radchad

The final block of the day is going to be hxc. I feel bad for any band that goes earlier in the day.

I don't know. If a band has had ONE good year, can it neccesarily be seen as a "RISING" band? Just wondering. Anyway. From what I have seen so far this year, I would have to say Conally, Akins, and Mansfield.

Okay, I am sorry. I am not saying every band should be like those two bands. I was merely trying to compare the two. Yes, I prefer louder and would probably choose an LD Bell show over a Marcus show any day. However. If you are not so loud, but play the music well and have great drill, guard work/color, and great technique.. I'd pick you any day. I appologize for not making myself clear. I tend to do that a lot. I type something before actually thinking about it. I promise I am working on it.

In my results, Creekview had first place. They were cleaner, especially in finals compared to Wylie. I don't know how closely anyone paid attention, but when you look at a marching show, just having each set clean isn't enough. The transitions between each set also have to be clean. Many of the sets in Wylie's show during finals were good, but the transitions were horrible. Straight lines I think were the worst. The visuals were well together and I think the guard had an amazing performance. I was at the back for this performance, so it was hard to get an accurate overview of the entire production. When Wylie was facing the back of the field(towards me) the tuning in the brass section was sort of disturbing. I don't know if it was just me, the wind, the stadium, or what, but I really didn't like that part of the show. Don't get me wrong. Their sound was awesome from what I could tell when they were facing in the front. I didn't exactly understand the guard in this part of the show. Maybe the concept was beyond me, but the cloak-like things were just there. The final flag feature was awesome and very together. Out of all the bands I saw, they handled the wind the best. The closer(I think it was the closer) sounded great. Wylie had a fantastic prelims performance. I had them in first in Prelims, but after the dirty drill and tuning issues in finals, Creekview moved to first for me. Creekview has an excellent show concept this year. From what i remember last year, their overall sound and blend is tons better than it was last year, and they had an excellent musical performance in both prelims and finals. I think halfway through the show the concept is sort of lost, but is picked back up in the end. I think this just has to do with the lack of visuals and a complete show. I am sure they will add the proper things needed to make this show go places. I am sad they aren't going to BOA Arlington, but hopefully I get to see them sometime later in the season. Creekview's drill overall was interesting and for the most part clean. Their marching technique surpassed what they looked like in prelims. In prelims it seemed like many forgot about their technique and focused on getting to their sets. It is early in the season, so i am not going to be too hard on them for that. In finals this seemed to disappear and their technique was great. Haha, BASICS BLOCK IS WORKING! :] I should have done this last night because now I barely remember what i was going to say about them musically. I think the guard needs to be a little more involved within the drill. Last year the band I was in got knocked because for pretty much the whole closer, the guard was around the back of the field, away from the band. Just a little more color integration would definitely make this show a little more appealing. Either way, Creekview and Wylie were great. I think something that is helping Wylie so much this year is the adding of Todd Dixon as the director. I have to admit, I have never admired that guy, but what he does is pretty darn good. Drill writing could be better, but the musical portion is kickA$$.

Thank you. And I appologize to anyone who may feel the same way. xD I get excited too easily. So when I start saying something, it just flows out like word vomit. Reviews for Creekview, Wylie, Aledo, and Sachse coming soon.

Okay.. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to annoy anyone. That was just my thoughts on that one band. I plan on making the same thing for the others. They just happened to be the easiest to speak of. But it is my opinion, and there is nothing in this forum stating that I cannot do so. If you have anymore problems with it, could you next time PM me with it instead of taking it public?

UTA is an Exhibition again this year. If I am not mistaken, I think TCU might also be, but I could be wrong. AND UGH. I feel sorry for anyone who goes early in the day.

Just adding on to what the person above me said about Mansfield. I agree, this show is difficult. I don't know if you saw Mansfield's show last year, but it was pretty high maintenance as well. I think one of the great things about their show this year, is they are doing music that you HAVEN'T and won't hear anywhere else this year. I don't know if you noticed, but Mansfield marches during a lot of the harder music spots, unlike many bands who stop when difficult parts come along. No way am I saying they are the only ones who don't. I too enjoyed this show very much. The guard work is hands down the hardest in this competition. Could they have pulled it off better? Yes. However, in prelims the first Double was AMAZING. If they just catch their tosses and work on timing in the fourth movement, this guard is going to be a tough one to beat. Marching wise, I believe this band had some of the best all around marching technique. Many of the bands I witnessed had many different intepretations of a certain marching technique all in their band. Mansfield, it's not like that. From a musical standpoint the first movement was awesome. When they started Lux Arumque(sp?), there were some matching and tuning issues in the trumpets and some in the trombones. Also, the tubas were a little overbearing with a few sticking out. This faded into Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap. I LOVED this part of the show. The saxaphone soli was definitely a great choice here. The woodwinds circling them with their hats off was a very nice touch. I don't know, but I just feel that the brass didn't have any parts of the show for themselves. Let me see. Movement 4 started out okay, but the guard had some issues with timing. The drumline began to phase at times but quickly got back in before it really was that noticable. One thing that irked me was that in both prelims and finals, there was a trombone(I think it was a bass trombone) that was sticking out during the whole part. It was definitely noticable and added an unwanted sound to the blend. It was hard to hear the trumpet solo because of the wind, but it was good. A few of the pit members seemed to forget pieces of the fourth movement, but the ones who remembered it made up for them., The show began in an arrow and ended in arrows. I definitely like this show and it is most enjoyable. The music is enjoyable and the drill is hard. Perfect show. Okay. I am exhausted. I will review the other bands tomorrow.

D: A lot of people dropped out of the BOA Arlington.

Oh yeah, I know who it is. I just didn't say the name because a lot of people don't know much about DCI. Thanks though. xD

I wonder what animal Marcus is going to do this year? xD

Well I don't always agree with the judges. xD In my eyes, if a show has a theme.. and you add props and crazy guard costumes to it.. then the entire show needs to fit the theme ALONG with Great marching technique and outstanding musicianship. Also, I am tired of seeing bands with simple-**** drill and making it to the top. The reason the marching technique is so good is because the drill is easy. I admire bands with hard drill that do it well than bands who do easy drill excellently. It's a turn off when a band does too much standing still, easy music, or not hard enough guard work. I look at many different angles of a show.. so my opinions ususally come out way deeper and outlandish than others.

There have been airplane shows done before. Colleyville or someone did one a few years back. It was boring. D: I haven't seen Sachse yet, though. A Drum Corp did an airplane show in '05. It had to do with Geometry and its role in aerodynamics. It was good. Just rambling. xD

Mansfield - 4. Would have been five, but the trumpet player made first chair all state jazz.

Not to mention.. I think every band that made finals at the 2006 Arlington is there this year. Reagan would have been if they hadn't dropped. Plus those that went to State. Richland, Hebron, LD Bell, Marcus.

.. Stop comparing Mansfield to another band. You're in the band. Yes, Reagan did have a lone soloist left on the feild. That doesn't mean it's similar. I have watched '05 Reagan many times and there are DYNAMIC differences in the show.. both musically and visually. It's Mansfield. Unique. Nothing like anyone has done. This is the kind of spirit you need, bro.

I wasn't saying that. What I am saying is that LOUDER AND GREAT PLAYING is better than both. Or whatever. I wasn't bashing. I was just stating what i saw watching the performances. So, if I compared them to Mansfield, would that be fair? Just trying to understand your logic.

*Berkner H.S. TX Clear Brook H.S. TX *Colleyville Heritage H.S. TX *Coppell H.S. TX Elkins H.S. TX Fossil Ridge H.S. TX Frisco H.S. TX George Bush H.S. TX *Haltom H.S. TX *Hebron H.S. TX Judson H.S. TX *L.D. Bell H.S. TX *Mabank H.S. TX *Mansfield H.S. TX *Marcus H.S. TX Martin H.S. TX McNeil H.S. TX *Newman Smith H.S. TX Northwest H.S. TX *Owasso H.S. OK Plano West Senior H.S. TX *Pleasant Grove H.S. TX Princeton H.S. TX *Putnam City H.S. OK *Richland H.S. TX W. Charles Akins H.S. TX *Westfield H.S. TX Winnsboro H.S. That's the list. Just found it. Basing it off last year and experience.. the ones with stars are the EXPECTED for a spot in finals.

[quote name='JustAddWat3r' date='Sep 25 2007, 06:11 PM'] whats wrong with sachse? oh and i screwed up my predictions...i thought it said coppell not carroll.... number won! [/quote] Aww shut up. HAHAHA. Making fun of my mistakes. SHAME ON YOU. :] I messed mine up to. My comp did one of those freezy things.. and I clicked sumbit. It came out with Mansfield in second instead of first. I didn't even want Plano in there.

Actually. If I may say so. It is nothing like Reagan. While Reagan is known for their original concepts, this one is in a class of its own. And the guard is awesome. :] Just thought I'd add a bit.

Hebron wasn't that good. The whole DDR dance part made it evident that they spent a LOT of time on that opposed to other important parts of the show. It was cool, but not phenominal. >_> I can't wait to see the bands this year. I believe LD Bell is going. I heard they earned the privelage of performing last due to the win last year. Does anyone know if Reagan is going this year? I know they dropped out of it last year. Others that I would think would be there(who knows if they are): Haltom. Richland. Keller. Bowie. Marcus. Boswell.

In response to the post about Marcus earlier in this thread.. Now, their show was good. Don't get me wrong. I was a little biased from last year. The birds were too much... ESPECIALLY in retreat. Yes, visually they are great and the guard is getting better. However, compare their sound to the sound of other bands. Their show this year was actually pretty quiet.. considering. LD Bell playing their first big hit would COMPLETELY cover up the loudest part of the Marcus show. There were many bands that in my opinion deserved higher rankings in music. Also, i mean no offense, nor am I bashing Marcus. But watching the Finals perforance at State, I noticed that it lacked. The drill was sort of sloppy and once again it was quiet. Are they one of the best in the state? I guess so. On top? No way.

Look at it this way. Every state other than Texas can practice as much as they want. They can also start their drill earlier, while in Texas it's August 1st. That being said. HOW MANY TEXAS BANDS WERE IN BOA GRAND NATIONAL FINALS? Can we say 4? And the other two scored pretty high in semi finals. Yeah. It just goes to show you how good they REALLY are. I mean. Less time. As great or better performance. Staying on the MARCHING BAND discussion.. I dread watching Duncanville, Coppell, and the Colony. No offense, but their shows have always been quite boring and quite unoriginal. Coppell had all white uniforms and flags(guard uniforms, too) and it blinded the audience. I got a headache watching it. All the bands are so different. I mean. If you see a Reagan show. You KNOW it's Reagan. Same with Bell.

Look on Google Video mainly. You can find LD Bell's 2006 Finals Nationals Performance on YouTube. Also, I think every Ronald Reagan show is online, whether it be YouTube or Google. I can post some links. I know where to find many of them.

I asked my director how much his writing program was. It was somewhere between $600 and $1000. I have been saving up to get it myself.