BOA San Antonio Prelims Review I

[RobbieRob]

I felt the urge to write a review. This is for the BOA Super Regional in San Antonio, IN. Yes, I sat through it all, but the food I ate did not sit through it all. (BTW, are health inspectors ever allowed into the Alamodome? Blech! Anyways, whatever.) Okay, I will cut the bull and get to what you want you probably want to read, which is what I thought about all the bands on Friday and Saturday.

 

C.C. Winn H.S., TX

The draw to their show is more their fabulous trumpet soloist, and then only does their show drink some Monster. Where was this in the beginning of their show? What kind of story are the two guard soloists trying to tell? (By the way, black is not a great color to make your soloist stand out amongst this band--also wearing black.) Have to enter together, trumpets! Ha ha! Great. The excitement in trying to whack the pinata prop comes through. Yiii-HIY! The finale of their show is rock solid. More communication, more expression from the performers, and more creativity could be formulated.

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 62.00

 

Eagle Pass H.S., TX

Nice double pass-through in the beginning! We have all the gears running as they should. Shako-shake visual--excellent. Musicality bleeding through all these movement cues, and that's great! Hmmm, don't be in such a rush to get to the ballad. Milk the end of that opening statement. Rock the end of that opening statement. Play out, winds, play out! Ugh! They can DO this! The drumline does not have to be mannequins. Aaaah, don't take the easy way out clarinets...with a flank. (Slide, slide, slide.) Drum Major, let us lock in a more intense tempo, yeah?

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 65.30

 

Klein Forest H.S., TX

The PVC pipe outlines of boxes certainly fit the theme of their show...it's a little overused, but c'est la vie. Now show me something great. Aaaah, I'm a sucker for great flute solos, but just playing through one is not going to grab me. The musicianship was lacking, people were very obviously out-of-time. Come on. Get it together, folks. Nice comeback, thanks to your low brass section. Don't more after a halt, bass clarinet player. Man, this show fell apart and made a so-so recovery. One of their soloists was amped too loud in the ballad. Can't someone work a mixing board (or something)? The music box wind-up effect worked. Haaa! Sweet beat-boxing by the right-side DM. This show all of a sudden gets more "fun." (We could have used something of this nature a lot sooner.) Great work, color guard.

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 66.10

 

Elgin H.S., TX

Outstanding staging of the plain-clothes female narrator. Hmmm, this is a tricky one. Are the files not supposed to be straight in the mock basics block? If they WANT to be bad (to "come across" that way, I guess that's all right?) The narrator seems pretty obsessed with a cute boy in the band, and then starts spouting some algebraic equations. I'm sorry, but this seems too contrived. Too much, too much, too much percussion. The first movement, overall, lacks focus, and could be more refined, simplified. Sooo is the experience of band about trying to get a date? I just heard the narrators talking about getting a number. The spot-switching drill engaged me. These kids need to seriously practice their horns on the move, no doubt.

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 58.90

 

Georgetown H.S., TX

Superb initiation, woodwinds that break out of the box form. There was maybe one woodwind player not "with it." I could use a tad bit more volume, woodwinds. Yesss. Spotlight shift to a lurking, slow-dancing woodwind section when the brass is done with their point. Beautiful crescendo before the intersecting lines...way to play, brass! Some of the marchers "fall" into a halt, and yeah, too much head-shake/plume-shake. Work on engaging that core; use those knees as shock absorbers. Mood really established by a woodwind trio atop a ramp designed like an airplane, and even had a bassoon! The end of their show did not run out of gas, which is good, but it was very sloppy.

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 77.80

 

Leander H.S., TX

Their pre-show is quiet, subtle, and...I guess it works. There's a couple tourist characters taking pictures, and a guy dressed up like a copper. Mmmm, very, very nice musically speaking. The warm-up invades the show. I could tell these kids had their notes down, and I mean all of them. Okay, I am a little disturbed that they aren't accenting their drill the way they are with their sounds. Guard, there is only so much you can do with flags, and you aren't doing it...but you're managing. Great swagger, winds, as you come up front to share the love. This is a strong band in terms of the technical, but they don't challenge themselves in movement, and there is a great absence of originality. 'Tis just the way it's designed. Not bad, but definitely not great.

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 73.70

 

John Marshall H.S., TX

Don't just play through that solo, soprano sax soloist. Forte, forte, forte. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Really grasp what you play, my wind friends. The color-change effect with the unis is quite slick. (Nice work.) Their music could use more shape. Deliver your message with finesse! Don't just deliver your message! Eeeh, watch the pace. Take a slight breather before that yellow part of your apparent saga. Ooh! How appropriate to use "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" when the winds and guard are wearing different colors. (Same, same, same, then spectrum--very effective.) The end of their show packed a little punch. I like that.

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 65.90

 

East Bernard H.S., TX

Bring those trombones up together, guys. I am all about first impressions. Lack of clarity on the direction changes NOTED. Though the trumpets come through well on the first big impact, the majority of the wind players sound nervous. Project confidence, people! Now!!! Wonderful immediacy towards the change of tempo, and those famous "Mars" stabs were golden. Are the toes supposed to be up on the backwards move, bass drums? There are lots of inconsistencies, lots. The guard is small, but they could play a much bigger role, I think. How about some planet props, eh? Yeah, I know this might sound stupid to some of you, but they could use ANYTHING besides those standard multi-colored flags. Yeah, the arc at the end of their show is clean. They have lots of things to work on, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 56.00

 

Aubrey H.S., TX

The somber baritone solo with the flute section was coherent. I don't know...that awkward mix of drumming gear up front did not seem to do the job. (You call that a drum kit? Nag your district to give you some CASH.) There are some solid things going on in this product, particularly in ensemble and individual visuality. This group does quite well with what they have. Awesome sousaphone ensemble work. Don't give up guys! Come on! Au-brey! Au-brey! Ha! As the band exits the field, a quintet of flutes and a baritone player plays "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 58.20

 

Okay, BREAK TIME. So far I've seen 9 bands. Here is how I see it so far:

 

77.80 Georgetown

73.70 Leander

66.10 Klein Forest

65.90 John Marshall

62.00 C.C. Winn

58.90 Elgin

58.20 Aubrey

56.00 East Bernard

65.30 Eagle Pass

 

Ugh. I have a headache. I need a cherry Icee, so I'm going to make a quick run to 7-11 and be right back. Oh, and by the way, it's San Antonio, TX, not San Antonio, IN. Ha ha ha! Just making sure you're paying attention.

 

Rob OUT!

[rpd]

I like your reviews. They have a nice tone behind them and sometimes make me laugh. Looking forward to the rest.

 

Im a little confused on the soprano solo on our show. Are you saying that it was to loud, or not enough dynamic shaping, or both? He was amped way to high. Usually the guy running the sound board is much more consistent than that. The low brass wasn't loud enough in the beginning too. When done right it is a really nice contrast of dark and mysterious (low brass) and bright (with the soprano sax). Although on the video, it didn't come out to bad. It really just ended sounding like a nice, long, crescendo.

Edited November 3, 2008 by rpd