Samuel Culper

So the guy with the trollish post re: Vista Ridge is hyped to see Vandegrift.  🤔

🙄

🙄

So the guy with the trollish post re: Vista Ridge is hyped to see Vandegrift.  🤔

So the guy with the trollish post re: Vista Ridge is hyped to see Vandegrift.  🤔

Vista Ridge is out of tune, soloist is missing. Not looking good sadly. 
Westlake is clean.

🙄

Let'e go get it Vista Ridge!

The trophy should be named Tony 

It’s Happening!

Glenn has shown huge improvement this year and I really love their show. Lots of creativity and energy and you can tell the kids are having fun with it. Their sound is also way ahead of where they have been in the past.
I hope they continue growing on this trajectory. 

I've seen so many references to Vista Ridge/Vandegrift at Area vs State last year as if it's almost a given that the same thing will happen this year.
Two points:
1 - Vista beat Vandy at Area in 2018 as well, also after finishing behind them at BOA Austin.  We know how that year turned out.
2 - Vista's show this year is much stronger than last year. I think that it pretty clear.
I'm not making any promises as to what will happen, that Vista will beat Vandy at either BOASA or State. But I am saying that they are a good horse to bet on to surpass most people's expectations. 

I've seen so many references to Vista Ridge/Vandegrift at Area vs State last year as if it's almost a given that the same thing will happen this year.
Two points:
1 - Vista beat Vandy at Area in 2018 as well, also after finishing behind them at BOA Austin.  We know how that year turned out.
2 - Vista's show this year is much stronger than last year. I think that it pretty clear.
I'm not making any promises as to what will happen, that Vista will beat Vandy at either BOASA or State. But I am saying that they are a good horse to bet on to surpass most people's expectations. 

I've seen so many references to Vista Ridge/Vandegrift at Area vs State last year as if it's almost a given that the same thing will happen this year.
Two points:
1 - Vista beat Vandy at Area in 2018 as well, also after finishing behind them at BOA Austin.  We know how that year turned out.
2 - Vista's show this year is much stronger than last year. I think that it pretty clear.
I'm not making any promises as to what will happen, that Vista will beat Vandy at either BOASA or State. But I am saying that they are a good horse to bet on to surpass most people's expectations. 

Final predictions and thoughts on what will be a very competitive super regional:
1. Hebron (M/GE)
This is probably the only band I'm fairly confident in placing where I have them. Hebron has somehow raised the level for them in terms of demand both musically and visually and are putting out some absolutely insane sounds. The brass is inexplicably incredible and visually they're nailing some very difficult drill sets. No one in the country can play as good as them and I think they will repeat here and at UIL State.
2. Vandegrift
It hurts me slightly to predict Vandegrift here as it would be three years in a row they place 2nd. That said, they've got another great show with some super cool music from Tron. While I prefer Juliet Letters, I really like that they're also pushing the envelope in demand and think they're doing a good job with it. They may have lost to Vista Ridge at area but I think they'll bounce back and at least grab a medal here.
3. Ronald Reagan (V)
I think Reagan's show this year is a better version of what they had last year. Visually they have some really nice drill moves and I think they may have my favorite preshow of the season. They still sound excellent, especially the brass (great trombone soloists), and their color guard/dance team is phenomenal.
4. Cedar Ridge
So happy to see them follow up on their fantastic season last year with an even better one! The things they're doing with an ensemble half the size of some bands here is super impressive. The brass is incredible and the percussion is top tier as always. Love this show.
5. Claudia Taylor Johnson
For a show that's a little more lowkey they've still got a crazy amount of demand in their music and drill and are pulling it off. The ballad has grown on me over the season to be one of my favorites, and I think the preshow is super creative and very cool. It's not as cohesive as some of their past shows, but I still enjoy it very much.
6. Flower Mound
Probably the most creative show concept I've seen anywhere this season. The artwork is super creative and well done and I love their uniforms to match it. It's not my favorite FM show, I think the drill is a little meh at certain points, but at the same time there are some moments like the ending that really blow my mind. Musically they are outstanding of course.
7. Vista Ridge
There are few bands that can make me raise my eyebrows and think wow when I hear a full ensemble moment and Vista Ridge is one of them. They sound so incredible in those moments, especially the ending of their show. After watching their area performance there are a couple of timing miscues here and there, but nothing that can't be easily fixed. I'm a fan!
8. Marcus
While their show is not as difficult as some other bands here, they are still remarkably clean. Visually there are some really cool moments like the pivot in the beginning set. The orchestral sound they produce is iconic and I'm expecting to see some very high performance captions.
9. Coppell
Love to see them continuing their upward trajectory after a breakout season last year! They might have my favorite ballad of the season with a beautiful sax soloist. While I'm not as sold on the closer as their opener/ballad, I give them props for putting Beethoven in Havana on the field as I don't think I've ever seen that before. Really great show!
10. Cedar Park
Really impressive to see them field such a massive group yet still sound very balanced and clean. Their ballad is a highlight of the season and I'm not at all surprised to see them win Waco so convincingly. There are a few moments in the drill that are a little dirty for me, but I think they are solidly in finals.
11. The Woodlands
Director changes can be hard to weather, especially when you lose multiple directors, but the Woodlands are still very strong this year! The show is a little reminiscent of last year and isn't quite as heavy-hitting, but they still produce excellent sounds and their soloists are just as good as ever.
12. Round Rock
It's great to see Round Rock bounce back from what was probably a disappointing season last year. Visually I think the design is much stronger than many of their recent shows, and they still sound as good as they always have. They're definitely towards the upper end of the finals bubble and I expect to see them in finals.
13. Westlake
They've got a really creative show this year! I think they hit the mark on the noir theming of the show. Their clarinet soloist is really quite spectacular and the ensemble sounds excellent. Really awesome show concept and a definite crowd-pleaser.
14. Cy-Fair
I would love to see them cap off their outstanding season so far with a finals appearance here! Really fantastic sounds from their brass and the uniforms make for some pretty cool visual moments when they turn around. The percussion is also very impressive and the woodwinds do a great job with their runs. Great trumpet soloist too!
In the bubble: Keller, Leander, Rouse, James Bowie, Pearland, LD Bell, Timber Creek, Waxahachie, Seven Lakes, Klein Oak, Westwood, Lake Travis, Hendrickson, a dozen other bands I've forgotten. Seriously, the finals bubble is just massive.
Of the bands I have listed I think any of the top 11 bands I have down could get into the top half. Any of the bands I have listed in the bubble could also get into finals and wouldn't surprise me. This contest is just ridiculously competitive.

i'm catching up on area vids. great work, kiddos!
first of all, ummm, COPPELL! holy cow! huge, rich sounds. loving the super groovy recap of Beethoven at the end. so rhythmically challenging. guard is large and in charge. is that opening flute from Atonement? i heard Atonement mentioned + the typewriter sounds and got super excited. brilliant novel, brilliant film. music a little muddy after opener, but sooo cool.
still love FM's concept more than probably any other this year. super duper meta. super duper band. capes are tasteful and don't overwhelm the visual upstairs *cough*Broken Arrow*cough*. the skeleton of the design not my favorite from them, by that i mean just the pure drill and music, but it's still super impressive. some big big moments and big big sounds. some tuning issues here and there also, wondering how cold it was.
twhs i couldn't be more proud of. super improvement. i've been around a long time now and know that a lot of bands don't weather major staff changes very well. so thank u, new directors, for stepping into the pressure cooker and managing it well, and to the kids who stuck w/ the program and kept it going strong. i'm so happy for them. they could honestly get 14th place here and i'd be thrilled.
Vista Ridge. this show is such a fascination. i've professed my love for it a lot already. aggressive, intelligent, strange, always engaging. BLAZINGLY difficult, this is what u get when u don't water down a Vanderkolff drill program. performance nooot quite there imo, maybe in another week, and the guard is too small for the band, but it excites me so much i don't really care. honestly not the fairest comparison b/w vista's guard and vandy's dance team. like, honestly, i'm not going to tell as much upstairs if u lose your balance on a chaines turn, but i'm sure as f*** gonna notice if flags are going up and down at different times and rifles are dropped. waaay more exposed, waaay bigger risk.
a little surprised Vandy didn't come out on top at area. maybe only a little weaker than usual, usual being like top 3 SA. i will say this, the "experimental marching" was a liiittle oversold. hahaha. it's the same Vandy visual, but w/ glow sticks. hahaha. now the music is different. more contemporary. that change is good. is the grid some sort of Matrix thing?
what i love most about Cedar Ridge is i guess the clarity. i never don't know what they're going for. i really like the depth to the set, the shadowing. the character moments. the percussion. show makes perfect sense. pretty strong musically at area this past weekend. visual is simple and pretty clean. maybe i'm not connecting w/ it as much as the others bc it's a little too simple for my tastes. but they can surely execute.
will look for others later. great great job everyone. can't wait for those fancy schmancy ~*inDOoR~* performances.

Nope.  Terrible acoustics.

Or, the Austin area bands that you are referring to are just that good.  A lot of judges in a lot of competitions as well as many others very familiar with the activity all have similar opinions of those bands. So some sort of unfair evaluation is a tough charge to make stick.

As a conversation piece, bands that have made Finals the last 5 SASRs:

The unbalanced panels also don't help. Somebody on Panel 2 is likely to get hosed.

1st - Vista Ridge
2nd - Vandegrift 
3rd - Westlake
4th - Lake Travis

1st - Vista Ridge
2nd - Vandegrift 
3rd - Westlake
4th - Lake Travis