Howdy there folks. Mr. Orsborn here, taking time away from celebrating with my beloved Corps here to write my second review. Tonight I was amazed by the sheer size of the crowd-- approx. 8,000 people came to watch corps from all over the Region, and to see their favorite corps-- mine among them-- fight to earn the title of the Midwest Regional Champion.

Let's start with Div. III, shall we?


One corps who I am personally familiar with are the Legionnaires, out of Rome, GA. A classic old FMB corps like my own program, I had to give them some special attention. Tonight was their first show, and what a first it was. They performed a classic show, "The Pines of Rome" by Respighi, one of my favorite classics. They scored a 49.215, not terrible at all for their first show out!

Another group who grabbed my attention was the 6th place corps Willow Arts. Their show was entitled "Back to Nature", a show depicting the four seasons-- a classic theme done in a way I'd never seen before. I was able to interview director Brittany Ward for her comments on tonight's show, and the overall theme.

"The theme is based on bringing drum corps "back to nature", or back to it's roots. I believe flashy show themes have gone too far, and we need to remember that story-lines are fine, but it's about the skill, the togetherness, and the learning that happens in this activity."

Willow Arts placed 6th with a score of 58.890, giving them a near six-point jump and skyrocketing them from 22nd to 11th in the rankings-- qualifying them for Finals.

Of course I have to write about my corps-- I admit, I am a little biased : P --the Druids Drum & Bugle Corps. Tonight we placed 2nd, and finally broke the 60's. Also, we're currently placing 6th, and I personally have my eye on a top-5 spot! Our show is called "Spirits of the Night" which takes us on the journey through a night with little Sally, a girl with an overactive imagination. We see her nightmares, her pleasant dreams, and in the end we'll know if her fears get the best of hers when we put the finishing tag on our show Finals night! This is the first, and only Season we allowed one female into the corps to play the role of Sally in the guard.

Stay tuned for the continuation of my article on the Midwest Regional tomorrow, to be posted in the morning sometime.