WanderingTraveler

Thats a wrap on 5A state prelims! Overall another great year with incredible showings from top to bottom. Excited to see how this shakes out. Unfortunately there are going to be some great bubble bands left out of finals, but there was not a single performance I watched today that isn’t deserving of being here. All bands should be incredibly proud of the products they put out today. Good luck everyone

Slight website slowdown, sorry. McCallum: Last show of the day, and coolest uniforms IMO! Overall great contrast on the field, from unis to props. Great visual opening from the guard, with the wind players doing some ripples work before picking up their instruments. Super in-sync visual to move into these opening complex drill sets. Flute solo into opening impact, well done. Ripple as we finish this statement, overall individual visual seems good. This articulation lick going from trombones to high brass, followed by a larger feature. No mud here, nice! Great job sax duet. Low brass playing some interweaving notes with this woodwind technique happening alongside. Great mello trio into WW feature, only complaint is the mello trio was fairly soft and the WWs shot the volume up immediately. Seemed there was a dynamic shift. There are some fairly big step sizes in this closer, sole degradation of upper body here, but this is the only instance I have seen. Great articulation feature from the brass, as the WWs are faint backfield, seems to be a big strength for this group. WW brass run through to merge mid field for the final impact. Great job band.

Cedar Park: Starting staging has woodwinds and brass split with a majority of mid field vacant. Cool guard work as the woodwinds play ominous chords. Cool sounding chords as we add the brass in. The shost book when arranged like this is super difficult, great job. WWs are ripping through these notes. Nicely done battery in your feature! Some cool guard effects woth the flags, cross field, as we end the ballad with some powerful sting notes. Great visual contributions and backfield playing, as we have this trombone solo playing over top. Full ensemble in as the ballad concludes, with a beautiful crisp sound as the trombone soloist finishes soaring over the ensemble. Some guard ripples to shine over to the WWs as we transition to the closer. Few spacing inconsistencies, especially in the closer. But overall visual package is very solid. Great sounds to end the show. Excited to see yall once more tomorrow when Im not writing recaps. Good job! See ya tomorrow.

A&M Consolidated: We got a yin-and-yang stage un front w some stair step cube panel flats. Show about patterns perhaps?! Started w the band laying on the field, straight into some REALLY strong chords. Very impressed by sound quality of this group. Great depth of sound, remaining even on double tonguing. Nice bass feature in an exposed battery section. Good spacing across most forms, and good cover downs. Liking what I am seeing from an individual visual package, just some inconsistency in range of buy-in. Nice work from this flute player in her ballad solo. Pink swing flags brought out for the ballad, visual nice pallet here. Great use of dynamic control right before the start of the Danzon solos. WW are having some good phrasing, even in these more technical sections. Fun way to end the show. Impressive showing, hope to see yall in finals!

LT: Seen y’all a few time and I love the commitment to the theme. From flats, to on field props, to shakos and guard, very thoughtful across the board. Preshows visuals in the guard help set the stage, while the band in laying in the center doing some visual work. Starting musical moments from a small quartet up front w rite of spring into a super warm build up to an opening impact. Great drum line to pick the tempo up. Visually seems we got some great fundamentals. Woodwinds splitting into pods, as the brass have an articulation feature — semi unbalanced here. Great half time marching led by the trombones, in a follow the leader…great spacing here. Full field now in effect as an oboe solo begins, while guard take out some multi blade scythe looking things. Cool effect. Crunchy chords at the ballads climax, few shrill trumpets sticking out of the texture. Some great guard work overall, super locked in and counts seem well defined. Great conclusion and final chord, super powerful. Good show. Good execution. Great musicians. Good job.

8:45 is marked as retreat time.

BV Lopez: Great backfield playing to start the production, beginning you can y’all understand use of dynamic really well. Straight into WW technique and brass articulation features. Very well executed. Very full bodied sounded here in the opener, with some good musical direction. Added visuals across non playing sections are a good effect. Forms in the ballad have some holes that are either spacing issues or actual holes. Great flute soloist. To bring us out of the ballad. WW feature at the beginning of the closer very well done, only s bit of fluff at the end, but very audible. Nice full articulate chords to end the production. Great showing tonight!

I second this! Battery sounded good! Some good FE work as well.

North Mesquite: Liking the guard uniforms to match the stage, front flats, etc. Great opening clarinet + flute. Well defined horn carriage. First impact, super bottom up band timbre. Right into some section work, pretty good technique here just some slight intonation things. Cool forms and accurate spacing in these blocks opener. Ballad started w some Bruno Mars on sax, into a flute and clarinet pairing. Well done, and great vibrato. Liking the swing flags in the ballad to match everything mentioned before. Coming out of the ballad, quick WW moment into this nice brass fanfare w some tricky articulation…but done v well. Much more power than the opening, as we shift into Holst. Ended in a great pretty form resembling the uniform pattern. Great job Big Blue!

Back for the final block of prelims, and I’ll stick around to report finals advancing bands! Horizon: Great opening here! Smaller band but great sounds here. Good cover downs in these blocks in the opener. Some great guard work surrounding an excellent trombone soloist! Super well defined marching technique from these members! Battery sounds good! Few of the curvy forms on side 2 had some form maintenance issues going into the ballad. Big sets however, seemed pretty good, and didn’t seem like they were folding in on themselves. Nice build up musically here in the ballad. Some nice runs in the front ensemble to transition into the closer. Powerful chords while entering these block forms, fee high brass out of the texture. Great way to end out! Nice showing band!!

Brenham: Great showing from Brenham! Not much to say on my end. Good sounds, love the rep, soloists did an amazing job.

Richland: Rocking show! Love this props. They pop very well on the field, even over the stream. Drill is very complimentary to the show theme commitment. SO MANY FLAGS in the ballad. One of the coolest visual statements of the day. A triangle section?! Overall great sounds, cool use of props, visually stunning, and another I could see making finals.

Glenn: Great sounds and great style. Just a clean show, some good musical content, and backed by great execution. Duet in the opening sounded good so did the flugel! Some visual dirt in some forms, but individual visual seems defined. A bit flat from the effect perspective but shouldn’t matter here. Potential finalist!

PSJA North: Seeing the Parents walk around earlier with the little Remy from Ratatouilles was cracking me up. Love the spaghetti prop, full show theme commitment is great. Great full ensemble sounds are great, love the bottom up balance from the group. Different colored chefs hats for different members is fun. Using the different parts of the spaghetti as guard props is creative. Great soloists, love the goofy theme, and great execution.

Hays: Opening hit with the flute duet soaring on top. Trombone feature was super fun! Some super exposed woodwind feature moments, followed by some articulation features from the brass. Huge sound from this group, pushes it a few times, but overall good! Beautiful ballad with an outstanding soloist. Transition period with battery and front ensemble, well done! Pretty good form management on hit sets, some transitions people fall out of the form. Super high energy show, great ending sax soloist, good job.

Argyle: The 2A (BOA SA) champs! Starting with the tuba and euph duet, great job. Visually already know this is very clean. Forst impact, and YALL BRING SOUND!!! Individual visuals are super locked in. Slight hiccup in the trumpet feature today. Another great example of using space effectively, especially in phrasing. HOLY MELLOS! Great way to bring it. Slight spacing issues going into the ballad on side 2. Great sax solo while the ensemble does some fluid visual work across the field. Woodwinds join, followed by the brass, handled super delicately. Great job. Great moment from the guard to finish out the ballad. Ends playing backfield as the guard member with the wheat (?) finishes out front. Visual package baked into this program is great, maximum GE Cool high step marching getting into the hit of the closer as they play Mahler. Very visual inconsistencies individually at the end. Great sound at the end! Good job. Unfortunately my commentary will be limited for the next few bands as I head out of the stadium and resume watching from my phone for a bit. But hope to get something out for each band.

Barbers Hill: Haven’t seen this show yet this season, but assuming this has something to do with The Joker. Really cool staging for this city and centered circle prop. Drum majors with different colored plumes/gloves (purple, orange, and green). Now the staging has split and members have fallen into HA HA HA on the field. Great preshow! Starting with some flags reading HA HA as well. Nice technique from the woodwinds. Nice sax quartet. OH LOW BRASS. Nice sounds coming from yall. Like the hammers in the guard. Drumlines go some chops, along with these runs in the front ensemble. Full ensemble grove section, some great stylistic buy-in from the gull ensemble. The band is selling the effect of the show very well, great contributions from all corners. Some visual work on side 2 while the woodwinds have a feature moment. Pretty good spacing so far, few curves flattening out a bit, not too noticeable. Speaking(?) solo into trumpet duet. Now we got some brass technique, executed VERY WELL. Great way to end. Theres a lot going on in this show, a bunch of random stuff, but it works! Very enjoyable and great design. Good job band.

Poteet: Nice sideline choral to set the tone. Preshow I am enjoying the staging, with flowers spread about and the panels not closing off the field too much. Guard uniforms are fun. Show starts very Bluecoats 2016, with some clapping. Super dense and warm woodwind feature to start the show. Great first impact, bass bone slightly sticking out of the texture. Guard in pods across the field. Brass technical feature went well, followed with an articulation feature that had a little fluff, but still good! Sousa solo, heck yeah! Good stuff. Stylistically, great opening movement! Flutter visuals across the field, as we got this trumpet / sax duet that was super pretty. Followed by a ballad hit, great sounds from the ensemble. Guard spread across the field with pink swing flags, visually stunning moment. Now we are groovin’! Excellent solo, followed by some section ensemble work. Nice job bones, stylistically in-sync except for a few notes. Bit of feet in the sound as we run up front for the final impact, but locked right back in afterwards. Great showing. Go Pirates!

Colleyville Heritage: Nice drum wraps to match the backfield props. Digging the uniforms. Cool visuals to spread out while the preshow is going. Slight feet in the sound at the beginning, quickly recovered. Good full ensemble sound, not pushing it. Good marching technique, seems consistent. Good form awareness while on the move. Nice brass sound going into the ballad, not overwhelming to make room for the soloists. Good mix of flute technique and slow melodic ensemble sounds. Great tag to end the ballad. Love that this sounds like it was pulled straight from the concert stage to the marching field for this Hindemith march closer. Some of the woodwind pitch in the exposed portion is slightly off. HECK YEAH BONES. Best part of the Hindemith march, and now it’s on the field. Challenging show, well done!

Rio Grande City: Flower show! Cool touch with the flower on the wrists. Super audible WW section, good feature at the beginning. Nice trumpet solo, and the whole section seems locked in with dynamic direction. Enjoy the flags with this major impact, cool ripple. Visual assignments across the ensemble are solid. Pretty good form awareness overall. Low brass punch impacts, followed by trumpet/mello technical portion. Some stick outs in the cover downs (during this brass ensemble feature) in the WWs on side 1. WW technical passage followed, overall good with some slight stick outs on the runs. Great finish.

Rouse: Good defined ripple visuals to start the show as we transition from the back field. Trumpet quartet sounds great to open the show, with a slow build to a great sound. Extremely balanced and powerful here with a great handle on releases. WW shredding in the back. Great front ensemble runs as we have this transition. Great tonguing feature from the brass, however a bit of fluff surrounding it. Great handling of that slow down from the ensemble. Y’all sound like an organ on these long sustains (shout out Opus ). Few spacing issues that were not there at BOA SA. Guard work in this ballad is great. These BARITONES sound so good in the texture. Individual visual receives no complaints from me, very well defined. Spread 15-to-15 and theres no phasing. Trumpet book in the closer sounds difficult, few stray note, but nice! Fun way to end, nice. Great job! Good luck gunning for gold.

Anderson: These props are well done! The howling from the parents to set up the preshow was hilarious. Trumpet duet killed it, those two sound good. Liking what I am hearing from this group. Some cool visuals while playing this opener. Nobody seems to be playing past their best sound. Some of the group visuals don’t seem fully adopted by the whole group timing wise. Liking these guard flags. Super dark sounds from this ensemble, nice. Always enjoy when theres prop interaction and they are not static, so nice on that front. WW lyrical feature was super audible. Watch the tuning on your entrance trombones! Drumline exposed during this ballad hit, and then a feature right after, good chops! Nice…uh…rifle(?) work from the guard. Some minor spacing issues with the moving forms as the tempo picks up. Trumpets and mellos displaying some crazy talent in the closer. Great chord to finish the show. Really enjoyed this show, especially from an effect perspective.

Amarillo: Im assuming before it’s announced this has something to do with caterpillars?! Cool guard costumes. Cool visual movement to start the show, into some back field playing, while a solo snare stacks to full drumline. Drill writing is nice, soke pretty exposed things right off the bat. Well done. Good sounds in these full ensemble moments, with there only being 6 tubas, ensemble texture sounds a hit top heavy, but they adjust very well. Forms are solid, not seeing much from a spacing perspective rn to fuss about. Cool costume change for the winds, the tarp effect over was cool. ++ GE Guard looks good, fairly strong showing here. Transition to the butterfly wings was cool. Musically the momentum is slowing a bit, but these members are doing a great job of execution. Nice! Welcome back after a few decades!

Friendswood: Im assuming these props were the ones last year, with alterations to this years show them! They look nice. Starting with some opening, ensemble work into a very tasteful opening hit. Shout out mellos! Enjoy the visual pallet here with the colored flags. Bit of instability right before this sectioned work. Okay woodwinds, killed those runs. Same with the brass feature, nice! Some slight stick outs on side 1 in the curve cosine looking form. Great power and balance to end their opener. Visual package in this show is very strong, especially individually. Great playing the ballad, not a super loud dynamic, with a very carolina-crown ending to the chord (7-1-2-1 I think). Coming out of the ballad, nice articulation high brass. Again, individual bent leg technique is great. Another great drumline, good features. Mellos are the highlight of this show, wow. Great way to end. More to say, but great power, good balance, and a great visual package. Goodluck!

BC: Mid tempo start with a perfectly balanced fanfare, with this incredible BC drumline already showcasing their chops! Minor spacing issues in these opening forms. Brass double tonguing feature went well! Another drum break, so clean. Interesting rendition of shost 10. Individual visual responsibility is high, and pretty clean. Some mud in the brass book here before going into this flute and sop sax duet. Enjoying how this woodwind opening for the ballad is scored, good balance — into good sounds from the brass. Duet had great tone and tuning to end their moment. This drumline is legit so impressive, great break again. Field is full gold as the backdrop’s have now extended and rolled onto the field. Huge sound as the winds scatter around into some pretty fast and complex drill. Soprano floating above the ensemble in this huge moment to end. Visually a beautiful way to end the show with the guard and the gold! Great job.