Bandwoww

2016 was a really difficult year to make finals at Nats. I think they could’ve definitely made finals with that show if they competed this past year.

Coldest Thanksgiving in NY in over 100 years! And coldest Macy’s parade on record! Feel bad for the Texas kids but they toughed it out.

Yeah a lot of the weird things at Area just weren’t there at the state level. Leander did significantly better than Westlake, Keller was better than Waxahachie by a decent margin in both prelims and finals. Also Duncanville placed 29th in prelims, so I can’t imagine that Timber Creek would’ve been that low had they advanced. Bowie didn’t beat CTJ either, as Area results would suggest.

Yeah...I would love for all these programs to go but iI realistically see 5 or 6 big-name Texas groups for 19. I probably shouldn’t get my hopes up

I can assure you that most of the directors of the big or growing programs in Texas were at GN this past weekend -  just like every NFL coach is at the Super Bowl - even if they are not playing - it is part of the job. 

Yeah a lot of the weird things at Area just weren’t there at the state level. Leander did significantly better than Westlake, Keller was better than Waxahachie by a decent margin in both prelims and finals. Also Duncanville placed 29th in prelims, so I can’t imagine that Timber Creek would’ve been that low had they advanced. Bowie didn’t beat CTJ either, as Area results would suggest.

I think Texas bands try too hard when they bring a show to GN. They really aren’t toning anything down. I actually think they are doing the opposite. They try to put out super competitive visual design (FloMo 16) and try compete with bands like Avon and Carmel. In reality, it hurts the rest of the show especially in execution. Texas bands need to play to their strengths when they go to Indy and not necessarily try to one-up Indy bands in design, because that probably won’t happen.

Prosper brought that Texas sound!!! And looked so good! I could genuinely feel the emotions in their playing! So good!

I’m full on Blue Springs tonight. Vista Ridge has gotten the desire of an upset all deep in my bones.

I think it came down to the fact that Vista Ridge had THE BEST designed show. It effectively showcased the band’s talents in exactly the right ways so that there was very little room for error. Vista did not have the most difficult show. By any means. But the students were given exactly what they needed to win. Yeah, they had to work extremely hard for it, but the reality is that all of these finalist students spent the same amount of time rehearsing, etc. It’s blatant that there was a major shift in direction and design this year for Vista. Not to take anything from them, but it’s the truth. Vista had the perfect show, and that’s RARE.
 
Now, did the staff at Vista go into the season knowing they were going to win? No.
 
But was this direction and design change inevitably going to put out a program that was pretty unstoppable? Yes.

That was just the sixth full run for Keller. It has been a challenging year with all the rain and such a complex design so it's nice to see their last run for the show was finally the trouble free run we all knew they had in them.
 
We will remain very involved behind the scenes and in the stands but that was a satisfying way for our family to close out their participation on the field. 21 seasons from our oldest's Freshman year to our youngest's Senior year have come to an end.
 
Thank you Keller, it has been an honor to be a part of this program.

Here are my lengthy thoughts on some of the bands from this weekend. I put individual bands in spoilers so that you don't get hit by a wall of text and you can choose what you read (or don't read). They are somewhat in an order, but not entirely. I hope you enjoy my thoughts.

Vista Ridge:



Ronald Reagan:



Keller:



Flower Mound:



Hebron:



Claudia Taylor Johnson:



Leander:



The Woodlands:



Vandegrift:



Westlake:



Hendrickson:



Marcus:



Cedar Ridge:



LD Bell:



James Bowie:



Timber Creek:



Prosper:



Oak Ridge:



John B Alexander:



I will leave it with this, unless anyone has questions about my thoughts on other groups. In all- what a fantastic few days of performances. All of the students should be so proud!

Ya know, I thought last nights finals was almost just as competitive as 2017. Obviously Avon wasn’t there but getting into finals was just as cut-throat. Recent medalists, Leander and The Woodlands, found themselves back in the top 10, Vista Ridge made a huge statement and jumped to top 5. Ronald Reagan, Flower Mound, Hebron, and Keller found ways to improve after last year’s successes. CTJ and Vandegrift remain as two prominent Texas powerhouses. Westlake was such a nice surprise and completely deserved that finalist spot. Bell returned to finals after missing for a long time, and Cedar Ridge and Hendrickson proved they belonged with the best. Marcus is still Marcus and what they have achieved this year is spectacular.
 
My top 4 favorite shows!
 
1. Vista Ridge - probably the most well produced and cohesive package I saw last night. Evokes an emotional response unlike no other, deserves every bit of praise and managed to EXCEED the crazy hype it had. Bravo.
2. Keller - It amazes me that a group can have such consistent success after being mostly unknown until a few years ago and it amazes me even more that they build off of it EVERY year. Truly inspirational performance last night, can’t wait to see what they do at state.
3. The Woodlands - The consistency in design by The Woodlands is unparalleled in my opinion. Every year their show seems to be one of my favorites. It’s crazy that bands like The Woodlands and Keller sit outside of the top half! These performances would’ve done NUMBERS before 2017, Texas band is crazy!!
4. Flower Mound - I reallllllly doubted this show until last night but oh man was I wrong! Everything about it was SO solid and each moment is perfect. Congrats on the win FloMo, well deserved!

Ya know, I thought last nights finals was almost just as competitive as 2017. Obviously Avon wasn’t there but getting into finals was just as cut-throat. Recent medalists, Leander and The Woodlands, found themselves back in the top 10, Vista Ridge made a huge statement and jumped to top 5. Ronald Reagan, Flower Mound, Hebron, and Keller found ways to improve after last year’s successes. CTJ and Vandegrift remain as two prominent Texas powerhouses. Westlake was such a nice surprise and completely deserved that finalist spot. Bell returned to finals after missing for a long time, and Cedar Ridge and Hendrickson proved they belonged with the best. Marcus is still Marcus and what they have achieved this year is spectacular.
 
My top 4 favorite shows!
 
1. Vista Ridge - probably the most well produced and cohesive package I saw last night. Evokes an emotional response unlike no other, deserves every bit of praise and managed to EXCEED the crazy hype it had. Bravo.
2. Keller - It amazes me that a group can have such consistent success after being mostly unknown until a few years ago and it amazes me even more that they build off of it EVERY year. Truly inspirational performance last night, can’t wait to see what they do at state.
3. The Woodlands - The consistency in design by The Woodlands is unparalleled in my opinion. Every year their show seems to be one of my favorites. It’s crazy that bands like The Woodlands and Keller sit outside of the top half! These performances would’ve done NUMBERS before 2017, Texas band is crazy!!
4. Flower Mound - I reallllllly doubted this show until last night but oh man was I wrong! Everything about it was SO solid and each moment is perfect. Congrats on the win FloMo, well deserved!

If you look at the actual scores awarded from the judges and add them up, TC had a better score than Duncanville. Keller had a better score than Waxahachie even with that one crazy judge.

BOA uses raw totals and it generally works out for the better. I wish UIL would follow suit.

I feel like this weekend was the perfect reason to change the rule to include area as well as state especially because it came up twice. Now I bet they can’t change rules in the middle of the season but I don’t see why it shouldn’t apply to area as well.

I feel like this weekend was the perfect reason to change the rule to include area as well as state especially because it came up twice. Now I bet they can’t change rules in the middle of the season but I don’t see why it shouldn’t apply to area as well.

They were in 5A last year and placed 3rd in the state. They moved up to 6A and are looking to keep that momentum going. If you ask me, I feel like if they make state finals, they will round out in the last couple of spots similar to Bell and Coppell from area B in 2016. Waxahachie’s main focus this year is clearly UIL and they are clearly succeeding.
 
They placed near the bottom of finals at BOA DFW so making finals at BOA San Antonio will be a fight but they are doing amazingly on the UIL side of things this year.

They were in 5A last year and placed 3rd in the state. They moved up to 6A and are looking to keep that momentum going. If you ask me, I feel like if they make state finals, they will round out in the last couple of spots similar to Bell and Coppell from area B in 2016. Waxahachie’s main focus this year is clearly UIL and they are clearly succeeding.
 
They placed near the bottom of finals at BOA DFW so making finals at BOA San Antonio will be a fight but they are doing amazingly on the UIL side of things this year.

84th Place:
Me after getting lost on the way to the bathroom and accidentally walking on the field.

Pretty sure CTJ isn't even CLOSE to even winded, much less dead so....as you were.....

If you look at the actual scores awarded from the judges and add them up, TC had a better score than Duncanville. Keller had a better score than Waxahachie even with that one crazy judge.

The thing that stood out to me most tonight was when the Keller and Timber Creek drum majors stayed on the field to talk when everyone left. It almost brought tears to my eyes. Keller is such a respectable program and it shows that these results are irrelevant compared to the relationships that these kids have with another. Bravo Keller and Timber Creek for being great humans!

The thing that stood out to me most tonight was when the Keller and Timber Creek drum majors stayed on the field to talk when everyone left. It almost brought tears to my eyes. Keller is such a respectable program and it shows that these results are irrelevant compared to the relationships that these kids have with another. Bravo Keller and Timber Creek for being great humans!