WanderingTraveler

Lone Star: ANNNND we are firing on all cylinders right off the bat. Crazy huge sound right off the rip, and we have some woodwinds borderline sprinting across the field. Way to make a statement. Cool visuals as sorrunding the props as they move onto the field. Got some impressive mello runs in the opener, along with some trumpet articulation features. Backfield spread out woodwind arcs spacing is questionable right before the ballad. Great projection from the Woodwinds in their feature to open the ballad, into a very artistically done flute solo. Great backfield playing by the brass. Good clarinet solo to lead us into our ballad hit, well done. Guard work here is simple but effective. Ensemble visual work is good, few individual stick outs. Articulation, especially in the high brass is great in the closer. Great use of the field here, spread across the whole field. Bones really warm timbre in the final chord before running backfield and spreading these road tarps all the way backfields. This show definitely doesn’t lack content. What a journey. Definitely in my top 5 conversation, good job.

Harlingen South: Yall have a lot of trees! Pre show effects with these members in white, grey and black is done well! Reminds me of Hebrons opening last year. Great opening woodwind ensemble. EXCUSE ME?!?! Y’all sound phenomenal on this first hit, good sound quality. Enjoying the skirts on the guard unis. Technical passages in thr high brass to start, well done. Nice drum wraps to match the uniforms. WW runs perfectly executed. MELLOS ripping through this texture. Few fracks in these technical passages, but nothing major. First tree flips around to reveal blue. WWs are super audible in their portions. Butterfly wings to end the ballad is a super cool effect. Few moments where the ensemble balance is shrill in the moving portions. All the trees have flipped to show color now. Spacing in full forms is falling in on itself in the closer for a few sets. Individual visual is excellent in this ensemble though. Great balanced chord with a great release to end the show. Visually what an incredible show, theme and moving parts were super effective. I was not familiar with this bands game, this might be the shock of the day for me. Great job.

Liberty Hill: Cool Concept! These are some dope props, which definitely help sell the effect here. Smaller band but powerful sound to start the show. Seems a trumpet lost a shako, swiftly recovered by an on field judge. Cool visual interaction with the pinball. Some saber work from the guard midfield during this ballad solo work. Bari sax helping the sousas a bit with the lowest voicing of these chords. Few stick out trumpets as we pick back up. The lights on these mid field props are simple but I like them! Great sounds from the ensemble coming off of the Daft Punk portion. This show was fun, a theme committed to and done super well.

College Station: I spy the Phantom Regiment 2023 props! I like the color that was added. Drumline to start the show, and I am impressed. Strong brass statement to start the show. Sousa solo sounds good with the strange rhythmic work alongside. Front ensemble was getting into it while there was a sync solo. Most of the show so far has been fairly full ensemble. Unable to make any comments on the WW. Flue solo into french horn, both with great tone. Trombone joined in for a few notes, and absolutely warm texture. Dynamically, the final chord of the ballad gave me chills. Down to super soft and so balanced, great take. Props coming together in the closer to reveal these nice stained glass windows. Getting some help here at the end to fill the field with flags. Nothing super exposed in this show, outside of solos, but beautifully balanced ensemble, and sole great musicianship here. Good job College Park.

Aledo: From cars last year, to planes this year…Boats next year? 👀 Effect for this show has been fun this year. Guard with the glow sticks controlling the planes. Front flats are nice, with some of the flats spilling onto the field. Cool way to fly from the straight lines into the field. The drill for the show is well done, starting with this expanding flag set. Drum line seems out of sync with this front field strong ensemble. First few full impacts, what a great sound. Loud and balanced. Trumpet solo accompanied by these woodwinds that are running through these notes. The fly over to get the band from off the group to set is super well done from an effect perspective. Forms have been consistently pretty strong, but sometimes when visuals are introduced its throws it off a bit. Drums in an exposed section with this trumpet mello duet, both were nails. Some great power behind these rhythmic punches. Great powerful sound quality to end the show. Best run I have seen this season, so much energy. Good job.

Lubbock-Cooper: Super effective preshow, and some cool visuals to get members in their starting position. Theres no way dragging that member through the door didn’t hurt Opener was great with some challenging rep. I like the props for this show, but the staging limits the use of the field. Great sax soloist, great vibrato. Part 2 (Im assuming) has some great full chord moments. Okay, doors are moving opening up the field a bit more. Great visual spacing across the ensemble, ending the ballad in a stunning curve set. Brass with some good articulation work, with some visuals thrown in. Cool experimenting with some stuff in the closer. The GET -> OUT drill was cool. Visuals to end the show were fun and add to the effect of the show. Thematically, super fun show. Great job LC!

Lake Belton: Been looking forward to seeing this show. There is some REP in this show. Opening statement from these amazing french horn players. Amazing full ensemble visual contributions, with some super well done flag work in the beginning. Some outstanding WW technical passages here, into high brass feature, followed by low brass. Few forms on side one are collapsing. Balance in this ensemble is super supported by the low brass, love it. Flute ensemble for Elsas was great, and the back field moment here is absolutely beautiful. Guard start spreading from their cluster to fill the field, while the brass deliver a heart wrenching impact as they turn around. Right back into some clarinet small ensemble work. Wow the guard for LB is good. The staging for this closer drill is nice, with a beautiful visual tapestry. Some slight degradation of sound at the end. Well done, would not be shocked if this is in finals.

Kaufman: Loving these props, super well done. Preshow opening visuals in this ripple are well executed. First thing that stands out is incredible horn carriage from this group. Nice brass sound cross group, especially from the trumpets. Sound compromises a bit when moving. Heck yeah woodwinds, getting active at the beginning. Theme today seems to be flute solos, and another great one for Kaufman. Really enjoy the guard work during this ballad impact, the flags are really cool. Loving the ‘Under The Sea’ as the closer starts, with the props now flickering. Tenor is ripping through these notes, nice job. Some of these curvy forms look like they have flattened out a bit. Nice trumpet feature. Final impact, with a huge sound. Few mellos cracking, but then locked right back in. Nice recovery. Way to finish, and congrats!

Leander: Alright, first time seeing the screens live, let us see. Love the sax quartet. Ok, theres a lot going on here. Great articulation cross-ensemble. Trumpets nice feature, with some woodwind sections intertwined. Call and response across the ensemble into some chunky chords. Good spacing in these forms. The guard soloist dancing with the screen person was cool. Good ballad hit with some nice guard work. Some great sounds from the ensemble, with an occasional high brass member sticking out of the texture. This section at the end is super groovy with this soloist. Lots of challenging drill while maintaining sound quality. Fun! Sorry my comments were limited, I was trying to catch everything. So the verdict: That was… a lot in person. It is incredibly hard to focus on any one thing while the screen is playing. The performance and these performers are all super talented, and I think it is distracting, but not to a negative degree. It’s just something new that I have not seen before. It’s pushing the envelope in a new direction, and I have respect for that. Wanna see this again in finals while trying to not write comments at the same time, before saying more. Still well done and good job!

Hanks: Why are we holding the Sousas like that coming on the field Visual backdrop is stunning and cool uniforms. Wondering why the Xs on the non-face + joker cards. Woodwind technique right of the rip, well done. Tasteful use of trombone in the opening statement, almost assuming the role of a mello. Good ensemble visual. Slight left or right phasing when the ensemble is spread 20-to-20. Good chord like sound, even in these punctuated rhythms. Cool visual run through from the brass during the WW ballad moment. Good ripple from the guard with these pink flags being brought out. Great ensemble sound at the end of the ballad. Heck yeah trombone solo! Trumpets with some work in the background, into a trombone exposed moment, nice. Great ending, good job!

Wakeland: I need some sunglasses! Just kidding Cool opening form, with an impressive opening statement from both the ensemble and the guard. OK MELLOS!!! And that was just the preshow! Great drumline moment right here at the beginning, especially with the running around they are doing. Into a great duet. Excellent display of technique and articulation from the brass. Beautiful tone from the french horn soloist. Ensemble visual locked in during this sax ensemble, super well defined. Texture at the beginning of the ballad is well scored, and interesting use of silence here as well. Some spacing issues front and center to end the ballad, but fixed with a visual. Mellos ripping through the texture in a good way in some of these closing chords. Great defined releases. Beautiful and powerful to end the show, great job. Looks like a medalist to me, more to come though.

Lakeview Centennial: Cool prop staging with the guard on top. One listen to this brass choral in the endzone and I am already excited to hear the sound from this group. Great visuals in the preshow. Liking the wraps for these drums, similar to the front flats. The visual in the opening hit was super creative. Enjoyable drill writing, with a good use of the field. Some high brass tuning issues during this opening. Good small ensemble work. Sole challenging music for this opener, especially with syncing with the feet. Despite this being UIL, visual in this show helps sell the effect. Danzon time! Great flute solo! Some exposed drumline stuff leading into the closer, with MAMBO!! For some of these ensemble moments the low brass has some foundation, but especially in the ballad, some chords felt top heavy. Super fun closer, with some great guard work. Super enjoyable show top to bottom.

Roma: Love the musical selections for this show. Opening up with a talented soprano sax soloist. Opening hit and I can already tell this ensemble does articulation well. Okay snares, great chops and not scared to give them some exposed sections, well done. Balance across the ensemble is good, even with some of these funky chords. Great use of dynamic range at the end of the opener, and that last chord had such a great release. Great flute solo. Some overall spacing issues in these forms we are sitting in for a bit in the ballad. Individual visual seems well defined. Writing in the closer gives the woodwinds a lot of responsibility to keep the momentum going forward, well done, but the writing felt thin — thats mainly a content comment. Talented players, great show, good job.

La Porte: Some talented trombone players leading into the opening hit. I love Scheherazade so this show already gets brownie points, but very well done. Good opening statements from high to low brass trade off. Visual storytelling on the center stage is well done. Sax soloist sounds good, and I see a flute next to them, but not hearing that. Snare tuning is quite nice. Really enjoy that nobody is sticking out of the texture, everyone knows their role. Some inconsistencies in marching technique as we move into the closer. Great showing from La Porte, welcome back to the state marching contest!

Midlothian: Visual tapestry across the field is really cool. Enjoying these guard uniforms. Preshow was simple but effective. Bari sax was groovin!! Seems snare and bari were in disagreement, but locked in after the trumpet joining. Ensemble sound is mature, and ensemble visual seems well defined. Some high brass inconsistencies, noticed in exposed sections in the opener. Flugel quartet super warm and BEAUTIFUL tone. Backfield playing is super effective in the ballad. Some slight disagreements in the battery heading into the closer. Guard in the closer was nice, and the entire closer was fun! Props to the bari soloist, great playing throughout the show. These guys killed it.

Hendrickson: Really cool opening visually. Great sounds for the first ensemble of the day. Interesting uniform design. Visually pretty clean, especially in more fluid forms. Some great soloists to start the day. Despite the weather being fairly cold outside, some super warm sound, especially in the buildup in the closer. Loved the butterfly set here. Great way to start the day.

Good morning! Grabbing breakfast and then walking over to the stadium. Super excited for getting to see everyone today, and will try to give updates (Whatever connection I can get).

Well, its my favorite contest of the season. Looking back at my way to early predictions from 2024, and obviously my thoughts have changed a bit. I could go on and on about my thoughts but I’ll limit to a few. Area B, LT did come back with vengeance, and they look VERY strong. Pieper and MN being first out at area opens up for Argyle and someone else. I think the Aledo / BC race ~felt~ close this year, so wouldn’t be surprised if theres a shake up at this contest. Im glad Midlothian did end up having a successful season, and I still see them in finals. I have Lake Belton as first out today at this current moment. More to come! Predictions: 1: Cedar Park HS 2: Rouse HS 3: Wakeland HS 4: Lone Star HS 5: Leander HS 6: Lebanon Trail HS 7: Aledo HS 8: Argyle HS 9: Burleson Centennial HS 10: Hendrickson HS 11: Friendswood HS 12: Midlothian HS

Still working on predictions for this contest, but one thing to note here. Argyle and Aledo had back-to-back performance times at BOA, and Argyle came out on top. Argyle scored higher in both music and visual, although Aledo placed higher in visual ensemble and individual music.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?!?

BOA San Antonio Super Regional Finals Results: 1. Flower Mound (97.40) 1. Hebron (97.40) 3. Vandegrift (96.30) 4. The Woodlands (94.60) 5. Pearland (94.10) 6. Ronald Reagan (93.20) 7. Cedar Park (92.40) 8. Rouse (92.35) 9. Vista Ridge (92.00) 10. Cedar Ridge (90.25) 11. Keller (90.15) 12. Dripping Springs (90.15) 13. Moe & Gene Johnson (89.60) 14. Bridgeland (88.25) Caption Awards: Music: Hebron Visual: Flower Mound GE: Flower Mound A TIE?

Bands are almost on the field for full retreat now.

No, seems drumline is setting up tho

Any news here?

Fair, I'm moreso following up on my comments from this morning musically