Marching Observer

I'd have to give a big nod to Seven Lakes. They keep on making the correct strides and have thoroughly entertaining shows that have a lot of energy in them while simultaneously being accessible to the audience.

There certainly seems to be a lot of turnover in TX this year so it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out especially since it is a state year for several groups. Will groups opt to implement a UIL or BOA style? That gap has been slowly shrinking but something to think about. Could be a fairly conservative year with groups playing safe to set up their systems.

I realize this is a late quote but way to burn the history of Marian Catholic's finals streak. Given how far Texas bands have come in the past decade, if all the big players came, that above outcome is certainly possible!

Certainly made an impression last year. Very cool and entertaining show and really look forward to seeing how you grow moving onward. Keep up the great work!

Homestead has the resources for that kind of trip. But it would pretty much require them to miss ISSMA which is something that I don't really ever see them doing. They do have a 30+ year streak to maintain after all!

Irrelevant? Never. But the quality of TX bands has grown a lot in the last 15 years. TX is more competitive than ever which is great! Like Dan said earlier, it's unlikely you'll see a slew of bands suddenly coming to SA. Heck, I hear all the time how bands in TX don't go to some contests cause it is too far away in their own state, it's just as far for a lot bands outside of it too then lol. SA isn't exactly a border city after all. Still, I think it would be great if more bands went to give even more variety to it.

Those would also be my current top 3 in semi's. Marcus really owned their show and I hope they keep going in this visual direction because they were able to nail it as well! So different from them but added so much to their talent.

Well heck, just look at the shows that elementary or middle school groups do and what they are able to achieve already! Yes, they do have groups that young. The talent level is just on a different planet! Someday I think it would be really cool to go to their national championship and experience it.

It's from each day though that two bands from each class need represented. So technically the max would be 42 bands in semi finals. Say all of the 30 highest scoring groups were in AAAA. That means they would then take the two highest scoring groups in each class from EACH day. So 2 from A on Thurs AND Friday, etc for AA and AAA. I think most people believe we are expecting 37 or 38 to advance to semi's today.

Look at you committing to band this early morning! Dedication when you have no skin in the fight as it were.

There were so many things that stand out from the SA show. Obviously the finalists could get their own blog post and are talked about enough already so let me focus in on those that didn't make it. Coppell was one that really stood out with that amazing woodwind section, beautiful dresses, and that fantastic clarinet pitch bend! Seven Lakes! If I didn't know that was a Texas band I would have sworn the band came from the midwest with that show design. Loved it and they played the theme perfectly. Vista Ridge with their incredible playing ability all around and execution. Brazoswood told a minimalist but solid theme and really like how the flowers bloomed at the end of the show. Plus wicked cool skull props. Pearland just knocked my socks off with Ghost Train and that opening accelerando! Definitely a fan favorite show. James Madison's opening hit was unforgettable... I now know that it's THAT Wyile band too who really knocked it out too! Keller Central with the tarp golf cart flooring it! Weiss achieving so much with just sophomore and freshman! I can't wait to see where that program heads as they mature. Good things in store for them I think. And that's just the ones off the top of my head. You really could take something from each of the groups.

Round Rock will need to keep that energy level up for semi finals. That performance was so much more engaging than at SA.

And did you see how the angel held him at the end. With the guard member in white "flying" away with the blue bird silk? Ah crap, I have more onions to cut now. I'll be back later.

No...you aren't alone. But then the stadium is just cutting onions here. Don't ask me why. It's weird...

Broken Arrow came out far stronger than I had anticipated from how they scored in St. Louis. Just goes to show was a few weeks of practice can achieve. That said, they are certainly in the hunt. They got GE galore and a strong musical book. Homestead came out a bit safe but they have cleaned up A LOT visually from the Indy Super Regional and you can see why they won state last week. I think the added visual changes are great as well. Performing today on Thursday gives them one more day of practice to work out the kinks and really bring the energy come semi's. Franklin performed probably my favorite show they have done. Sadly, I don't think it quite has enough "oomph" to get them into finals discussion. However, it is a beautiful show visually and engaging musically. Fort Mill had a really fun show but I don't think it may have been their strongest run. But I just loved the music and theme of the show. Dobyns-Bennett....talk about cleaning up the show! That has a great show I think at making finals on Saturday if they have another run like that! Union knows how to sell their show. The singer is certainly improved too from the Indy Super Regional. The visual packaging is very well put together.

Baseball glory. 1964 Regional State Championship team.

CTJ! Such energy. Great arranging. Very cool. Much wow!

Good luck today!

I would hardly call the SA contest humble! Always a strong case for it being equally as good as Grand Nationals. Maybe they should have another travelling trophy for this one. Perhaps Kevin's nest. Or Kevin's eggs. Wait, Kevin's a girl? (UP reference ftw!) I'd say that California does also have a distinct style too but since we don't get to see them as often either, it can be tricky to nail it down as well. I'd say it is a bit more guard or percussion 'centric though simply looking at how well they do in WGI in those areas. Each one has their quirks and I've found something to enjoy in all of them.

Before the video is removed, might I point out the 6:29 moment? Oops! Even the mighty make mistakes haha

One of the many things I'm looking forward too on my trip there!

From what I heard, they didn't even have concessions. What kind of contest doesn't have concessions!?

I'd say it also really depends on the area you live in. After all, their are still tons of Texas bands that are, well, not good. I've always tried to keep myself around areas that I know that I will be able to at least be able to make it to a few quality shows though (typically BOA). And I'd say you can't judge all non-Texas groups on just one state too. After all, you've got plenty from Indiana, California, and even Florida among others that have some really great groups. The styles may be different, but there are plenty of quality bands out there still. They may just not be as highly concentrated in the areas you're at since most of the TX ones are by the BIG metroplexes.

I would guess that it may very well come out either tomorrow or Tuesday when the offices reopen. They were just preparing for two super regionals in the same weekend after all! Can't be much longer now.

One has to also look at how much relative growth a show can have too. How much can music and visual be cleaned? Is the demand going to be able to continue to push the score up through SA and GN or is the show nearly maxed out? Do groups have a history of peaking at the right time? One can also look at relative growth of a show though too. Avon for starters began the first BOA week with a 76 (using loose numbers for simplicity). 3 weeks later at Dayton they jumped by nearly 10 points. 2 weeks later, both them at Carmel were able to jump nearly another 5 points. So just imagine how much they will still be able to do in just 2 weeks before SA and 3 for GN. And since I know you'll want to see another comparison, CTJ was able to jump 5 points as well given 3 weeks of work. So yes, really anything is going to be possible come SA and we should be in for a very exciting finals. I would not be surprised if we see some ties as well.