[Major Event] UIL State Contest

[longhornsax]

Well, the last couple of days were pretty intense, but I thought they were pretty succesful. We ended up 20th, which we were pretty content with considering it was our first time at the 5A level. Plus, we had our best musical performance by far of the year, something we couldn't say last year after 2 performances in the dome.

 

Had a great time watching finals. Had already seen most of the bands from top at BOA, so was glad to watch the bands from the lower deck this time, to get the full musical effect.

 

Here is my breakdown. All of this is just my opinion, and I in no way intend to insult any band...

 

L.D. Bell - Like many, I was honestly rooting for L.D. Bell in this one, but knew their early draw wouldn't help them too much in passing up Marcus. I don't think their show is quite as difficult as Marcus's show, but everything they did was so finely tuned and defined. The ballad was a little slow and dull in my honest opinion, but the ending is amazing! It is simply hard to find flaws in this show.

 

Hebron - Wow, I had heard about the eyes, but seeing them in person simply freaks you out. It's amazing how much emotion can be shown by such a simple prop. I really love Hebron's ideas, and it's good to see that they are able to back up their ideas with great playing this year. I had heard Hebron's ballad somewhere before...and it still bugs me that I can't remember where I'd heard it. Overall it seemed that they had a little trouble with some difficult playing and marching combos. This is definitely not an easy show, and it sometimes shows. I also don't think that being sandwiched between Bell and Duncanville helped their chances, but again, it's good to see this band in state finals, and I think it may be the first of many second performances at this contest.

 

Duncanville - This is one of the bands that I had never seen before. I knew they had a very prestigious history, but did really not know what to expect. I found out after watching the show why they had medaled so many times at this contest. Everything was so clean and precise. The show lacked the flash that many of the other shows had, but I now understand why they were third after prelims.

 

Coppel - Upon first watching this show, I sarcastically thought "yay, another planets show" but was pleasantly surprised by a very different take on it. They really showed off their dynamic contrast in this show, especially at their hits, where they start at a nice forte, and then just blow you away with a completely new dynamic...however this did get slightly repetitive. At the end of the ballad they also show off their softer side with a beautiful fading decrescendo. The drill was by no means as hard as some of the other bands, but its cleanliness makes up for it. The ripple drill was amazingly effective. I don't think it was quite as good as CP in '04...but it was close.

 

Churchill - The Colorguard is STUNNING as usual. They always seem to steal the show from year to year. In my opinion there is no visual that wouldn't fit into this show, considering the theme is insanity. The spelling of the words on the field is highly risky, but Churchill executes this well, however, other moments in the drill aren't quite as clean.

Bowie - Really like all the bell visuals in this show, especially the percussion in the beginning...this must of taken plenty of practice. Their first hit is stunning, as is their ballad. I've always enjoyed Bowie's selections when it comes to their ballads (of course the sax quartet only added to this). Just great sounds all around in this show.

 

Marcus - Gotta love Marcus's parent section and their togas and chants. As I said before, I'm more of an L.D. Bell fan, but I really enjoy the theme to this show, as does everyone else. There's not much I can say that hasn't already been said about Marcus. I am gonna say that I would hate to be a visual judge watching this show, while somehow trying not to get drawn in by the gods and goddesses for too long. I'm not saying their a distraction, and I trust that the judges don't see it this way, but I do have a hard time watching the show as a whole, ha...I did manage to focus long enough on the music this time though, and really thought they performed a much harder show an even higher level than Bell did. As much as I was hoping for a Bell "upset"...i knew it would be difficult after this show.

 

Cedar Park - I'll try to make this as unbiased as possible. After seeing this show for the first time months ago, I was soooooo relieved to see CP doing a much more Cedar Parkesque show this year. Cedar Park proved that you don't need props or a storyline to have a theme and keep the crowd entertained. The name fits the show perfectly, as I am literally on the edge of my seat each time I watch this show. The first hit - WOW!! This was the biggest sound I heard all night (maybe other than North Texas). I think Adagio for strings was a resting point for the band visually, and I don't condemn that. They make up for it with some great musical moments. Visually, the show is obviously highly demanding, and without a doubt the most difficult and exposed there. The drill has come such a long way since the beginning of the year. There were some upper body issues in some sections, but their 3,4 from the visual judges obviously showed some appreciation of difficult drill from the judges. It may be the bias, but I think this is my favorite show this year.

 

Richland - Awesome opening hit with the arc spreading across the entire field. The show honestly lost my attention, as I had been awake for about 19 hours at that point. The show started out much cleaner than it ended, but the "believe" sheet stunned everyone. I think this was used very effectively.

 

Westlake - I have seen this show SO many times this year, as I'm sure many people have seeing as they've been the last band to play so many times (Area finals, State prelims and now state finals). I think I've finally figured out all the tricks and sideshows to this show, but still don't quite understand the ending. The show isn't quite as clean musically as some of the other bands in finals, however I think the closer was much more entertaining than the opener. A lot of great ideas in this show, and it's good to see Westlake back at the top.

 

As for the final results, I can't complain too much. I don't agree with 10's given to L.D. Bell and Duncanville at all, but the 10 didn't seem to effect L.D. Bell much at all. If it had dropped Bell to 3rd (which it almost did) there would be some chaos on this board ...The 10 and 1 given to Duncanville might be a little bit of a cause for alarm however. But in the end, I do think, after all the discrepancies in scoring, the judging panel got it right. I thought Marcus and L.D. Bell were the obvious 1-2...while the 3rd-6th place bands were all amazingly close, as the scores showed. As another compliment to the judging panel, the prelims results were amazingly consistent.

 

Overall, yesterday was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed watching each and every band. Congratz to all the bands that competed yesterday.

[bluebellbrass07]

Everyone watch as I state an opinion without being a jerk to anyone. Its really not that hard to do, I promise

 

L.D. Bell's show, to me, came off as far more physically demanding than Marcus's. Like, I wouldn't even put it in the same ball park. And to say "Bell marched slow easy tempos" is absurd. If they aren't in the ballad they are usually pushing 180-190. Thats about the speed most drum corps march at on average, with bits of 200+ thrown in there. I thought the music was much more challenging to not only in terms of playability, but in the sense that they had a much wider variety of music to execute. They had everything from a soft slow chorale at the beginning, to crazy technical licks, to incredibly loud in your face brass moments, to full out moments at the end of their show. Marcus's music to me always comes off to be as kind of "one-dimensional", but very well performed none the less.

 

And on a side note, it seemed that the only consistencies in judging were with Marcus and Hebron. So its obvious that the panel of judges at least decided on a clear winner

[treblemaker]

Everyone watch as I state an opinion without being a jerk to anyone. Its really not that hard to do, I promise

 

L.D. Bell's show, to me, came off as far more physically demanding than Marcus's. Like, I wouldn't even put it in the same ball park. And to say "Bell marched slow easy tempos" is absurd. If they aren't in the ballad they are usually pushing 180-190. Thats about the speed most drum corps march at on average, with bits of 200+ thrown in there. I thought the music was much more challenging to not only in terms of playability, but in the sense that they had a much wider variety of music to execute. They had everything from a soft slow chorale at the beginning, to crazy technical licks, to incredibly loud in your face brass moments, to full out moments at the end of their show. Marcus's music to me always comes off to be as kind of "one-dimensional", but very well performed none the less.

 

And on a side note, it seemed that the only consistencies in judging were with Marcus and Hebron. So its obvious that the panel of judges at least decided on a clear winner

 

You make that look easy, but you left out one important part...

[drummerjake]

I will admit your show held my attention, which is more than I can say for a LOT of the bands that performed in the finals. But marching band isn't really just about marching and playing all the time. Sometimes it's nice to tell a story.

 

Your right, we should stand still and play sweet music.

[treblemaker]

Your right, we should stand still and play sweet music.

 

Don't worry you can check that off your list.

[drummerjake]

Don't worry you can check that off your list.

 

Are you mocking us?

[musicaidnow]

QUOTE (andissimo @ Nov 5 2008, 07:36 AM)

I will admit your show held my attention, which is more than I can say for a LOT of the bands that performed in the finals. But marching band isn't really just about marching and playing all the time. Sometimes it's nice to tell a story.

 

Please don't take this the wrong way b/c I believe if you can do it and do it well then you deserve what is awarded to you, but Marching Band is MARCHING Band. Not Stand and tell a story Band, or story time w/ a music background and some nice forms. It is ALL about marching around the field and play music. I realize that marching band has evolved, and I thank God it has b/c I've done military style and it sucks.

 

Maybe I'm just used to Marching Band being about marching shows that cater to hard forms and playing actuall music instead of having a show that tells a story w/ some marching and some music on the side. I'm not pointing any fingers except the one at the statement above about how cp should tell stories.

 

Again Congradulations to all the bands at State.

Edited November 6, 2008 by musicaidnow

[treblemaker]

Are you mocking us?

 

Not at all. Were you taking a stab at Bell?

[drummerjake]

Not at all. Were you taking a stab at Bell?

 

nah dude, bell was tight.

some person said some stuff that made it sound like we should stand still and play music.

[CPSnare91]

well, I saw bells show, and I honestly don't remember any parts above like one thirty. Don't be me wrong, the music was amazing, but it did seem to be march, stop and play, then march again. They do deserve second in my opinion for sure

[drummerjake]

QUOTE (andissimo @ Nov 5 2008, 07:36 AM)

I will admit your show held my attention, which is more than I can say for a LOT of the bands that performed in the finals. But marching band isn't really just about marching and playing all the time. Sometimes it's nice to tell a story.

 

Please don't take this the wrong way b/c I believe if you can do it and do it well then you deserve what is awarded to you, but Marching Band is MARCHING Band. Not Stand and tell a story Band, or story time w/ a music background and some nice forms. It is ALL about marching around the field and play music. I realize that marching band has evolved, and I thank God it has b/c I've done military style and it sucks.

 

Maybe I'm just used to Marching Band being about marching shows that cater to hard forms and playing actuall music instead of having a show that tells a story w/ some marching and some music on the side. I'm not pointing any fingers except the one at the statement above about how cp should tell stories.

 

Again Congradulations to all the bands at State.

 

Well i thought this years show was truly amazing and no matter what place we could have gotten, first or last in prelims, i will always be proud to be in such a great band program.

 

Congrats to Marucs and Bell!

[drummerjake]

well, I saw bells show, and I honestly don't remember any parts above like one thirty. Don't be me wrong, the music was amazing, but it did seem to be march, stop and play, then march again. They do deserve second in my opinion for sure

 

a couple sections gave me goosebumps but i agree, they deserved what they got, did you see how pissed they were when they were announced as second? That made me so mad.

[longhornfrk]

Sorry if i came across as ungrateful earlier. After thinking about it we had an amazing performance and got everyone on their feet. I wouldn't it to have ended any other way. Thats all you can ask for, scores are scores, i figured you cant let it affect your perception how well the season went. We had a great season, and Congrats to all the Bands at State.

[CPSnare91]

agreed. I love everyone in our program. Especially the drummers

[drummerjake]

agreed. I love everyone in our program. Especially the drummers

 

i love you, BEN

hahaha

[CPFrntEns]

I really want to see these other bands. I hope the videos go on youtube soon. CP only saw Richland (the tarp was so cool!) and Westlake, and I thought both were very good. I've heard Coppell was great (nice job on the bronze medal) and I really want to see Bell's show and Duncanville's show. There were a ton of great bands at this competition. Come to think of it, that's probably why the judges had a hard time agreeing.

 

By the way, the wait for the prelims results was hilarious. The wave ... the chants (started by CP!) ... Hey Baby ... only band nerds would come up with this stuff.

Edited November 6, 2008 by CPFrntEns

[TXBandNerd07]

Everyone watch as I state an opinion without being a jerk to anyone. Its really not that hard to do, I promise

 

L.D. Bell's show, to me, came off as far more physically demanding than Marcus's. Like, I wouldn't even put it in the same ball park. And to say "Bell marched slow easy tempos" is absurd. If they aren't in the ballad they are usually pushing 180-190. Thats about the speed most drum corps march at on average, with bits of 200+ thrown in there. I thought the music was much more challenging to not only in terms of playability, but in the sense that they had a much wider variety of music to execute. They had everything from a soft slow chorale at the beginning, to crazy technical licks, to incredibly loud in your face brass moments, to full out moments at the end of their show. Marcus's music to me always comes off to be as kind of "one-dimensional", but very well performed none the less.

 

And on a side note, it seemed that the only consistencies in judging were with Marcus and Hebron. So its obvious that the panel of judges at least decided on a clear winner

 

You say that because you've marched some of Bell's shows.you know what they're like. lol. nice opinion

but i do agree, as i've marched in Bell's physically demanding shows. marcus is good but i kind of see bell and marcus on 2 different levels of what is the definition of a "good marching show" they're both great in their own way but it's kind of hard to compare Bell's show with marcus' show...

again, my opinion so dont attack me for it

[TXBandNerd07]

a couple sections gave me goosebumps but i agree, they deserved what they got, did you see how pissed they were when they were announced as second? That made me so mad.

 

 

I cant speak for the whole band but from who i've talked to it was more out of being disappointed than "pissed". They were being told that "it was their yr to win" and they won BOA SA (and yes i know they're 2 different contests which is 2 different ways of being judged) on saturday. AND they apparently marched their best show of the season and was highly praised by their head director. so yea, they got their hopes up that they were going to win but much to their surprise and disappointment that they were beat. They're high school students. and high schoolers dont normally think before they react. i'm sure everyone can agree.

I'm sorry that that upset you that they were disappointed for getting second. but if you were in the same situation as them im sure you wouldnt be too pleased. i'm not like griping at you or anything like that lol so dont take offense. im just saying look at it in the perspective that they're teenagers not like they're the most mature people in the world. and they had the praise and support of their family and friends and directors which probably got their hopes up.

anyway, thats just what i think. of course, you dont have to agree

[titancoaster]

having witnessed State finals this year I will say that the judges were giving out very odd scores, but i will save that for another forum topic.

 

I think Marcus was amazing in finals. Their visual program is pretty boring to me, lots of small easy steps, but WOW is all i can say about their music performance. They truly sounded like a professional wind symphony on the field without a doubt.

 

Bell is another story, while I am a huge bell fan, they just did not trump Marcus' sound. Bell had a much better visual program imo, but their music lacked the defined sound that Marcus had.

 

I had the pleasure of seeing Duncanville for the first time live last night, and they rocked the dome. They sounded great and looked good. To me it was no question that they represented some of the best that Texas has to offer (beside bell and marcus of course). GREAT SHOW!!!

 

I absolutly love cedar park's show, because they dont have to be fancy, they just march and play, no props, no fancy synths, just music and they do it well. I think what hurt them this year is they had a little bit too demanding of a show, and were not able to perform as clean as the other groups, but they definantly deserved a top four spot. Amazing Work CP!!

 

The real problem I saw last night was Coppell's placement, dont get me wrong they were good, but I really dont see why they were above DHS and CP. To me Coppell went past their best sounds on a regular basis and it really killed the mood for me. Their marching however was very very well executed and they deserved the good marching scores they got.

 

Overall I had a great night, and I am sooo proud to be a band member in Texas!!!

Good Job to all State Finalists!!

[whitewing09]

I haven't even marched in a bell show so I don't even know... but Marcus's marching didn't seem as hard as Bell's but idk

[euphownz]

I cant speak for the whole band but from who i've talked to it was more out of being disappointed than "pissed". They were being told that "it was their yr to win" and they won BOA SA (and yes i know they're 2 different contests which is 2 different ways of being judged) on saturday. AND they apparently marched their best show of the season and was highly praised by their head director. so yea, they got their hopes up that they were going to win but much to their surprise and disappointment that they were beat. They're high school students. and high schoolers dont normally think before they react. i'm sure everyone can agree.

I'm sorry that that upset you that they were disappointed for getting second. but if you were in the same situation as them im sure you wouldnt be too pleased. i'm not like griping at you or anything like that lol so dont take offense. im just saying look at it in the perspective that they're teenagers not like they're the most mature people in the world. and they had the praise and support of their family and friends and directors which probably got their hopes up.

anyway, thats just what i think. of course, you dont have to agree

I 100% agree. The same thing happened to our school. We were consistently told that it was our year, and our band directors were telling us that it was the first time they're ever been a part of an organization that could win it all, and after our performance we were so happy, and everybody thought it was our best performance of the season, and then we find out that we didn't even medal. Ouch. I'm not being ungrateful, there was just a lot of false hype about this contest which made fourth place seem like a disheartening place to be at, but in reality that's really good, so I'm glad we did as well as we did.

Congrats to all the finals bands.

[Steeldrum]

Just got back from State and reading through the after show comments. As usual lots of positive and negative comments about the placements, and you will ALWAYS get those in any competition that is based on subjective judging by individuals. Just like Olympic ice dancing, diving, floor excercises etc. Seems like the "experts" never quite see it like us smarter folks. Maybe we should adopt the American Idol or Dances with Stars method of fan voting!

 

The general consensus is that everyone knew and accepts that Bell and Marcus would fight it out for 1st and 2nd. From there down it was a wide open contest, so whoever got third was going to hear claims that some other band deserved it more. I personally agree and have no problems with the final placements but am surprised by the large spread in some bands judging (1 and 10 for Duncanville music??). Just goes to show that marching band is a very subjective art. You either like the show or you don't.

 

As for the Marcus versus Bell debate I think the judges got it right at both contests (BOA and UIL). The major difference is Bell's music sets the mood and accompanies the story they are telling through their drill and guard (high GE and BOA friendly) while Marcus' props, drill and guard accompanies their outstanding music program (UIL friendly). Both shows are done extremely well, in a league of their own. I loved Bell's show but would have to give the music difficulty and playing edge to Marcus. The one UIL judge just didn't get the music from Bell apparently...

[TRUMPet]

I so agree with you...I feel like marching bands should be traditional and not have all of those props for distractions

 

Disclaimer first i love the artistic design of most of the shows with props, but i totaly agree. It feels a little insulting when a bands drill is written to "hide" the band's flaws with props and such. Their all great for GE and entertainment value, but when you look strickly objectively their purpose becomes really negative.

[borchnork]

Bell is another story, while I am a huge bell fan, they just did not trump Marcus' sound. Bell had a much better visual program imo, but their music lacked the defined sound that Marcus had.

 

 

So I wasn't the only one who was curious about the sound? Like I was thinking that it was the fact that the brass was on the other side of the field from me, but I guess not.

 

I LOVED Bell's show though. ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! I just wish I had been able to see all 5 movements.

 

I was only able to see Hebron and Bell at Finals, but I was impressed with both. From what I remember of Marcus, I enjoyed their show, and I am happy to see the results turn out the way they did. I feel like a I'm stuck between a rock in a hard place with those two shows though, because I loved both for separate aspects.

 

 

 

ANDDDD... Just curious.... What'd everybody think of the Green Brigade???

[TXBandNerd07]

I 100% agree. The same thing happened to our school. We were consistently told that it was our year, and our band directors were telling us that it was the first time they're ever been a part of an organization that could win it all, and after our performance we were so happy, and everybody thought it was our best performance of the season, and then we find out that we didn't even medal. Ouch. I'm not being ungrateful, there was just a lot of false hype about this contest which made fourth place seem like a disheartening place to be at, but in reality that's really good, so I'm glad we did as well as we did.

Congrats to all the finals bands.

 

 

right. and its not that you guys were ungrateful just you felt let down. as was bell. i mean im pretty sure that the kids were kicking and screaming and cursing cuz they lost. once the buzz calms down everyone will realize that their placing doesnt seem as band. 2nd best in the state is good. as is 4th. i mean think of all the other bands who didnt make finals, let alone even make state. the bands who made state should be happy that they even made it cuz there are some bands who could only DREAM of making it to state. congrats to all.