Robert_Jordan

That's a big band! And they looked really good and sounded really good. Lot of marching going on there! That's for posting.

Correct. But the judges do (I think / I hope). Not clear on this though: Do judges change between Prelims and Finals?

Hi PA I don't think anything has gotten totally vitriolic yet. I think the biggest deal with this is the date. If this weren't a week day, it wouldn't be as big of a deal. Make this a Friday or Saturday and I think the problem is (mostly) solved. Kids don't have to miss but one day of school. Far fewer parents have to make work arrangements and more people could attend.

I think it's going to be very neat for the 1A guys to get to perform for the big crowds and in the big dome. Totally awesome and I'm happy for them! But why not schedule this on a weekend? This is gonna be rough on kids and their parents. School getting missed, getting bogged down in school work and home work, and parents having to miss work. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise being an alternate. I know I'm going to miss a good one!

Yes! It's hard to follow the drum majors to keep count, follow feet, and listen to what is being played. I think I'd fall all over myself if I were to try marching to that.

Hi Natertater. After attending area D the other day and reading through the judges rubric out on the UIL page, here's why I like Vista: 1: Both Leander and Cedar Park have great shows. Leander's is utterly killer. Both, in my opinion, are more geared for BOA than UIL, especially Leander with their explosion of visual and general effect. 2: Cedar Park in general has more instances in their show where they either have ensembles playing the ultra difficult parts while the band dances around or does visual things. Lots of free form. 3: Both Leander and Cedar Park have a good bit of free form. It's all really great stuff and looks tremendous! It's more for BOA though (visuals / general effect) 4: Vista Ridge is marching all over the field! It looked to me they had the most complex marching show of the night, and they looked really tight. 5: All 3 bands have some killer music! I picked out some strange time signatures for Vista. I think I heard some 7 and 9 in there. All 3 bands nail their music. It seemed to me though that Vista did a little better at a "full band" playing+marching the show than having smaller groups up playing the ultra difficult parts. 6: Leander wins hands down on visuals. Cedar Park's color guard is FANTASTIC. Vista's guard did something different with theirs spinning in those pyramids - NICE! But, reading through the rubrics and knowing that this is UIL and not BOA, the "show" is supposed to take a back seat to the marching and playing. If this were BOA - it would be Leander, then Cedar Park, then likely Vandy followed by Vista. But, since this is UIL, all the visual effect / general effect stuff is supposed to be secondary. Of course, it could be what puts Leander and CP over Vista. Watching the performances the other night, I was most impressed by Vista's marching and playing. I tried to focus most heavily on those aspects and tried to avoid focusing on the visual / general effect elements (not an easy feat with Leander's show!). It just seems to me that Vista's show is designed to showcase the band, the marching, and the music whereas Leander and CP seem to have more focus on the general effect and visual effect side. Lastly - I won't write of Vandy. Their marching drill and music seem a little bit simpler than the other 3, but they can really nail it. And they have one of the best guards around. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they were one of the top 3. Gonna be a great competition! Shame it has to be so late in the night for those kids and for all the parents

5A predicted results at or around midnight. Kids returning home at 3 - 4 AM. School night / work day (or night) for parents. Sheesh. Time to find a UIL contact and voice some complaints.

Tried to watch find and watch some videos from several areas (not much out there from some...). 1: Vista Ridge 2: Leander 3: Cedar Park 4: Vandegrift 5 / 6: Dripping Springs / Wakeland. Leaning towards Dripping Springs

I will totally agree with you on DS being stronger musically.

kschmize: I stated that I felt that McCallum got the shaft. They executed their performance very well. Their marching was clean. Their music was clean. Very few issues with spacing. Lines were always good. Dripping Springs however had issues. They did not execute cleanly. At the start of their routine they merge into a big triangle shape and rotate it. The middle of it ... not clean. There were other places throughout their performance that were just not clean at all. Nevermind the fact that one guy fell down and 3 or 4 other people ran over him causing several to have to move to avoid him. Perhaps my posts got deleted because I ruffled some feathers by suggesting that perhaps the judges in the contest are getting enamored by the "show", the color, the pageantry, etc. Maybe the judges were watching butterflies and trees instead of watching the marching... This is UIL. This is not BOA. Not bashing anyone. I never have and never will. Dripping Springs has a very beautiful show. I think they'll do very well at BOA this coming weekend. I hope they do. My wife and I love their show. That being said though, McCallum executed last night better than Dripping Springs.

I would like to know what happened to my posts? Why are things being deleted? Was anything I said derogatory? I'm fairly certain I didn't bash anyone. I merely stated facts I observed out on the field tonight in regards to execution and "falling down". Or was it that I questioned the judges possibly being enamored moreso by shows over execution of marching and music?

Not implying anything. This is UIL and not BOA. Marching and music over "show".

I sure hope the judges remember that this is UIL and not BOA

Any news from the contest? How are the bands looking? Who is looking to be the strongest?

I hope that's some sort of type-o. Finals at 10:00 on weeknight? Shame on UIL if true...

Looked like it was going pretty smooth this morning. I wonder how many schools get to be out the entire day vs schools that have to: - Leave class and go to competition - Go to competition and then go back to class - Miss all early classes, go compete, and then go back to school etc.. This could be a mess for those poor kids with homework and makeup work. And a late night with finals as well!

Area D forecast for Monday is now: High 75 Low 55 10% chance of rain Sunny Should be a good day. About that work schedule though... cough cough, "boss, I'm feeling sick. Think I may not make it in on Monday"...

Since the rain is potentially strong through Sunday, the early bands could possibly be getting the shaft...

Looks like it's gonna be Sunday...

Excellent! Monday - 10% chance of rain. Partly Cloudy. High of 70. Tuesday - 20% chance. Partly cloudy. High of 78.

Next up in Area D Prelims performing their show "the Ark and the Great Flood"....

Latest weather statement from UIL is out as of 10:00 AM this morning. http://www.uiltexas.org/ Scroll down to "UPDATED Area Marching Weather Statement" Basically, no news. No mention of rescheduling or delaying.

The weather statement on the UIL homepage has not changed since 2:00 PM today. http://www.uiltexas.org/files/music/UIL_Area_Marching_Band_Contest_Updated_Weather_Statement.pdf 20 inches through Sunday 1:00 PM. Perhaps we should send this to them:

Leander's show is fantastic. I think it blows last year's Color Study show away. I'd be shocked if they don't make the top 5.

Well... there's rain, and then there's RAIN. Saturday is looking extremely ugly with the cold front hitting Austin around or a little before the early bands. Hopefully UIL gets their heads together on this one and moves it.