LKendrick

I was wondering the same thing. Also, I don't mind the narration in Avon's show, I think it gives some focus to the various parts of the show (even if it is a tad repetitive). That doesn't take away from the fact that it's a pretty incredible show. Drill is amazing, colorguard is incredible, drums are fantastic, the music is incredibly high energy, and it's all packaged up in a easy to digest but perfectly executed package.

All that I really have to say is that being there all day, I really feel like the judges judged the performances of the day. Maybe two or three I personally would have moved up or down a little bit, but not a lot different. 2019 as a whole has taken what we expect to see in results from a lot of bands and just completely turned that on its head. There's usually a lot of complaining that it's the same old bands in the same placements just kinda shuffling around a bit. But now that we have had some pretty surprising results, there's again some push back, but now that the judges don't know what they're doing, the results are crazy, etc. And I get being a little upset if a band you're associated with doesn't do as well as you had hoped. Three out of four years of my high school band experience we barely made finals and were constantly the first one out, etc. Probably not even a month from now that will have all settled and you can remember the stuff that really matters.

I went down to DMI this year for the first time. What a great contest logistically and competitively. This is a lineup on par with most BOA regionals and other local competitions across the country and a world class judging panel. Some exciting results that I mostly agreed with. Hebron, as previously said, is playing the long game for GN. This show is definitely still building for three weeks from now, and it will not peak a moment sooner. That’s probably the most technically difficult thing ever done by a H.S. on a football field, and they’re doing a lot of it on the move. I bet this is like 2015 where they don’t explode until the last minute. But when they do.....watch out. Marcus was phenomenal, definitely agree with their win here. Just pristine all around. So lush and gorgeous musically, and they do body stuff incredibly well. The woodwinds in Ruslan and Ludmilla are my favorite thing in this show, just nuts. Should do really well next week. My favorite from them in awhile. Keller’s show is hard hard hard. The closer is downright nuts. One of many bands that had a way better finals run. Their brassline is one of the better ones in the high school world, they are loud and can articulate like nobodies business, but can also play with a ton of shaping and control in their slower sections. If they improve as much as they did from Waco to DMI they’re gonna have a great weekend in San Antonio. Waxahachie also had a way better finals run, and by far the best one they've had all season. I felt watching online and in prelims that the show was so so so close to clicking, but not quite. It did in finals at DMI. Those kids totally bought into the shows roles, especially the soloists. Speaking of them, wow. From the clarinet to the piano to the AMAZING soloist in the ballad, they are all top notch. This was a very interesting direction for them to take, they usually remind me of a CP/Marcus type in their programming but this year took a total left turn into a more fun and light hearted approach, and I think it could fit them really well if they do it again going into 2020. Prosper. What a creepy as he.....ck show. And I love that. There was something so unsettling about the tone of the music and the visual construction, especially from the guard. The costuming and characterization was great. Loved the way Elsa's was woven throughout the show, especially the backfield ending with the guard gradually trickling down front for their final statement. I think this is my favorite show from them design wise. Keller Central always does such unique shows, this year was no different. I can't count how many different styles and varieties they played Heart and Soul, but that's hard to build a whole show around a single work like that and they did it well. Loved the uniforms and overall aesthetic, their guard is really solid. Haltom in the morning definitely had a very shaky run from a timing standpoint. Not sure I would have had them 10th in prelims, but they definitely had more in them. And oh BOY. The improvement from prelims to finals is by far the biggest difference I've ever seen from a band from prelims to finals ever. They were a month of rehearsal time better in finals. Everything lined up and was so so so crisp. With a performance like that I can see how they did as well in STL as they did. I had them moving up farther in finals, but performing from that first slot can make that hard. But wow, that was so cool to see. Wylie was nice, they gave some music we hear a lot on the field some very interesting treatments, brass can play with a ton of power when they have their big moments. Loved the guard costuming and color scheme, nice progression throughout the show. I have some personal/professional connections to Permian, so when they were announced as not only a finalist, but well in finals after prelims, I was very honestly freaking out. When they played the first notes of Baba Yaga at the start of the show, it didn't sound remotely like the same band from BOA Midland. They grew SO much musically in two weeks, and it paid off by making finals at one of the harder local competitions in Texas. It's been so much fun seeing this group grow from 2014 to where they are now, and the results from this more UIL Area style contest going into 2020 bode so well for them. This was a show about them to show the world who they are, and they did that ten fold. So proud of them. Timber Creek performs musically and visually with so much confidence, they didn't skip a beat from that standpoint this year. The body stuff is performed with a ton of confidence and they have a ton of presence in their full ensemble moments. Loved the newsroom ballad. Some nice additions since Midland in the preshow and the additional closer. Looking forward to seeing this again in a week. Some great performances in prelims as well. Got to see Allen for the first time which was an experience (they kept coming and coming and coming and coming and coming), loved Lake Ridge's musical program, Summit sounded incredible, loved McKinney Boyd's visual evolution throughout the show, etc. No one was weak.

They were like a month better. That was nuts. With a run like tonight no wonder they were 4th last week.

As a west Texan I am beyond elated for Permain. The improvement they have made since Midland is astounding.

That’s what I’m interpreting it as. I freakin love it.

The WHAT???

Indy is great but if someone bought me a ticket and flight to Indy I'd still go to DMI. :I

I'm going to make the drive down for this one. Looks like an amazing contest!

So UIL says that 30 - 39 bands would advance 12 bands to finals at SMC, though they didn't do that in 2017 after 6A advanced 12 in 2016. Not sure what to expect. https://www.uiltexas.org/music/marching-band/marching-band-scoring-and-advancement-procedure

I have the same 4 advancing. Some interesting region stuff this year. LOTS of 112s and 2s, Plainview ended their 81 years 1st division streak. Coronado was the only Lubbock 5A with straight 1s, etc.

No apology necessary. Totally agree that this is SFAs best showing in a good while. Very pretty show with a great visual program that they performed with a ton of energy. Their finals performance especially was super energetic, drumline at the end felt that. So much hype. They have had quite the season!

What a great day for Texas! Congrats to all the bands who made the trip up there. This was an AWESOME finals. So many fun and exciting shows.

2019 is so crazy.

If you’re the same username on the Hornrank finals we had the same top 14.

Huge congrats to everyone. And especially to our Texas skwad in almost taking half of the finals spots. I have many thoughts but I’ll save those for later. Best of luck on finals to all bands!

CARROLL. WHERE DID YOU COME FROM.

Totally. I have them all comfortably in so far. Coppell's veils and aesthetic are just stunning. Lake Travis's props are the textbook definition of simple and effective, and they sound so powerful. LD Bell's visual program is so cool, love the way they deconstruct the tarp thing in the middle of the field and move it around. Haltom was a blast with some really nice ensemble moments and body work. Stephen F. Austin was so pretty, best show from them in a long time. If Southlake Carroll and Trinity bring the heat things could get really fun.

Some nice performances today. Sounds like I should have caught Hernando. Bentonville is nice, very pretty show overall. Love their guard as always. . O'Fallon Township was unique as always, some really cool stuff with the blocks. Love the music. Fort Zumwalt North was so adorable. Really nice overall sounds and it's just a fun simple take on the western aesthetic and sound.

I was VERY impressed with the video I saw of Lovejoy. Super super polished and refined across the board.

5, 1 for every 5 that get a 1 at region.

Best of luck to Coppell, Haltom, Lake Travis, LD Bell, Southlake Carroll, Stephen F. Austin, and Trinity on their trips to St. Louis. I think this could be a really great weekend for Texas at that Super Regional.

Might be making the trip down for this one.

Alrighty, thoughts on yesterday: First off, shout out to Vista Ridge's fans in the stands for being classy as can be and great to talk to. Great group of people. Second, as a West Texan, it has been fantastic having BOA in West Texas for three years now. You can see the influence in how schools are approaching show design and in the instruction, and it's so great to have exposure to what is truly possible on a football field. I hope it keeps coming back. Vista Ridge - Not much else to say than I did on the live blog, the visual program this year is a beast and they're doing a nice job performing it all. The moment in part one with the woodwinds on side two and brass on side one doing their own features and the timing lining up pretty seamlessly was pretty fantastic to watch. Really different show this year, it's much darker and serious but has some truly beautiful and exciting moments in there. And shoutout again to the sax soloist, you're amazing! Timber Creek - They're doing pretty well this year after the staff switches. They have a BIG ensemble sound, lots of power behind their winds. Fun show this year, all the headlines are really funny and the show just has a very fun satirical vibe to it. Could tell they're not QUITE done yet, interested to see the rest. James Martin - Really nice surprise, as always a lot of shows translate better live and this one does for sure. Big and beefy brass sound from them, they have some killer mellophones on their brass line. Great percussion work as always from them. Nice use and variety of use of the props throughout the show. Excited to see how they do in Waco next weekend. Summit - I can see how they made finals in the toughest 6A area last year, super polished and focused music performance from them. TONS of clarity on all their section features as well as ensemble moments. Very striking color palette from them. Clovis - I adore the fun show themes they've been doing as of late, and "Rachy" is no exception. They play with a ton of dynamic variety throughout the show, really nice sounds in the Rachmaninov ballad is especially. They also take on the characters of their various shows really well over the last few years. Wylie East - Really enjoyed the large contrast in moods of this show, I think they move really well and do some very effective things visually. The trombone stuff in the closer got a lot of whoas around me. Been cool seeing these guys rise up as of late. Del Rio - Small band with a big sound once again, there are some moments in there that they sound REALLY REALLY REALLY good. Mansfield - I really liked the show design, super fun and easy show to watch as an audience member. They play with great control, no stick outs, bad releases, etc. Just very smooth and centered. Granbury - Super fun show, crowd got a kick out of the teeter totter stuff and all the plays with elevation. Very lush sounds in "Hide and Seek". Permian - I got to work with them this year on some show design stuff so I'll try to remove myself here. But I can say that it's been a blast and they are very happy with how this show is coming together. Finals performance was pretty special, I think they were able to communicate what they were going for effectively. Some solid performances out of finals too. Hobbs was a great surprise this weekend, they were doing pretty college band type shows just two years ago and this year were pumping volume like the big boys and had a great guard. Frenship had some really nice ensemble music and visual moments, they have a ton of potential as always. Lubbock Cooper was super fun, their visual stuff is very solid. Can't wait for next year if they have this again!