ThaximusPrime

New ending? Great...that definitely means I am going to have to pay for the Fan Network subscription so that I can watch Nationals live versus just waiting for the DVD. Van Matthews is always trying to perfect his show...and always changing drill or music, or both at the last minute. I was looking forward to crying again at this show, but not so soon. lol. Thanks for the info. I really hate not being in Texas anymore, especially in the DFW area. In the evenings I run at Yorktown High School in Arlington, VA, and their band program is ridiculously small. A marching band that only has 65 members cannot successfully perform Stravinksy's Firebird Suite. Only Phantom Regiment could pull that off.

I don't think Marcus is the size that would prohibit them from moving around. They are large, but they have plenty of room to move about. And not to bring this up again, but if they didn't have their massive props (which for the most part are interesting), they would have plenty of room. There is only one band I have ever seen that was too big to move around, and that is the Allen High School band. This year was the biggest I have ever seen, marching 646. That is just ridiculous. Even if they split their band in two, it would be larger than any other band. Here is their video for this year.

How did I miss that. Both videos are from the same user. Thanks for posting that. I tear up watching Bell's closer every time. The theme music to the HBO Miniseries "The Pacific" definitely pulls on the heart strings.

This is the Marcus show at UIL State. I couldn't find anything on Bell yet.

I do believe that this would be the case for most people. But for myself, I have a music degree from the University of Houston (i.e. Texas's band director factory), and I marched with the Blue Coats for two years. I am an assistant director at a high school in the Washington, DC area (as well as being the marching director based on my experience in high school and in drum corp). Part of being in the marching community is that it is just that...a community. The best part of being in a community is the fact that you can have a controlled debate without intentionally hurting people's feelings. While my post may have seemed to come from some irate marching fanatic that only enjoyed the shows produced by L.D. Bell., that is definitely not the case. I was entertained by the Marcus show, but was not pleased with their placement. I wasn't pleased by a lot of bands placements, at several of the Texas competitions. And I am pretty sure that will carry on to Nationals. My main frustration is best said by the person above. Marcus has the most resources available to it and has talented instructors and students alike. The fact that they are such an established name and are unwilling to do anything different is the cause of most of my frustration. I was that way with Bell for the longest time. I will continue to watch and support any band program that is willing to get out there and do a good job, no matter who it is. But just as a parent looking at their child, you become frustrated when they do not realize their full potential; that goes for all bands, especially Marcus and Bell. Lets hope next year we will see two shows that are groundbreaking and new. I am enjoying the conversation, but I really need to do something else today. lol. Here is something we can all enjoy while we contemplate our next thoughts on this ongoing debate between Marcus and L.D.Bell. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veLZcJQFJs0...=1&index=37

I completely agree with your opinion on their dynamics, or lack there of. I don't have to have a band that blows my ears out, but complex dynamics are needed to pull off a successful show, especially from a band that is very theatrical anyway.

I actually don't mind the props. Props can add to a show as long as you are not relying on them to be your whole show. Marching band is theatrical, props or not. Color and a few props enhances the show, but when it comes down to it, it is marching band. There are two main elements, music and marching. A good band needs to play well and march well simultaneously. A great band needs to play difficult music well, and march difficult drill well simultaneously. That, for now, is something that Marcus simply cannot do. I dare them next year to prove me wrong.

I'm sorry...am I simply the only person in Texas (or rather out of Texas since I now live in Washington, DC) that thinks that Marcus is the most overrated band in the state? Do they have skill....yes. Are they great...no. There are three things that set a great band apart from the rest. Music, visual, and the level of difficulty of the two previously mentioned categories. In order to be a great band, you can't rely just on your music. Marcus has done this for years. They march extremely easy shows and pair it with excellent music. If I just wanted to hear music, I would go to their band concerts. I attend Texas marching competitions to be stimulated by the largest concentration of the best marching bands in the USA. I cherished my time in high school when I was competing against area bands like L.D. Bell, Duncanville, Haltom, Richland, Hebron, Berkner, Coppell, as well as the southern Texas bands, like Churchill, Reagan, Westfield, Spring, Westlake, The Woodlands, and James Bowie (wish their was a bigger distinction between the James Bowie and Bowie high schools). I hate that a simple band with great music has infiltrated to the top ranks of the Texas powerhouse bands. I used to be in tune with what Marcus had to offer. I first became a fan of the Marcus band program several years back when they did their "Under the Sea" program. I thought it was a little too cutesy, but it was very clean and the music was phenomenal. But again, their drill was incredibly simple. You can only hide behind lobster claws, starfish, charging seahorses and giant clams for so long. And I didn't even mention a giant ladybug and the huge lilies from the following year's show, "Botanika." Maybe DCI is to blame for all this hatred towards Marcus. DCI shows what truly is the gold standard of marching competitions. I would like to think that this somehow trickles down and directly affects the level of high school bands strive to achieve. I actually prefer high school band to DCI, but I feel the judging in DCI is very accurate. High school marching judges seem to be all over the place when you see the individual scores. Now that I think of it, maybe it isn't DCI that is to blame. Maybe it is because I am a huge fan of the L.D. Bell program. As the years have gone by the Bell program has broken away from marching the same show over and over and over again. But it seems by chance that they passed all that repetition on over to the Marcus band. The year that Bell performed their first dark show "The Remaining," was the same year that Marcus did "Under the Sea." I looked at Bell and saw a band that was doing something very different. Of course, the next year they had one of their best programs to date "Transcendents." Marcus's show this year was different, breaking away slightly from the same type of show they have been performing for the past 5 years. Very dark for them...bravo. But still nothing compared to other highly ranked bands, especially this years Bell show, "In Honor." I realize I will be chastised for this from almost everyone that reads this. I just hope there is at least one other voice besides mine on this brilliant site that thinks that things should have turned out differently this year. To end on a positive note, good luck to the 4 Texas bands competing in Indy. I remember being incredibly proud the year that 6 of the finalist bands at Nationals hailed from the Lone Star State. Here is to Texas band programs being the best in the country!