BlueCircle

Hoping for a tie for 10th so we can see 11 perform in finals, this competition is too insane

This has me intrigued and very excited about the possible ways Marcus could differentiate themselves this year!

It is a totally different design compared to Drinkwater?

Saw another video of Keller where they play through the ballad. It’s gorgeous, but my biggest complaint is that they don’t feature their woodwinds enough through the show. Based on the ballad source material, I’m surprised they didn’t do anything with the flute solo. It’s basically perfect marching band ballad material. In the video they didn’t have a transition put in place before the ballad and I think the flute solo would make a great ballad transition/outro. I also think it would be cool to put an effect on the trombone duet to match the ominous pre-show recording. Idk, this is just me being really nit-picky

I thought Carmel was absolutely beautiful...it’s shocking to me how clean they were, but that’s probably because I’m used to Texas bands who have much less rehearsal time and usually have more dirt and more unfinished productions at early competitions. Musically, I personality think that this is a very strong start for Carmel and visually it’s obviously stunning.

Unfortunate mic issues with the soprano solo I love the energy of the opener of Churchill’s show, great music choice and performance.

Roma really surprised me! Definitely a medalist contender.

McNeil is very well rounded. Great visual and music, the concept is really fun, and the guard is fantastic!

I personally think that JBA is a little heavy on narration but the musical energy they bring is unmatched so far. Wow.

Del Rio has a fantastic ensemble sound!

Some great technical playing from Sharyland! And their vocalist is so talented! Followed by an AMAZING clarinet solo!!!

I love the design of Mission’s show and I love how much emotion is put into it! It feels like a DCI show to me for some reason.

Bell has been so consistently great these pas free years even if they are as dominant as they used to be. I’m confident that they will still be top half at this competition.

I think a lot of the reason why Carmel and Avon are consistently at the top comes down to more rehearsal time. No matter how good Texas bands get at managing their time, more rehearsal time always will give out of Texas band an advantage. And I think it’s most apparent in color guard. Middle school color guard is not exactly commonplace, so a restriction on rehearsal time really affects how ambitious guards can be because so much of basics learning happens in high school.

KC: https://youtu.be/40MYB_YMM_k

They look great! I like how they look from far away too because the colors are very similar to traditional KC. Definitely prefer them to the firefly ones they did in 2016

There’s a video from Keller Central and I could definitely see them fighting for a finals spot here. The music is SO FUN and the color guard is seriously impressive, definitely one to watch out for.

Wow, I wonder who their new instructor is.

Was their guard noticeably weaker?

Hmmmm.........I wonder how far they are going to be set back after doing a complete show overhaul.

I think seeing how Marcus evolves is going to be interesting. As far as I know (and I might be very wrong) a lot of the design was done in-house by Drinkwater when she was there. And it was obvious that they were set up with that same caliber of design last year. So will the new directors be left to their own resources this year?

I think it’s always interesting to analyze the design dynamics that are present each year. The top DFW bands (FloMo, Hebron, Keller) have very sophisticated shows that are centered more around fundamentals and then there’s Leander and CTJ with these theatrical productions that are just plain fun. I love how there is so much variety in this activity and how there are many ways to success.

I love the FloMo visual style and how it’s present with the body movement at the start. It always amazes me how they are able to get so much out there so fast and still have it clean. The guard is spectacular. Musically I could see them and Keller fighting for second place at DFW. The show kind of reminds me of the Flo Modern show and the Ballad is definitely from the beginning of Surreal?

No, usually only flags.