One of the best shows period. The Crown sound is unparalleled. 2013 was perfect like the brass score. So much musicianship it’s I real.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1320">22:00</a> you’re actually very close! They’re not black holes, rather they are two ends of a wormhole. He went in one end and came out the other. Thats why when the color guard ran across, they fell. The distance was so great that they died before they could get there themselves. You are basically spot on with the theme though, of all the forces of the universe, love is the one which transcends space and time.

Fun fact! The swords are called sabers and the guns are rifles. I did colorguard in high school and college, and rifles and sabers are TERRIFYING to throw XD the rifles especially, since (in my experience) they're usually nothing more than a carved 2 by 4 covered in white tape. My sister broke a finger catching a toss with one in high school and i very nearly dislocated my thumb in college.

Please watch the 2014 performance of the Bluecaots labeled , "Tilt" THIS SHOW IS ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS IN MY OPINION

The shows I would recommend are 2008 Phantom, 2011 Cadets, 2012 Crown, and a Blue Devils show either 2014 or 2017🙌🏽 these are some of the greats for sure that would fit what you say you like

This show included music from Zarathustra (Strauss), movie music from The Abyss (love ballad section), British Brass Band music (toward the end). IMHO, the search for hidden meanings can wait....best to watch the entire show (first view) to get swept into the sheer awesomeness of the design and integration of everything with the music and movement. Certainly one of the top DCI performances ever.

It would be nice if folks would give you some context BEFORE you review these. Your discovery is so pure and wonderful, but I'm afraid they are doing you an injustice by not giving you context going in. This IS one of the best shows ever in DCI history. The guard is phenomenal with the guns and swords (rifles and sabres). The drum line is absolute FIRE, but this horn line is masterful. If I'm not mistaken, they got a perfect score for this show. They were so popular, and if you notice, they received a standing ovation for each and every movement. There is so much to unpack here. I see some of the comments referring to "Einstein on the Beach". Personally, to combine that with Also sprach Zarathustra by Strauss, is musical genius! Ugh, so much beauty in this show.

The idea you had about shapes moving relative to the line of timed rifle tosses was pretty interesting! Never considered that, as Im not as perceptive with visual design. Im sure others have said it, but when it comes to the sound and quality of brass, nobody matches Crown. They’re a true brass band on wheels down to every little detail. You should check out some of their “hornline in the lot” videos to get a better sense of what these corps sound like in person (specifically the HornlineFanatic and DrumCorpsTube videos). I would recommend the 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, and 2023 ones. Their intonation, chord balancing, individual commitment, and of course the power… stunning

The formations were clean and wow the 3d pyramid thing was mind blowing. I saw at the end what the guy was talking about the dancers falling on the beat of the music. Charlie I was geeking out with you and I was lost in a lot of moments too just like you. I was not grasping what all the shapes meant. I understood the E=mc2 and the upside-down Mickey Mouse formation at the end that's about it. Check out a battle of the bands from an hbcu. Those are always epic.

It’s hard to say you’re “reaching” with some of these “high concept” shows. You have an eye for visual design! You’re really great at making meaningful connections and I’m sure the design teams for these groups appreciate seeing you work out the meanings they were trying to get across! Love these!

2014 Bluecoats show is called Tilt,u like this u r gonna like TILT

Love hearing your interpretations! Don’t get too stressed out if you don’t catch every little detail, there’s so much going on in these shows that even experts can’t catch everything on the first watch. It’s been awesome seeing you discover DCI I hope you keep doing these!

You gotta see Bluecoats 2014 bro. I love seeing people who are new to DCI become flabbergasted when they watch these videos

Hey, I just commented on your Blue Devils 23 reaction that you should give Crown a listen! This is the year they won and their brass was a perfect 20. The impacts are phenomenal. If you want absolutely insane volume levels, try Crown 2016 for the opening hit! Yeah, I binged about 5 of your reactions to DCI performances. I love the shows, your videos are great and your reactions are true. Well done. And if by "Peter and the Wolf" you meant Rhapsody in Blue, then sure 😉

The music sounds like 2001 a space odyssey theme for Stanley Kubricks film

I’ve seen nearly every top 12 corps live since 1991, and this is the best corps I’ve ever seen.

The only ever perfect brass score

you can do what the rest of us do! DCI Finals is broadcast through FloSports (or FloMarching) and it's a once a year event i'll gladly pay $30 to watch live at home