Babylon. If you say that one word to a drum corps fan, they will not only know exactly what you’re talking about, they will also join you in an extended discussion about how incredible this show was. This is especially true if they were in Lucas Oil Stadium back in 2018 when the Santa Clara Vanguard figuratively blew the roof off the place while winning their first title in almost 20 years.
We have experienced many drum corps performances where, after the last note is played, the debate begins as to whether that show was the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). In many cases, the debate dies down as time passes, we experience the “new hotness” from each successive season, and we’ve either reevaluated those shows or simply stopped thinking about them due to the passage of time.
It’s been over 5 years since Babylon, however, and this show is still quite fresh in our minds. What’s more, drum corps fans, eager to spread the love of and for our activity, have championed Babylon, both within the activity and with potential new fans, during this time.
The timing of our Babylon love was fortuitous, as it coincided with the rise of the reaction video format on services such as YouTube. Reaction videos kicked into high gear when the COVID pandemic began and we found ourselves essentially stuck at home, with both video creators and consumers having plenty of time to check our this drum corps thing they kept hearing about.
The first reaction came from somebody who could be considered the queen of drum corps reaction videos: Courtney Coulston, AKA New Zealand Girl. This was the only reaction I’ve found which took place during the pandemic lockdown period. Courtney had already reacted to some drum corps videos at this time, and she was a quick study, eventually reacting to dozens of performances, including one I was in, the 2022 Bluecoats Alumni Corps.
It got quiet for a few years, but then, about a year ago, Sweden entered the chat. YouTuber It’s Matthew checked out Babylon. Unlike Courtney, this was Mathew’s FIRST drum corps experience. As a result, Mathew spent a lot of time going “What am I watching?!?”, though he did so with appreciation. Matthew would check out a few more drum corps shows, but he hasn’t put out any new content in the past year.
At this point, the proverbial flood gates opened, and the reactions to Babylon rolled in, including from within the marching arts community. GuardGirl, as the channel name suggests, knows a thing or two about a thing or two when it comes to drum corps, marching band, and indoor, so her commentary about Babylon is much more informed than usual.
In the past month, we’ve had three more reactions hit, starting with fellow Clevelanders(!) The Wolf HunterZ. A “Trap-infused Hard Rock” band, they normally react to other hard rock videos, but they’ve recently started reacting to drum corps videos, including Babylon. Since they’re musicians themselves and have experience with live performances, these reactions are very appreciative of what the corps are doing on the field. I think I need to reach out to them to see if they can get to the Bluecoats home show in August so they can really experience drum corps.
The RogersBros channel features, as the name suggests, two brothers reacting to mainly HBCU marching band videos. In the past couple weeks, they’ve started adding drum corps videos to their reactions, including Babylon. The face he’s making in the video preview screen shot? That’s when the trumpet soloist hits that insanely high note at the end of My Body Is A Cage, so you know he was blown away by what he saw and heard.
The most recent reaction to Babylon comes from the United Kingdom and just dropped in the past few days. The Charlie Smith Channel focuses on reactions to various music videos based on his experience as a singer and music producer. As with the other YouTubers who have watched this show, Charlie is blown away by the performance, frequently stopping the video to comment on what’s going on. Now that Charlie has reacted to multiple drum corps shows, there is even talk of him raising enough money to make the trip to the United States and experiencing DCI Championships in person. We’ve had that kind of talk before, so I’m waiting until it happens before I get excited.
What are your thoughts on Babylon? Are there other shows you feel which should get more love? What shows that you’ve marched in would you like to see get the YouTube reaction treatment?
