On a beautiful Sunday in Stanford, CA, the corps of the West finally got the chance to reveal their productions to the entire country. DCI West was a blast, kicked off by the Salinas All-Star Drumline and the exciting Freelancers Alumni bringing back some great "park and blow" tunes.

To start off the competitive portion, Golden Empire made their FloMarching debut along with the Blue Devils B and C corps and the Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets before intermission. After intermission, the World Class corps took to the grass and revealed what most of them were working on for the last month and a half. Let's take a look at some of the standout moments from Sunday night.

Mandarins - 64.300

The Sacramento Mandarins had an impressive showing of their production "Inside the Ink" to start off the 2017 season. The field was laden with huge pen tips, which the corps used as motivators for drill and prop usage. The corps used the tips to draw long strips of black "ink" across the field, similarly reflected in the color guard's ink-black uniforms with long, loose-flowing skirts.

The corps' version of "Sound of Silence" was a great representation of the hornline's ability to play throughout the dynamic range, and the color guard matched skill with an impressive flag feature. During the ending, the corps brought back the "Sound of Silence" in a massive curve spread from 20 to 20. Sacramento's Mandarins are surely a corps to keep track of competitively this season.

Blue Knights - 67.850

With their eye-catching new uniforms, Blue Knights performed their eccentric new production "i." This show, although complex and being performed at a high level already, really leaves the corps with a lot of room to grow. They use their uniforms visually as focal points, drawing attention to the iris along each member's right side. The different eye colors of the uniforms create an interesting visual contrast while still being predominantly white.

The opening baritone soloist got the hornline off on the right foot for their opener, as their balance and tone quality further expressed his own technical ability. Something interesting to note during this show is an impressive mic'd snare solo that is run through a synthesizer as well as the color guard uniform change that makes the color of their "eyes" pop even more. Despite the Blue Knights beating Phantom Regiment in General Effect and Music, the gap continues to close between the two corps as they get further down the road.

Santa Clara Vanguard - 71.050

Debuting their new uniforms for the rest of the U.S., the Santa Clara Vanguard came out strong Sunday night with their show "Ouroboros." Named after the image of the snake swallowing its own tail, "Ouroboros" signifies wholeness and eternity -- and appropriately so considering the Northern Californian corps is celebrating its 50th anniversary this season. Their show involves 12 circular platforms adorned with the snake that are utilized as a movable stage for soloists and a brass choir. In the score sheets, SCV topped the Blue Devils in Brass, Percussion, and Color Guard, presenting an interesting twist to the early season on the West Coast, where the Blue Devils have dominated in recent years.

Blue Devils - 72.000

The Blue Devils' show this year, "Metamorph," sets the theme right from the start. With the battery starting the show with 16 snare drums, the entire color guard on rifle, and the whole hornline in one company front on the goalline, the corps starts as one and emerges into its opener -- breaking free from its respective formations. The hornline is playing an incredibly difficult book that features crazy-fast runs from "Flight of the Bumblebee" and some impressively complex tonguing techniques being used by all brass sections from trumpets all the way down to tubas. The ballad lets the Blue Devils shine at what they're known to do best: jazz. Although the corps placed below SCV in brass and percussion, its show is difficult, and only time can reveal if the Blue Devils will rise up to the challenge of the writing from its designers.



You can catch all of these World Class corps at the 2017 Drum Corps at the Rose Bowl show in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, July 1. You won't want to miss Mandarins this season as well as Santa Clara Vanguard having one of their strongest starts in recent seasons. Follow the corps all the way through tour as they make their way to meet with the corps of the East at the first regional in San Antonio on July 22.

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