Rubisco

Perhaps I'm biased, too, but I would have all four of the Houston bands that made 6A state finals last year in finals at this event. Bridgeland is the one I'm most concerned about, but that has nothing to do with their show or any competitive results from this season; it's just their performance time and spot on the more loaded prelims panel makes me fear they may get lost in the mix. They'll have to demonstrate that they're hanging with the finals locks in their prelims block. I think Moe and Gene's success at BOA St. Louis speaks for itself. That finals adjudication panel was VERY experienced -- of the sort you would see judging national finals. Moe and Gene were 0.65 points behind 2023's 4th place national finalist, Blue Springs. And they were only 2 points behind last year's 3rd place national finalist, Broken Arrow. Now, does that mean they'll make top half in finals here? No, because the contest dynamics will be quite a bit more intense at San Antonio, and frankly, at this moment, I don't think Broken Arrow or Blue Springs are as strong year over year. But it's not outside the realm of possibility, and it feels increasingly likely Moe and Gene will at least land in finals here. I won't have a strong idea until I see all the bands in prelims performing at the same venue from the same upstairs angle.

I really enjoyed Broken Arrow's show from St. Louis. I get steampunk playground vibes from the costuming -- top hats with goggles -- and the cogwheels on the monkey bars. I love the colors with the white and gold on the band and reddish hues of the guard. The whole thing is very complex and layered, like the inner workings of a clock. I don't love it quite as much as last year's more evocative production, but I was consistently entertained from moment to moment and can acknowledge some of the quirky musical risks they take. Bentonville was very, very strong. I don't know if I would have had them ahead of Blue Springs, personally, but it's not some big shocking thing. The effect of the black and white costumes is very cool, especially when they turn in sequence, but like any effect, the more you use it, the less effective it gets -- at least in my mind. I actually think the concept is the most interesting part of the show, with the DNA motifs and sequins/sequence riffs. The ballad was beautiful, too.

There's a really good upstairs cam on YouTube of Hebron performing their full show at UIL region. They're technically dazzling -- whirlwinds of notes again -- although not quite as locked in as usual. I wonder if there's an opening for Vandegrift, Vista Ridge, or even Flower Mound again to take that caption in finals. (Prelims results have been rendered a big "whatever" for me with the two panel system.) I do really like Hebron's show overall -- the charming concept, the diverse musical landscapes, and the A+ drill at the end that's a wink-wink nudge-nudge that made me grin from ear to ear. Sometimes, though, I wish the visual focus were clearer, with all the stuff going on at once and the guard and band not being quite locked in with their timing. I'm sure they'll come back out swinging in a couple weeks. That's a lot of time for a band as enormously talented as Hebron!

I think it gets harder every year to think of a unique "visual hook". That might be part of the problem.

This took me entirely too long to understand, but I concur. 😅 If the judges couldn't agree, I don't know how I'm supposed to predict where they'll land, honestly. It seems like they could end up anywhere from just outside of finals to the top half of finals. My opinion of their show is that it's very well performed, but I'm questioning if the content is enough to make a big splash late season. I kind of agree. I also think that certain regions are just more gung-ho (I guess) about band in general. Austin is certainly one of those regions. And they have good reason to be! They have lots of fantastic bands. So does DFW! Those are really the two powerhouse regions in Texas. Maybe if Houston continues to climb, we'll see more chatter about them. Already in some of those UIL and local threads we're seeing more engagement and, well, conflict as the marching scene there grows. 😬

Now that I've seen a lot more bands, I think there's still a bit of a panel imbalance here in terms of locks. But in terms of strongest finalist possibilities, I got 11 in each panel going down the schedule. P1: Round Rock, Rouse*, CTJ, Wylie, Keller, TWHS*, Cedar Ridge, Wakeland, Leander, Dripping Springs, and Flower Mound* P2: Cedar Park*, Moe and Gene Johnson, Westlake, Bridgeland, McNeil, Reagan*, Vandegrift*, Vista Ridge*, Hebron*, Pearland*, and Seven Lakes So, panel 2 has 6 I'd be surprised to see miss finals; panel 1 has 3. Top 5 Panel 1 = Rouse, TWHS, Wakeland (?), Dripping Springs (?), and Flower Mound Top 5 Panel 2 = Cedar Park, Vandegrift, Vista Ridge, Hebron, and Pearland (?) Panel 1 champion will be between Flower Mound and TWHS, leaning towards Flower Mound. Panel 2 champion will be Vandegrift or Hebron, with a chance of Vista Ridge. Those 5 collectively will very likely be the top 5 here. I'm still leaning toward a Vandegrift win. Not my favorite show design, a little dated for my tastes, but the difficulty and achievement from the musicians are remarkable. And the show itself is an improvement year over year. Also, it's unusual for a band attending Nats to win here, and Vandy isn't, so there's that. Flower Mound and The Woodlands probably have the two best-designed shows in Texas -- FloMo a little more classic and formal, The Woodlands a little more modern and stagey. Flower Mound is performing theirs better right now, but The Woodlands has room for growth with their difficulty. I think they'll probably both get big effect scores. It is hard to write off bands that sound as good as Hebron and Vista Ridge do, however, so I'm not entirely sure whom I'd pick for top 3. Vista Ridge sounds spectacular, especially the brass. Hebron's show is wonderful, and a bucket of fun thematically, but doesn't quite impact me as strongly as last year's from moment to moment -- what they have so far, at least. And that's the thing: Several of the shows are still incomplete. It's hard to pass judgment. For finalists, I don't even know. BOA San Antonio often holds really big surprises, and I'm sure this year will be no different. I wonder if we get another out-of-left-field, surprise finalist, like Seven Lakes last year. Nobody was talking about them. What a huge rush that must have been for the kids and staff!

Flower Mound would have been my pick heading into this contest. As of last week, I just thought that Flower Mound's show was a bit better written, and their performance more well-rounded. The fact that they won both performance captions here could bode well for them down the road. They head into BOA San Antonio as a stronger favorite than they did last year, although my feeling is that Vandegrift and The Woodlands could challenge them, depending on what the rest of their shows look like. Add in Hebron, and I think that's your BOA San Antonio top four. Quelle surprise, I know.

Regarding the judging inconsistencies from week to week: I think with the proliferation of BOA regionals, BOA has had to do some major recruiting in recent years. We've seen a lot of new names on the panels. With that comes some growing pains, I guess you could call it -- or maybe even just new perspectives. Many of the newcomers do have experience from WGI or DCI, but it's not exactly the same. Of course, my heart goes out to bands like Cy-Fair, who bear the brunt of the bizarre shifts. They have every right to be frustrated and disappointed.

Pearland was wonderful! They get better every year. 86.4 in prelims, nearly three-pointing the competition. (Seven Lakes being so close in finals should be a good sign for them.) I love On the Waterfront, so their music was always going to be a hit with me. Such evocative melodies. Their guard is probably the best one ever in a Wes show. I'm hard-pressed to think of others at this level off the top of my head. I'm glad to see them start exploring sabre work, too, as that was a "deficiency" compared to their open class competition last season at Dayton -- although not really, because they still got 3rd place in equipment. Anyway, the rifle and flag work in this production are killer. It does kind of annoy me that the performers are dressed in white, flowing dresses (for upstairs effect), because it distracts from their work, but I can already tell they're going to be a monster in open class again at Dayton. World class is right on the horizon for them. I'm not entirely surprised to see Pearland lose the music caption, because there was a lack of control at times, but the overall effect of the music was great. I really like how Houston programs in general are very well-rounded. Winds, percussion, guard, show design -- I tend to enjoy it all. The DFW bands are in a similar boat, although they sound better on average, which gives them an edge.

The current entries can be found here: https://www.wgi.org/currententries/cg-current-entries/ So far, only those going to Dayton have been allowed to register. The contests should fill up in the coming weeks. It's exciting to see Warren Central from Indianapolis making a trip down to San Antonio. They seem to enjoy attending a new out-of-state regional each year. Texas will be lucky to have them! Update: Dayton has really filled up. Only IW and SO have a few spots left. It's going to be a very competitive World Championships. Current Texas entries for Dayton: Independent A: Allure Independent, DTX Independent, RGV Winter Guard, Redemption Guard, and Seven Lakes Independent Open: Industry Independent, NOVA Independent Winterguard, ORIGINS Open, and Undaunted. (Verve is on the wait-list.) Independent World: Invictus and ORIGINS Scholastic A: Chisholm Trail, Friendswood, George Ranch, Grand Oaks, Hays JV, Hebron, Hutto, Jersey Village, Joshua, Montwood, Pebble Hills, Rock Hill, Southlake Carroll JV, Tomball, Wakeland, Walnut Grove, Westwood, and Wylie. Scholastic Open: Bridgeland, Claudia Taylor Johnson, Clear Brook, Cy-Fair, Hays, James Bowie, Melissa, Pearland, Ronald Reagan, Southlake Carroll, and Westlake. Scholastic World: Little Elm and The Woodlands.

BOA Round Rock or BOA San Marcos? I guess Round Rock would be the Austin one? I'm probably the outlier on this forum in agreeing with the judges that Vandegrift belonged 2 points ahead of the competition at that contest. Everybody here seemed hot on Vista Ridge. I think their show is more of a work in progress again, whereas Vandegrift was already pretty fantastic, at least performance-wise. I get the feeling that the top 5 at BOA San Antonio will be the same as last year, in probably a different order. I'm not as sold on Marcus, but their shows can take more time to shine. Vista Ridge and Cedar Park are the likeliest replacements. Curious to see what Pearland brings this weekend, too. I would like to see a GN participant win at San Antonio, because it has been forever since the BOA SA champion attended Nationals. Based on trends, however, it will probably be Hebron or Vandegrift.

I am so thrilled to watch the awesome bands at this event next weekend. Obviously, Pearland will be great, but the Houston marching scene grows in quality each year, so I'm betting on some fun surprises. Also, I'm curious to see if Seven Lakes can maintain the high standard they set for themselves last season. They didn't make a huge splash last year early season, but maybe this year they'll hit the ground running.

Yeah, I mean, in terms of putting bands in the right box on the sheets, the scores were okay, but like you said, the margins were exaggerated. Judges also try to match being in the "correct" third of a given box on the sheets. I'm not convinced that happened here. It does seem like the overall judging picture pointed more to a Bridgeland win here. But I really do think Cy-Fair is hanging with them and a deserving champion. I think both will strongly compete for a spot in finals late season at both BOA and UIL.

I finally watched them. I would have been utterly shocked by how good they sound, if I hadn't known beforehand that they won music. Holy brass! 🤯 The visual is more of a work in progress. It's kind of slower (or moderate) tempo-wise, too, but they'll work their way up to faster and flashier things. Guard is much improved year over year.

Hmmm, I meant more sentimental, not quite "happy-go-lucky." But you are absolutely correct that the end of what Bridgeland presented is a significant mood shift, which makes me excited to see the rest! That's a good point. Bridgeland was also over 2 points ahead of Cy-Fair in prelims, easily winning effect in that round. Wow, actually, I'm just now noticing that 14.9 in music effect in finals. That's straight up crazy. 8th place?! In prelims, this judge also had TWHS 4th in ensemble music, while they were a very comfortable 1st in individual music. Bridgeland really may have just gotten poor luck with the panel. This, of course, underscores the need for doubling the effect panel -- my constant gripe! 😅

Three-way caption split in finals! That seems about right. Houston results are often kind of wild. Always fun to watch how they change from one BOA Houston regional to the next, just one week apart. I've seen some YouTube videos -- not all of them from high up. I can get behind a Cy-Fair win via effect. Their approach to music design is so interesting. It doesn't quite follow the standard opener-ballad-closer flow. It's more connected and organic. Right away I was intrigued by the superimposition of the gentle snare work on top of Lux Aurumque. Their brass is very powerful, although maybe sometimes a little too much so for my taste. Instead of a wall of sound, I may have preferred some more dynamics and variety here and there. I love Cy-Fair's guard outfits, with that gauzy blue jacket over the sleek unitard, or whatever it is. The weapons are really going for it, although there are a lot of half-catches right now. The set pieces are really cool, too. I don't know how they work. The opacity of those boxes just seems to vanish to reveal the performers inside. Again, very cool. Overall, CF definitely looks hungry for another late season finals performance. Strong chance, I think. I could have given the win to Bridgeland, too. The entire thing is so aesthetically appealing, with all the luscious blues and those backdrops that look maybe inspired by that Japanese woodblock painting, The Great Wave Off Kanagawa. The guard was a lot cleaner than I expected, too, and doing more difficult things year over year. (I cannot wait to see what they bring to the winter season!) Probably my biggest design criticism for Bridgeland is the kind-of, sort-of same-y mood of the music throughout. It's that twinkly, sentimental, "the magic is happening" marching band sound that is starting to get a little overplayed. I want more tension, more conflict, more spice. Maybe it will come in the movements that follow. Most of these shows seem incomplete. Anyway, Bridgeland overall still looks and sounds every bit the late season finalist quality I expected. I'm still pretty much blown away by them and their progress the past couple years. It's funny, I went into this contest wondering if someone would eat into The Woodlands' prelims win, and indeed Cy-Fair nabbed the music caption, which is HUGE for them. I did find a high cam recording of TWHS from prelims. The sound was a bit weird with the soloist mics turned down a little too much, and other mics seeming to pick up bits and pieces of the ensemble sound. But overall I was surprised by how clean they were. They're similarly behind in learning their show compared to last year, but what they have is more polished, and more difficult. That's a dangerous combo for a late-bloomer like TWHS. The ending of the ballad in particular wowed me, with the huge flag oval around the band that collapses into the block. Great moment musically, with astonishing, utterly unmatched work from the guard -- with the wind blowing like crazy, too. I still think their brass needs some work. Again, blend and tuning, although that was better today than expected. The brass soloists in the ballad are way too timid, too. Be heard! The guard, while still obviously the best in the country from top to bottom, could challenge their main weapon line even more, I think. The tosses are generally lower in height and less tricky compared to last year. They seem to rarely toss 6s, whereas last year they had ensemble 6s (and higher) with body/partner work under the tosses. I also wish the dance step stages could interact with the drill more and not just be there to look nice. I don't know, maybe have them slowly march into the drill and push the drill out of the way or something. 😄

Lots of interesting results this weekend! Not unusual. Early regionals often hold surprises, especially in Texas. One of my faves, Westlake, did very well here, but their score dropped from last week. A little disappointing, but it's hard to know what, if anything, it means for the rest of their season. Moe and Gene Johnson is the biggest (pleasant) surprise. They nabbed the music caption in both prelims and finals over Reagan, Dripping Springs, Westlake, and McNeil, who made San Antonio finals last year. That raises the question: Will M&G find their way into BOA San Antonio finals this year? I haven't seen them yet, so I don't have a personal opinion on that, but it's an exciting prospect. It's cool to see Joni Perez working her magic again. Reagan wins overall, and wins visual and effect, which are typically their strongest captions. But it's not a huge blowout. That said, the last time I saw Reagan, there was a lot of room for growth, so I think it will only get harder to overtake them later on in the season. Scores overall are a bit lower than expected, but that seems to be the trend this weekend across the country. Impossible to compare in BOA. Too much inconsistency.

TWHS made me want some rainbow sherbet tonight. 😄 Their approach is... well, it's contemporary, to say the least. It's very, very Bluecoats again. I need to see more than just through the ballad, and all of it from upstairs, but my opinion of the show is improving. Love the music, the unique and varied repertoire. Love the dance step decorated platforms they move around the field. (I guess it's a dance party.) The costuming is such a huge visual pop. I also love how the show takes off at once and doesn't ever get boring. I wouldn't mind some sort of cool, pre-recorded, pre-show build-up, but don't change that opening! For sure, they have some musical and visual cleaning to do. Brass blend and tuning in particular is an issue in spots. Some upper body control issues on the move. Difficult show with lots of simultaneous responsibilities -- all the running and dancing with the weird timing and whatnot while playing. Lots of layered stuff challenging them. That said, I could absolutely see this thing make a big splash down the road. It's very, very well-designed. Now, somebody needs to post Bridgeland, Cy-Fair, Cy-Woods, and the others. I won't get the chance to watch the stream of this contest.

I don't know if I'll ever go back. I've gotten so comfortable just watching the live stream. 😅 It's been a loooong time since I've gone. Actually, I haven't even been to any BOA regionals in a while, either. I think the last one was 2022 Houston, when I was visiting my brother. It's hard for me to find time to do any band stuff these days. Back when I was working with some programs, I felt more compelled to attend. Now, I'm just lazy! 😄 It sure is different in person, though!

It will probably be a Reagan sweep, but I'd be thrilled to see Westlake surprise us again. It will be interesting to see if a different judging panel feels similarly about them. It's so subjective!

Is Blue Springs suddenly way worse than they have been the past few years?! I'm surprised to see them predicted so low! Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if the top is an ABC fest again, although the B might be Blue Springs instead of Broken Arrow. I think I had Avon, Bentonville, Blue Springs, Broken Arrow, Carmel, Dobyns-Bennett, Flower Mound, Marcus, Reagan, Round Rock, The Woodlands, and William Mason as likely finalists when first glancing at the list. There's a little wiggle room there, but those would be my pre-season picks. FloMo, Marcus, and TWHS are the Texas ones with a chance of medaling, I think. But even that might be hard, given the competition. We shall see...

Just stumbled on a soundless drone view of TWHS from a couple football games ago. I think this is the last one I saw from them? Not a great run from what I recall. They didn't start in time and didn't fully pull it back together. That said, that opening drill sequence is killer. It's cool how the arc disassembles and then reassembles. Very layered moment. Overall, I see the intention and visual balance more clearly. It makes me want to see drone views of everyone. I think it would probably be illuminating! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FaG4UAPGJ8g&pp=ygUOV29vZGxhbmRzIGJhbmQ%3D

It's cool to see Spring back here. I don't think they competed at either Houston regional last year. It always takes me back when I see them. Oh, the good ol' Spring ISD days... We used to be... Well... yeah... Bridgeland looks very strong again. Somebody shared a soundless video, so I can't comment on the music. It was from backfield. I couldn't tell you what's on the backfield screens. Lots of blue from the band. The guard pulls out some blue fabric from the marching members' sleeves, sort of like a magic trick, creating a nice aesthetic pop. At first, the show struck me as a bit dirtier than usual for their early season, but I've figured out it's mostly just because the guard is doing harder stuff. They're not as uniform, but I'm impressed and think they're going to "get there." The work is definitely a step up, maybe thanks to David Duffy, which makes me excited for winter season. I was not terribly impressed by the guard's winter show last year, to be honest. Now, that silver medal world-class drumline show... 👀 Bridgeland is the easy pick for first in finals, because they've just about established themselves as a consistent late-season finalist, and they've impressed me more and more each year. But I'd be remiss to ignore the strong possibility of a Cy-Fair or maybe even Cy-Woods win. I have seen neither. Cy-Fair won this regional a couple years ago, and was only a point down from TWHS last year. Huge prelims time gaps notwithstanding, I'm genuinely curious to see if any of those three can eat into TWHS' likely win in that round. The Woodlands is strong, but also quite behind, vis-à-vis everyone else, really. Their approach is unique, and the show's a party, again, but it remains to be seen if they can add the necessary emotional and intellectual depth to put them in contention for their first major championship in over 10 years. Obviously they're great, but I'm not 100% sold yet. They've revealed so little. I don't even really know what the show is about! Tomball Memorial is another that's skipping finals, but that food show they did last year was such a visual feast that I can't help but be excited to see what they bring in prelims. Another visual spectacle? That's what we like in this activity! I have not seen College Park yet. They have a great music program, as evidenced by their concert band success, but they haven't quite figured out how to translate it to the marching field. Last year was a definite step up. Will this year be the same? Dawson is in a similar boat. The talent is there for them to be truly great, but it's going to take the staff (both design and instructional) to figure out how to get them there. The same old won't cut it. Now, it's time for me to shamefully admit that I won't even be able to watch this regional! But I'm still curious to see how it plays out! 😅

Not much stability outside of the top 2 when moving between prelims and finals. Rouse in 3rd in prelims, Westlake 4th, Vista 5th. Leander jumped up in finals from 9th. Crisp did not prefer Vista today as much as others. 8th in music effect in prelims, and then 8th again in music individual in finals. He judges brass for DCI, so maybe individual music is more his thing. Westlake won all 3 effect judges in prelims over Vista, but when the judges swapped in finals, that reversed, with Vista then winning through effect, but Westlake stronger in both performance captions. The music scores are definitely a surprise.

I didn't watch this contest, so I don't know what I actually think about the prelims results. But as a Westlake stan, I approve of them. 😅 Maybe it was visual (and more specifically their guard) that gave Westlake the edge? Vista Ridge sometimes struggles there early season.