Rubisco

Here are the judging panels, for those who care about that kind of stuff and think they play favorites or whatever. 😄 World Championship Prelims pres. by Band Today — Thursday, Aug. 10 General Effect 1: William Chumley & Kyle Miller General Effect 2: Jodie Rhodes & David Carbone Visual Proficiency: Hieu Nguyen Visual Analysis: Travis Wingate Color Guard: Robert Solomon Music Brass: Bryan Crisp Music Analysis: Ronnie Rios & Chris Romanowski Music Percussion: Jeff Brooks Chief Judge: John Phillips World Championship Semifinals — Friday, August 11 General Effect 1: Greg Llacer & Warren Rickart General Effect 2: Glen Fugett & Mark McGahey Visual Proficiency: Micahel Turner Visual Analysis: Tim Pierce Color Guard: Damon Padilla Music Brass: Paul McGarr Music Analysis: Jeff Harper & Jay Webb Music Percussion: Chris Rapacki Chief Judge: John Phillips World Championship Finals — Saturday, August 12 General Effect 1: John Howell & Ted Wemhoff General Effect 2: Nola Jones & Darrin Davis Visual Proficiency: Jim Sturgeon Visual Analysis: Tom Slaughter Color Guard: Beverly Brahan Music Brass: Mark Hoskins Music Analysis: Kyle Young & Jay Kennedy Music Percussion: Julie Davila Chief Judge: John Phillips

I think those are fair points. That said, I would hope that judges are able to look beyond whatever paragon of "champion" they have ingrained in their minds and allow other models to flourish. After all, imagination is on at least some of the sheets, so we should be accommodating different styles. Honestly, given the (somewhat) variety of shows we see from champions, I think most judges already are able to keep an open mind.

Before the start of every season, I wonder whether we'll see a band suddenly emerge as a top contender, and I also wonder what it takes for such a band to beat the well-established giants. There have been years when we've looked at the recaps after a BOA contest and said, "Band A should have beaten Band B in that caption, but of course the judge wasn't going to be brave enough to put them above Band B." We assume, maybe incorrectly, that reputation weighs heavily in a judge's decision-making process. So my question is: just how much better than the well-established bands does an up-and-comer have to be to take those giants down? Is it good enough simply to be better? Or do they have to make such an overwhelming statement that their superiority is undeniable? Really, what does it take for David to slay Goliath?

There technically isn't a visual GE caption or music GE caption anymore. All effect judges use the same sheet. But it's true that there's sometimes still a bit of a split between the judges whose other captions are visual versus those whose other captions are music. Coincidentally, the drill designer for the Boston Crusaders is Leon May, who has designed with Wes Cartwright in the past. That might be why you're seeing some similarities. Leon may still actually write drill for Cartwright shows, I'm not sure. I'm not that up-to-date on current designers.

I actually didn't catch anything, so these updates are great. Thanks!

I'm going to try to catch at least a few of the corps tonight on Flo. I have some things I need to do, but I've got my fingers crossed I'll be able to find some time. 🤞

That's one of my favorite parts! 😭 I guess it probably could be a little more gripping visually.

I may need to find an excuse to visit my brother the weekend of this event, and then ignore him and attend it. Too many good bands! 😅 Oh, they'll be just fine. It's an early season regional. And honestly, if they're as clean and effective as they were in September of 2021, they'll probably win it. For the past two years now, TWHS has ended its season in my top 3 of Texas, alongside Hebron and Vandegrift. I'm very excited to see what they do this year. Frankly, with their guard as strong as it is, they're the one Texas band with no significant weaknesses whatsoever. (I suppose I could say the same of Vandegrift, but the dance team might be a little bit of an unfair comparison. No annoyingly out of sync flags or dropped rifles! 😄)

I'm very interested to see who it's going to be. I really don't know!

Has Duncanville been going to this one recently? I still get excited every time I see their name on a BOA list!

Well, this contest will still be insanely competitive. Honestly, it still would have been, even if Hebron and Marcus weren't attending. That's just the cherry on top.

All in all, I'm hoping that this event ends up more like 2019 than 2021 for our attending TX bands -- at least in terms of performance near the top. Actually, a 2003 situation would be even more ideal. We're 20 years overdue!

I'd be pretty surprised if any one of CTJ, Hebron, Keller, Pearland, Round Rock, or The Woodlands misses the cut for National Finals this year. Those bands' performances at San Antonio last year suggests they're locks, unless some other top band signs up between now and November. I think James Bowie was 15th at San Antonio prelims last year, so they're in a great position to make finals at Nationals as well, although I also think Fishers and Brownsburg could put up a really strong fight, and if they're both successful, it could be Bowie who misses the cut. Dripping Springs will probably be right on the edge of finals as well. Although they weren't near the finals cut for San Antonio last year, we saw that that's not really a prerequisite for making finals at Nationals!

I tend to agree. And those Cavaliers shows featured highly formalist drill, too, so it would have been really obvious if they were dirty, with all the easily recognizable shapes. But I still greatly enjoy today's conceptually richer shows, even as we transition to more informal drill designs.

There's a high cam of the Blue Devils' most recent performance on YouTube. It's not hard to see (or hear) why they're scoring ahead of the pack right now. There's something interesting and effective in every movement, visually and musically, and the performers are absolutely selling it. Their ballad will be the musical highlight of the year for sure. Coincidentally, one of the biggest criticisms we hear every year about the Devils is that their shows aren't as challenging as the other top corps' shows. I think those criticisms may be fair, but judges, particularly effect judges, aren't sitting up there counting the number of notes your brass plays, or timing how much simultaneous marching and playing happens. It's really about moment-to-moment emotional and intellectual engagement, along with the judges' overall impression of the show's artistic qualities and communication from the performers, all of which will shine through more in a clean show.

Yeah, this will be a competitive season at the top.

I said I wasn't going to keep up with DCI until the end, but I did catch a few shows on YouTube yesterday. I'm really impressed by what I'm seeing so far. I think this will end up being a more memorable season than usual. Specifically, I'll give a shout-out to Crown. I think their show is a pretty significant improvement over last year. Not everyone will like the slow-burn ballad, but overall they're heading in the right direction. 👍 Tomorrow will be the first major clash featuring the Bluecoats, Crown, and the Crusaders. I'm really not sure who'll come out on top. Each corps has pretty unique strengths. But then I suppose it's more exciting when you don't know who'll win!

To quote your favorite masterpiece, Showgirls: "DIFFERENT PLACES!!!" *angrily upsetting a french fry basket* Do you like my nails? I could do them for you. 💅

Red alert! Red alert! 🚨 The annual Vandegrift May performance video has dropped! I repeat, the Vandegrift video has dropped! Calling all TXBands users! 😄 They sound amazing, of course. I agree that they seem to be chasing Hebron a little bit. So many technically challenging parts in that opener! They'll have a great year. I think The Woodlands sounds fantastic as well, by the way. They're producing clear, wonderful sounds, and I like the music a lot. My gut says they're going to have a very special season. By the way -- and I'm sure you know this already -- there's more to difficulty than the number of notes you play! Rhythmic challenges, intervallic challenges, phrasing challenges -- all can impress an educated listener. Also, like in WGI, I think the fundamental training needs to match the vocabulary for the vocabulary to be fully credited by a judge. A band shouldn't attempt something difficult just because they can and then have it be filthy!

Oh, Lord. 😅 I was absolutely obsessed with it. It's a legendary show. And any dirt that may have been there needs to be weighed against the fact that they were pretty much running around and playing the whole time. You don't see that anymore!

Blasphemy! You take that back! 😄 I'm a big fan myself of the Studio Ghibli films. I'm wondering if Totoro has ever been done on the field. Has there ever been a Catbus? Remember, my inbox is always open, if you're willing to share more specific information. I won't share it with others. 😉

Lawrence Central and Blue Devils? But I don't recall trolls or showgirls being involved... 🤔🤔🤔

I'm getting Center Grove vibes from this one -- like A Futuristic Game of Capture the Flag. It should be a lot of fun! 👍

Some cool themes so far! I'll probably swing by at the end of the season to check out the finished shows. I'm a little marching-arts-exhausted after following the indoor season. 😄😭

I thought you made the music up, too, but it's real?! The Witch of Popcorn?! What?! 😂😂😂