Around 1,000 drum corps enthusiasts from the Midwest -- and as far away as Texas -- packed the auditorium Sunday at the Madison Area Technical College to see the Madison Scouts, Capital Sound, Pioneer and Chicago Royal Airs make their 2002 debuts.

The Scouts, dressed in jeans and black golf shirts that had a fleur-de-lis and "member" embroidered in the upper left corner, ripped the roof off with the type of power and precision the corps is known for.

While the DCI judges nearly bumped the corps from the top 12 last summer, the Scouts showed they'll likely be moving up -- not down -- from their 11th place finish last summer. Corps Director Scott Stewart told the audience that 80 percent of eligible members returned to the horn and drum lines, and the average age of the corps is 20.2.

The men showed their experience, opening with the corps song, the beautiful ballad You'll Never Walk Alone, by the 56 brass players. Stewart said the brass line would round out at about 66 by the summer. Then the 10-member front ensemble stole the show with a rendition of their DCI-championship ensemble, Remembrance. With a drum set player, timpanist and auxiliary player backing them up, the seven keyboard players ripped off unison 32nd-note licks, graceful four-mallet parts and subtle atmospherioso phrasing as if it were August.

After a complex, flam-laden street beat and the parade tune, Colonel Bogey March, the corps played an old classic, Ice Castles. A baritone solo and a soprano solo by veteran Lee Koeltz led into a wall of power. Returning drum major Joel Carter extended his arms to hold the last chord, energy pulsing through his veins, then turned around to the crowd to accept an enthusiastic applause before turning back to the corps for the cut-off. Some fans were on their feet and Madison hadn't even played a note of their 2002 production yet.

The 65th anniversary production is based on the life and music of the conquistadors. Stewart promised a "different approach" to the show warm-up this summer, and the corps played a bouncing, nautical rendition of Conquest that made fans mention after the show that they can't wait to see the whole package in June.

The opener, the main theme from the movie "Captain from Castille," took off like a canon right from the start, followed by four suddenly silent counts that surely leaves room for a rifle toss or a visual move -- or both -- and then right back into a flare of keyboard riffs and musicality from the battery and brass.

The second tune, a ballad Stewart called the "Love Theme," began with a baritone introduction into a stately brass sound from the entire horn line and flows into excerpts from Asturias. The tune suddenly stops, then grows again with soft, slow 16th notes from the keyboards that accel, and accel and accel into a full-corps frenzy before a deccelerando back to the keyboards that started the phrase off. Then it's a beautiful, sugary ballad ending from the front ensemble.

The "X-men" -- a group of eight members who will march in the guard but also play percussion throughout the show -- came onto the stage to perform Afro/Cuban hand drumming on the third piece, the drum solo. The tune is based on rhythms from South America. The pit and bass line traded riffs before an extended tenor break that included flam-drags with their arms crossed and a blizzard of "sweeps." The snares, of course, took their turn, with a very visual break that included parts that started with the center snare drummer (6-year veteran and two-time defending DCI snare champion Pat Fitz-Gibbon) and worked its way out. The break ended with full-line flam rudiments with displaced accents. Percussion Caption Head Jim Yakas, Percussion Director Jeff Moore and percussion instructor Jeff Spanos (of "Blast!") have the snare line in great shape again heading into the summer.

The closer -- based on Conquistador by Maynard Ferguson, Conquistadores by Jim Centorino and Save El Dorado -- had the Latin flair fans loved from the corps' mid-90s shows. A fiery Latin groove worked its way into high -- yet musical -- soprano solos and a thunderous ending.

"I thought the horn line played really well," Stewart said after the show. "I thought we were prepared, the whole corps was great and the crowd responded accordingly."

Pioneer
The Pioneer only had 20 horns at the show, a very low number for a division I corps. The battery was nearly full, with seven snares, three tenors, five basses and five cymbals. There were 10 in the pit.

"We were missing a few percussionists due to school-related conflicts, and more than a few horns for a variety of reasons," said Emily Tannert, one of two drum majors. "That's in addition to our international members who won't be joining us until every-days."

The corps played music from the Broadway musical "Oliver."

A brass chorale, Where is Love, kicked off the show music and led into Oliver! (the opener). Be Back Soon!, the pit feature, went into Consider Yourself, with an Irish/Scottish motif and a swung feel.

The Robbery featured the drum line, with bass and tenor breaks followed by an impressive snare passage that included flam-taps and a single-stroke roll. The young snare line is obviously very talented. Some of the members were still using music and looked very lost at certain parts of the performance, but when all seven were confident, it showed with aggressive stick heights and a clean sound.

As Long as He Needs Me began with a brass chorale and ended with a beautiful blend of sounds from the horn line and front ensemble. The corps opted not to play their closer, Who Will Buy?, in favor of the song they traditionally troop the stands with after their summer shows, Gary Owen March.

"I was very pleased with how well the corps reacted to their first performance situation," Tannert said. "Everything gelled very well and I think everyone did a great job. The corps is somewhat rookie-heavy this year, although the vets who are marching have been excellent in helping the rookies figure out 'this drum corps thing' and in stepping up and leading by example."

Capital Sound
Capital Sound, a division II DCI corps, had a very strong showing. Fans were showering Corps Director Matt Gregg with praise after the show for the job he and his staff have done with this young and budding group.

Capital Sound is playing rock music this year, but it's not the first unit to try it. Teal Sound made the division III finals last summer with music from Metallica, a heavy metal band. Capital Sound performed tunes from Kansas, Elton John and Pink Floyd, although the charts are arranged so musically you almost couldn't tell it was based on pop songs.

By the end of the performance of "A Momentary Lapse of Reason," the 34 brass players (13 low brass), six snares, four tenors, five basses, five cymbals and nine pit players had most of the audience on their feet.

The opener began with a seven-member brass ensemble that lead into fancy four-mallet keyboard work and a driving tempo led by a front ensemble member playing an ostinato pattern on the shaker. Two sopranos play a duet to close the piece on a high note.

The second tune accelerated like a song from the movie "Beetlejuice" on a sugar high. The fans really got into the high-energy, entertaining piece.

The third tune, a ballad, starts and ends with a talented baritone soloist. The closer is the familiar Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas, with a Latin groove and a power ending mixed in.

Fans were clearly impressed by the way the staff selected a challenging show that fit the abilities of the corps like a glove and allowed the members to strut their stuff while playing under complete control.