BOA San Antonio Prelims Review III

[RobbieRob]

Ready or not, here it is...part trois!

 

John B. Alexander H.S., TX

Expert work with the arm movements, and clear drill orientation. Good mello. Good band. Things are on target. Woo-hoo! Jester's dead. Permission to buzz the tower, sir? You can be my wingman any time, Ice. Sorry. Ooh, those broad white stripes on ones side of the leg you got going there makes it really easy for me to pick out individuals who are not marching like everyone else. I am feeling the intensity, for certain. Flutes, I can hear your feet through your instrument. Forms have to lock when they're supposed to. Come on. Geez. And a flute cracking? Are you kidding me? Okay, that percussion interlude was definitely cool. These guys like a challenge, and they met it with some adequacy. Crack that whip!

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 70.00

 

Aledo H.S., TX

The intro sound effect swallowed the field. Good! The chanting was compelling. The bari sax needs better amping, here. Gotta max out the effect. Great interpretation of the theme. I was digging the taiko drumming and "falling backwards" poses. Yikes, some of the clarinets repeating notes were JUST off, yet the control was thriving. The brass barely managed those licks coming into the last movement. Well this is a band to watch out for. Solid, solid effort. They put a unique spin on something done great before, which is tough to do!

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 83.90

 

Stephen F. Austin H.S., TX

The vertical lines that skid on down the field are near perfect. Individual marching technique: some yay and some nay. The brass sang through, but the woodwinds not so much so. Great integration with the ladies in pink, making the most of their body without the equipment. Aaah, had to do the Vanguard "push," eh? (I guess that's appropriate, though I'd prefer you not rip off or--let me put this NICELY--"compliment" a drum and bugle corps that has done this before.) They certainly execute well. I am in love with all the solos. Beautiful. The velocity is breathtaking in the last part of their show.

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 89.00

 

Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX

I hate to be nit-picky, but the plumes have to be straight up and down. The light blue is so easy to see on those shakos. You could appreciate the circle-cluster bow-down to the baritone soloist who played what seemed like was going to turn into "Fanfare for the Common Man." Wait a min--Reagan? Reagan, is that YOU? Naw. Naw dog. Wow. Anyways, ha ha. Moving on. There are those exposed lines that cross vertically, and, eh, oookay. The Bjork music was interpreted oookay. (I could use less groovy 1970's drumline, you know what I mean?) Some of their drill suffered near the end. A bass clarinet just got in there, and a trumpet player almost fell but regained balance. Wow, and up-and-coming band. They'll need to set themselves apart a little more. Maybe they should call themselves "C.T. Johnson"? Hmmm, nah. Then they'd be ripping off L.D. Bell. Whatever.

Robbie Rob gives them a score of...hmmm, where's my scoring sheet? Ah ha! 78.50. (ALERT: I gave Judson Claudia Taylor Johnson's score by mistake. Judson's score should be 81.20. Thank you.)

 

Langham Creek H.S., TX

The verbal count-off to kick off the show was a bit lackluster. Direction change, saxophones...that's all I'm gonna write. These guys flatlined for me. I neeeeed more contraaaaast. The next movement did more. The lunge moves sparkled. And speaking of sparkle, get a load of these auxiliary costumes! (Spiffy!) Great ending to their show when the uniform members took off their shakos and threw out ribbons of different colors.

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 77.90

 

Winston Churchill H.S., TX

This band got out of the gates rather well. Some halts, and some drill forms, and some step-offs were iffy. Very powerful blend of musicians and auxiliary. Again, some execution faults. The sweet, sweet melodies did prevail. Interesting...they spell things with their formations, like "RAGE." Don't lean into moves, guys. I know this is a demanding show, but this is oh-so-familiar. I have seen better from this band. I KNOW they can do better than this. I'm just calling it how I see it. I don't blow smoke. They did not do a bad job by ANY means, but they seemed toned down overall. Maybe it was the Barber, stuff? Enough of Barber, Texas! Been there, done that. Just pop in a tape or DVD of Star '93.

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 87.00

 

Ronald Reagan H.S., TX

Their pre-show demonstrates their above average marching skills. Now onto the real thing. Their stuff meanders. You have those rotating blocks, but done as if they are there for the sake of being done. It's as if the drill writer thought, "Eh, lets throw in a few rotating blocks." Yay for musicianship, but I see no trace of the innovation that used to be Ronald Reagan only a few years ago. Lots of standing around around here. I see flashes of greatness in spots, but nothing significant, and certainly nothing extraordinary. I'm sorry. I'm just telling it like it is. Super work, rifle line, as you're helping keep this show worthy. San Antonio schools, what is UP?

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 72.90

 

Skiatook H.S., OK

The flashy arm moves were synched up. This show cruised, cruised, cruised, and then the drumline signaled the faster tempo. All was fine, but it sure was tough finding things that stuck out in a neat way. There were flaws here and there, but for the most part things went their way. Great spotlight on the bari soloist, guard soloist. Make me be in awe, guys. It's not happening. It's not happening. Fine, keep cruising. Demand more of yourselves! The pounding piano interlude was hopeful and effective, but sell me one more. Please?

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 62.80

 

Loveland H.S., CO

The woodwind flourishes flourish. Wow, did I graduate with a degree in English or what? Oops on some of the files...cover down! Heh, great. Good stuff bass drummers! (I like the stick slap on the foot.) Watch the tone quality, low brass. (They hang tough.) The soloists worked it, baby, worked it! The shards of gunk I saw were tough not to mention, but alas, I muuust. This band was programmed quite quite well. Heeey, that ending was splendid. This was a welcome effort, no?

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 75.40

 

Dekaney H.S., TX

The last band of the day to perform. (They would have performed earlier, but were said to have "transportation issues.") Now, what do we have here? More energy, more enthusiasm, more effort could be used at the beginning of their show. What? I can't hear you. Play OUT. Be secure with where you're going with this and how you want to go. The guard made some waves with their flag work. There we go: trombone duet. Excellence has got to be achieved with your feet this time and all the time. Really stress how well you move as individuals, and I think the rest will come naturally. This show was a crowd pleaser...nothing wrong with that. Wow. Wow. Wow, what fun! Good for these guys!

Robbie Rob gives them a score of 62.20

 

Thus endeth Day 1 of prelims, oh high and mighty readers of the round table! Geteth ready to be spellbound by dragons, wizards, and MORE BANDS!

 

Here's my scores SO far. We'll see what the judges have to say about what I saw LATER. And then I will give you MY feedback, 'cause I have some things I need to get off my chest...

 

89.00 Stephen F. Austin

88.50 Cedar Park

84.60 W. Charles Akins

83.90 Aledo

*81.20 Judson

*78.50 Claudia Taylor Johnson

77.90 Langham Creek

77.80 Georgetown

75.40 Loveland

75.10 William B. Travis

73.70 Leander

72.90 Ronald Reagan H.S., TX

70.00 John B. Alexander

69.00 United

66.10 Klein Forest

65.90 John Marshall

65.30 Eagle Pass

63.00 Victoria Memorial

62.80 Skiatook

62.20 Dekaney

62.00 C.C. Winn

58.90 Elgin

58.20 Aubrey

56.00 East Bernard

 

*CORRECTION

 

Checkity check.

 

Rob OUT!

Edited November 3, 2008 by RobbieRob

[takigan]

What's with the double topic posts? You did the double post last year as well on the BOA forum (or was it '06?).