Most impressive band from Area B

[JagDad09]

I loved that show, I think they win State, but it begs one critical, vital question....

 

How much did all that stuff cost?

 

Yowzah!!!!!

[Xenon]

All of those props were built and/or made by the Band Boosters.

[JagDad09]

Seriously? They must have some Band Boosters who work as professional set designers, then.

[dtexas4444]

Hmm, I really think the most impressive band from Area B is LD Bell.

 

I think Marcus is only impressive musically. They do sound amazing. I don't think they are impressive visually. LD Bell on the other hand, is both visually and musically impressive.

[MRS. IaN KiNSLeR]

marcus recycled a lot of that stuff from fowl play as well... ie. the clams were once swans/peacocks.

 

yeah... the stuff was bought with fundraiser money and built by volunteers.

[pianomusicman89]

i heard that the props costed somewhere around 8500 dollars!! it's always a possibility that i could be wrong. not to say anything against marcus because i think they have a really clean show both musically and visually (that i like) but i thought it was MARCHING BAND...lol, not Blast!. in my opinion, i think some of the props distract from some of the forms. when I watched the show, i didn't remember anything about the really cool forms they make. ie. octopus, fish, and waves (i notcied these forms after seeing the show a second time). I really do wish them the best of luck though...along with everyone else. i wish AREA B wasn't soo hard!! grr, when will the areas be realigned???

[Xenon]

They tend to realign around every 4 years and this is the first year in the alignment, so don't expect a new alignment until 2010.

[MRS. IaN KiNSLeR]

there was an article about marcus in the dallas morning news. it talks about the spending and stuff. i don't really want to get into the cost thing, because it's not really that important. the money for that stuff isn't handed to them. they work their tails off doing fundraisers ALL year just to put on a great field production.

 

just had to get some of that out there, so people don't think of marcus as one of those schools that gets a TON of money from the district. the lisd takes care of what we need and the students/boosters take care of the rest.

[MartinHorn]

i heard that the props costed somewhere around 8500 dollars!! it's always a possibility that i could be wrong. not to say anything against marcus because i think they have a really clean show both musically and visually (that i like) but i thought it was MARCHING BAND...lol, not Blast!. in my opinion, i think some of the props distract from some of the forms. when I watched the show, i didn't remember anything about the really cool forms they make. ie. octopus, fish, and waves (i notcied these forms after seeing the show a second time). I really do wish them the best of luck though...along with everyone else. i wish AREA B wasn't soo hard!! grr, when will the areas be realigned???

The props aren't what distracted me, it was the amazing playing coming from Marcus.

[Mog]

I have a really ambivalent view towards Marcus' show. When I saw it at Arlington, I thought "That band needs to win music performance." Yet at the same time I didn't want it to place in the top three. I just found the show to be too GE grubbing and to be lacking in the difficulty aspect of things. I won't at all, however, be surprised if Marcus does great at state considering how awesome they sound.

[RichlandTuba09]

what do yall think of Richland's show "You Are"

[Arabella]

I absolutely loved marcus's show. I saw L.D. Bell for the first time ever yesterday, but I wasn't as impressed as I expected to be. While it was a cool show, it was definately way too synthesized and I didn't find it visually exciting. I'm not saying I didn't like it though, the music was good. Also I wasn't high up enough to see any forms.

[gavinrh]

jake, did you just go on every thread and ask that?

[MRS. IaN KiNSLeR]

marcus always had difficult drill when i was there(at least the last two years did, lol). i'm pretty sure the props took away from that. because when i saw them at BOA arlington, i remember thinking they had a LOT of props... though after i saw the show, i thought they all served their purpose quite well, but then again i'm used to a lot of props so i usually ignore them, lol. i can definitely see how someone would consider some of them a bit cumbersome.

 

as for richland(someone posted a question about it... i think)

yeah, your show was really cool, and i loved the tuba thing and the beatbox, not to mention how incredibly difficult your music is(which you sound brilliant on, btw). it was great. i really love how you guys can put modern(popular) things in your show, yet still remain true to the music. it seems as though you guys are having a lot of fun while getting better musically, which is pretty much the point. there really aren't enough good things to say about you guys. but i do have a good story... at BOA arlington, my boyfriend came with me(his first ever marching contest). and you guys were his favorite out of everyone we saw. he was raving about your show(not to mention, being extremely impressed with how BIG the marching band scene is in texas, lol). it takes a tremendous amount of skill to impress the BOA judges and the UIL judge, while being exciting for the not so 'BAND' people... great job on a great show and good luck this weekend...

 

...and props to you(literally, lol)

 

 

 

marcus and richland are the only people from tha 'B' that i saw(at least the only advancing bands, lol)

 

i'm dyin' to see bell, hebron, and haltom though. just cus they're all fricken amazing, lol.

[Shiloh Phoenix]

marcus always had difficult drill when i was there(at least the last two years did, lol). i'm pretty sure the props took away from that. because when i saw them at BOA arlington, i remember thinking they had a LOT of props... though after i saw the show, i thought they all served their purpose quite well, but then again i'm used to a lot of props so i usually ignore them, lol. i can definitely see how someone would consider some of them a bit cumbersome.

 

as for richland(someone posted a question about it... i think)

yeah, your show was really cool, and i loved the tuba thing and the beatbox, not to mention how incredibly difficult your music is(which you sound brilliant on, btw). it was great. i really love how you guys can put modern(popular) things in your show, yet still remain true to the music. it seems as though you guys are having a lot of fun while getting better musically, which is pretty much the point. there really aren't enough good things to say about you guys. but i do have a good story... at BOA arlington, my boyfriend came with me(his first ever marching contest). and you guys were his favorite out of everyone we saw. he was raving about your show(not to mention, being extremely impressed with how BIG the marching band scene is in texas, lol). it takes a tremendous amount of skill to impress the BOA judges and the UIL judge, while being exciting for the not so 'BAND' people... great job on a great show and good luck this weekend...

 

...and props to you(literally, lol)

 

 

 

marcus and richland are the only people from tha 'B' that i saw(at least the only advancing bands, lol)

 

i'm dyin' to see bell, hebron, and haltom though. just cus they're all fricken amazing, lol.

thank you very much. as one of the tubas, that means a lot to me.

[MRS. IaN KiNSLeR]

and i meant it, lol.

[RichlandTuba09]

u should see tuba piece now!!

 

it even more amazing lol

 

but thx

[MRS. IaN KiNSLeR]

i'm gonna... i'm going to boa finals and state finals, lol.

[RichlandTuba09]

no doubt about it

 

 

ull love it

[formermarcher]

Here's a little bit of an area B review. I almost wrote a full review as I usually like to read them, but I simply didn't have time. I was there all day and through finals. I won't really mention every band but here are some overall thoughts on the finalist in performance order.

 

Richland - Cool concept. Some great playing and then kind of random mistakes that surprised me from this usually very musically clean band. Several really awesome marching moments I really like the rotating "+" at the beginning. The vocalist stuff doesn't do much for me, but it was well done. I did think that prelims performance was much better than finals, and wouldn't have been terribly surprised if they had not advanced. Even with that being said if they clean some of the musical mistakes this band could be a finalist at SMC.

 

Summit - This is a pretty new school, but they are alrady doing some really neat stuff. When they marched the drill was really cool, but there was a lot stand still time. They played well, music of Ron Nelson, and I thought they probably deserved the 5th spot advancing to state. Bright future for this group.

 

Bell - I have seen this band through out the years dating back to early 90's, and this is actually one of my least favorite shows. I get the concept I just don't like it. Simply a personal preference. Even with those feelings I thought that they march in a class all by themselves. I don't think there is another band in the state that moves as well or marches as clean. There music performance was o.k. at best. The music is stange and highly synthesized. I could have watched this show a hundred times and never left humming a melody. Still, great execution, but obviously a show geared towards Grand Nats rather than SMC. There's nothing wrong with that just a little bit of different concept.

 

Plano East - Nothing very memorable about this group. I saw them early in the year and thought they looked bery clean, but not much has changed since then. They play pretty well, but no real GE musically or visually.

 

Hebron - More GE than anyone all night. These kids play with more technique than any one at the contest. There marching is much improved. This is obviously a band on the rise. The DDR stuff is cool every time I see it. Just like Richland I thought their prelims performance was much better than their finals performance and it could have cost them a spot. While they are good now in a few years they might be a band to be reckoned with.

 

Allen - I love this band. They are freakshow in everyway, and I mean that as a comliment. Not much to say. They stand a chance in these types of contests but they are fun to watch. I almost wish they wouldn't have advanced to finals so that a band that had a more competition driven show could have had that spot. Sorry for the 11th place band, Lewisville.

 

Creekview - Reall fun concept from a band that does not take itself too seriously, but still puts out a high quality product. As always some of the best written and best executed drill of the night. This band simply needs more players and they will definately take the next step.

 

Newman Smith - I've heard this music several times and I have never liked it. This band is small but marches and plays pretty cleanly. They definately benefited from a late prelims time as they might not have really deserved to be in finals. But in finals they were much improved and earned the alternate spot in my opinion.

 

Marcus - With out a doubt the class of the night. Not the best or most dificult drill out there but marched pretty cleanly. No one is even in the same league with them as far as playing their horns. These kids just sound amazing. They are the poster band for music GE. They also are not afraid to entertain the croud and make every one laugh a little bit. I would say right now they are the band most likely to win the SMC.

 

Haltom - Always a fun band to watch. The Asian concept didn't thrill me that much but they march and play really well. I really like this band eventhough their show design is not my favorite. I would say this group has a pretty good chance of making SMC finals.

 

The advancing bands in order were:

1. Marcus

2. Bell

3. Haltom

4. Richland

5. Hebron

 

My top 5 of the night in order:

1. Marcus

2. Haltom

3. Bell

4. Hebron

5. Summit

 

Richland really didn't have a great performance in finals but I do think they are probably having a great week of rehearsals and will bounce back. Don't be surprised at all if Marcus, Haltom, Bell and Richland all make 5A finals. This Area contest was sick.

[RichlandTuba09]

Richland - Cool concept. Some great playing and then kind of random mistakes that surprised me from this usually very musically clean band. Several really awesome marching moments I really like the rotating "+" at the beginning. The vocalist stuff doesn't do much for me, but it was well done. I did think that prelims performance was much better than finals, and wouldn't have been terribly surprised if they had not advanced. Even with that being said if they clean some of the musical mistakes this band could be a finalist at SMC.

 

haha thx i guess

[andysoccer]

.

 

Summit - This is a pretty new school, but they are alrady doing some really neat stuff. When they marched the drill was really cool, but there was a lot stand still time. They played well, music of Ron Nelson, and I thought they probably deserved the 5th spot advancing to state. Bright future for this group.

 

 

 

The advancing bands in order were:

1. Marcus

2. Bell

3. Haltom

4. Richland

5. Hebron

 

My top 5 of the night in order:

1. Marcus

2. Haltom

3. Bell

4. Hebron

5. Summit

Thanks for that, its good to finally hear some feedback on our show from someone other than our directors. It's also really cool and humbling that you thought we deserved to advance to state. So thanks.

[sax5warrior]

Summit - This is a pretty new school, but they are alrady doing some really neat stuff. When they marched the drill was really cool, but there was a lot stand still time. They played well, music of Ron Nelson, and I thought they probably deserved the 5th spot advancing to state. Bright future for this group.

I dont know about that.

 

Especially with the opening of Legacy HS next year.

 

But the numbers shouldnt drastically change however.

[MartinHorn]

Hebron - More GE than anyone all night. These kids play with more technique than any one at the contest. There marching is much improved. This is obviously a band on the rise. The DDR stuff is cool every time I see it. Just like Richland I thought their prelims performance was much better than their finals performance and it could have cost them a spot. While they are good now in a few years they might be a band to be reckoned with.

 

I have to protest the prelims performance statement only because the Rite of Spring seemed to be taken too fast for them to handle and they phased in their DDR move.

[Drummer Chick]

Not trying to complain, but I haven't really heard much anywhere about Allen, does anyone notice us but to dimiss us as big? I personally thought we did really well at Area, considering all the behind the scenes stuff that went wrong at area, including but not limited to a bus crash on the way there, an where the chime player had the chimes fall on her (she's mostly ok now) the timpani were broken during transport Friday night, so I was using a different set (that thanks to the crash, I didn't get to practice with till I was on the field), and just about as many other possible problems that could come up did come up. But I'm curious as to what other people see.