texastrumpetdad

Aledo’s show “Havana Nights” starts off very solid and then transitions into a great flute solo but then there were a couple tempo issues evident that will cost them. The french horn and trombone duet was melodic and polished. The ensemble balance was clean and stadium filling. Marching was pretty clean throughout. I believe they left the door open for the top spot. Good performance overall.

Saginaw takes the field with their show, “A road by any other name.” A big improvement from last years trampoline and balls show. The end of the ballad with the Romeo and Juliet music was powerful and the transition from there was fun and light. Might make finals

RL Turner kicks off the final block and sure enough we get more music from interstellar. A bit of a rough start but they recovered once the routine kicked in. There’s a lot of exposed parts in the middle section that could use some cleaning up. Trumpet solo was played with authority. Good full ensemble balance in the final section. Nice show!

The radar predictions are looking good for finals

Joshua’s show is “Rise Up” and finishes out the 2nd block. I loved the band’s entrance to the field from the “powerline” of the end zone as they individually take flight to their position…nice touch! The show falls a little flat in the middle but picks up nicely after the ballad. Nice tenor sax solo! Good finish to the show. Might have a chance at finals.

Birdville’s show is “Please Stand By”. Love the interstellar music in the pre show and the “beeping” trumpets from the towers (very nice addition.) Flute and trumpet solos were great! Percussion feature with the interstellar reprise was on point! Clean marching. Show length was bit short as was Azle’s surprisingly but a good solid show that we’ll see in finals if the weather holds out.

Good luck with that…I’m happy for their appearance today but let’s be realistic.

Azle’s show starts off nicely. Their set is nautical themed with a boat and helm as well as an oversized sexton. Unfortunate mic issues on their ballad solos that led to some tempo issues but they recovered well. Percussion nailed it during their feature. I think their brass tends to overpower their woodwinds and that may hurt them in UIL. Great brass section though 🙂 No problem with them making finals and likely top 6. The ballad can likely improve before finals.

Grapevine’s show is called “In Space” and has an interesting moon prop. The neon yellow and magenta colors pop off the field. Good overall look. Nice back field effect going into the ballad. They need to be careful of individuals sticking out but most of the time blend well. Good visuals with lots of sets throughout. They should be good for finals.

Arlington Heights show is “Songs of Sirens.” I recognize their shipwreck from Burleson Centennial’s WGI drumline show from last year. Great prop! Tempo issues with percussion prior to the brass feature but the brass cleaned that up. Very melodic flugel solo…great job with a mature tone. Head drum major has a nice flair!

Newman Smith is next with their show “Pathways”. Nice soloist throughout. Pretty clean marching too! The trumpet feature balanced nicely with the woodwind feature that followed. Cool overhead visual with the fabric! Nice show!

Everman is next to perform. This program is a delight to watch and these kids have really brought their program up to the next level. Soloist were clean with nice intonation. I look forward to seeing them grow their program over the next couple of years.

Colleyville Heritage is up to start off the second block with their show “Pop.” Clean musical opener, best I’ve heard from them this season. I would individually mic the clarinet feature so that all the voicing can be heard because a lot is lost with the single mic on the clarinet ensemble. Great bari sax solo that brought energy to the rest of the band. Musically the show is sound and marching is fairly clean but I just don’t get the theme and overall feeling of the show to be honest. Dedicating that many kids to the red balls seems odd and other than the colorguard outfits I don’t see how the show ties together with the theme? Definitely a finalist and likely top 6…not sure about top 4 depending on finals/no finals, etc.

No problem…I’m going to comment on each band today

Band Director

The last show before the first break is Cleburne with their show The Vine. Empty set that revealed a vine of players to start it off then went to back field playing leading up to their first hit. Nice opener. Good balance overall with nice visuals. Not sure it needed the spoken words (she did a great job though!) Good percussion and soloist. The bottom 4-5 finalist is going to be a hard choice after this first block.

Current word is that finals will be at 9pm

Summit’s show The 13th Floor is next. Great theme for Halloween weekend! Cohesive music for their opener. Tuba solo was clean and the woodwinds were a nice contrast to it. The added vocal embellishments were a welcomed addition. The clarinet/bass clarinet solo at the end was nice and the creepy drum majors finished it off. Definitely a rebuilding year from their success of 2 years ago with their pinball show, but it might squeeze into finals.

Granbury’s show this year is Painted. Nice trumpets to start it off with the mellos picking it up after them…good opener. The music was fairly clean overall but the marching had some issues toward the end. Not sure it’ll make finals.

Midlothian Heritage up next with their show “Red”. Nice opening woodwind feature…very clean. Musically it’s somewhat simplistic for the first half of the show. Low brass rocked it and let’s not forget the lone bass clarinet and bari sax on the end 🙂 we heard ya! High brass completed that feature nicely! Might not make the cut for finals but great job from one of the smaller schools.

Burleson is up next with their show entitled Across the Sky. The brass sounded good for the size and was pretty clean. The solos in the middle of the show were the best I’ve heard them this season. The added band members to the guard was a nice effect. Not sure I follow the theme throughout the show but it’s still fairly cohesive. They did have some tempo issues early on in the opener. Probably good enough for finals.

Brewer performed their show Cosmic Echoes. A clean run for them with a nice, balanced woodwinds with the brass. I liked the closer with the brass feature. Overall, it lacked a bit of energy but should be a safe for making finals.

Burleson Centennial show is entitled Breakaway. It’s themed from Kelly Clarkson’s song of the same name. The colorguard looked fantastic with their added outfits. All of the new visuals added were fantastic and the show was the cleanest it’s been all season. Great music and marching overall! Soloist were spot on! Percussion…wow! Speechless…what DCI group did they recruit this battery from???

Midlothian opened up the show with the Gift of Giving. Christmas themed show. Nice show with fairly clean music. Nice and big color guard. Looks like this year is a year of rebuilding for them.

Midlothian will take the field at 12:30pm and they’ve adjusted the schedule with 2 short breaks…no word yet on finals.