Robbie Rob's BOA San Antonio FINALS Review!

[RobbieRob]

Here's to all my peeps in Texarkana!

 

Aledo - I thought you guys would have fit right in with the other finalists. 'Nuff said.

 

Leander - Some mental errors in this show. I enjoyed the total musicianship. Impact points pulled off okay. The old time police officer character stretching was a highlight moment. Better composure, better artistic expression, and focus, focus, focus would've benefited these performers.

Robbie Rob sez: 85.90 (12th). Judge's say: 82.90 (12th).

 

Haltom - Very difficult and exposed drill executed well at the top of this show. Pre-direction projection in the arc forms kept them down, somewhat. The tenor "buzzing around" the fabulous clarinet soloist was magical. Ha ha! The soloist pretends to collapse from exertion. I feel like I'm in the swamp with the frogs during the percussion fiasco. (I love the wind players leap-frogging over each other!) The trickle down music and motion to the side A end zone was one of the best parts of the show. Unlike prelims, the bass drummer that signals the exit stayed down a little longer to allow crowd reaction to surround them. This show was one of my personal favorites.

Robbie Rob sez: 89.40 (7th). Judge's say: 82.85 (13th)

 

Westlake - The clarinet soloist in white face paint PERFORMS. (Really, this kid became 10 sizes bigger from where I was sitting. Great work.) Trumpets, before that head tilt you mashed up that spot of yours, but the attempt was firm. The grace, majesty, and glory attained by how they present their product WORKS. Careful not to lean into the direction of motion (before step-off). The end of this show fired on all cylinders, though I was hoping for something as "deft-defying" as they implied with their premise.

Robbie Rob sez: 87.80 (10th). Judge's say: 83.55 (11th)

 

Berkner - They hypnotize you with a large target square that moves and morphs, and then the dome is filled with a burst of sound. Those long diagonal forms have got to be straighter. The flagwork once the first big moment is done is anticlimactic, and I feel all should be still or at least significant. Do not guess into those DM cues to play, woodwinds...be EXACT! Great physical staging around the soloists. Just as we must play together we must MOVE together. Come on, you guys! They shined at the end. Their horns and eyes were high with pride.

Robbie Rob sez: 87.00 (11th). Judge's say: 86.75 (7th)

 

Winston Churchill - The guard member in the straight jacket that moves through the posing, moody wind players gives you that off-kilter feeling. And voila, more crazy guard (and one of them grunts, too! Nice.) The first part of their show is programmed great. There is too much "taking it easy" in the next movement. (Talk about breather time!) Nah nah nah. You must burst from the seams ALWAYS.) Yikes, clarinet soloist--not bad, but not great. I am not a big fan of drill moves where you spell things, as that is old school and too obvious. This show was a struggle at the end but the kids handled themselves well.

Robbie Rob sez 89.00 (8th). Judges say: 88.80 (5th)

 

Keller - Their magnetism concept had many dimensions. There's muted playing, forms that try to resist and then give into "magnetic" pull, and serious notes that sustain. Some body movement could be enhanced with better coordination. Killer ending, killer. I give two thumbs up to the lone snare drummer who gets attached to the mob of instruments already snatched by the big magnet.

Robbie Rob sez 88.50 (9th). Judges say: 84.40 (9th)

 

Cedar Park - The clarinets sure were sure of themselves. Not too much sound to get things going is the way to go...ah ah ah, but not too much park and blow. Saxes, keep those instruments still while you march (especially when the horns are down. I got blinded!) Way to top it off at the end of that first movement...SUPREME! All stop on a prime note in the ballad. Wow, I didn't know trombones could be so...graceful. The end of Adagio was too rushed...just a personal preference, now. (It was done quite well, though!) A clarinet train wreck happened near the back of the field where at least four players tumbled to the ground, but man that was one of the best recoveries I have ever seen. Oh no! A flute player takes a spill, too! Ouch! But still, she recovers GREAT. Whew! Some heart-stopping moments there, and I'm not just talking about the good stuff. Be proud, guys. That was a heck of a performance!

Robbie Rob sez 91.50 (3rd). Judges say: 91.45 (3rd)

 

Hebron - Creepy eye props, there. A saxophone soloist, amped, wanders about with strangeness. Tension is not hard to make with this show. The different section interplay, filtering their sounds to the most pure, inundates me. Watch the spacing out of those big diagonals. These kids were ON!

Robbie Rob sez 91.30 (4th). Judges say: 84.55 (8th)

 

Ronald Reagan - The opening notes sound like they are being shoved down a disposer. Hips back, people. Straight up-and-down bodies, everyone. (PLEASE?!) Excellent follow-through with the fanfare notes, and it goes and goes. Initiation glitch. Halt glitch. Get the feet in tiiiiime. Cutesy pit feature gives way to some so-so playing and marching. Splendid solo rifle toss, there. This show survives despite the flubs. Okay. Okay. Okay.

Robbie Rob sez 82.20 (14th). Judges say: 82.40 (14th)

 

Stephen F. Austin - Form development to kick things off was a little sketchy. Way to use that air. Ooh, gentle my fair-trumpet friends. Okay, they improved. Auxiliary placement on the field does not seem to provide the strategic advantage it should. (They can make forms, too, ya know.) This band knows how to make their mark with sound, especially edge-of-your-seat sound. When is enough ENOUGH, though? Strong finish ends it all, so you can't complain as much as you might want to. They held their own.

Robbie Rob sez 90.00 (5th). Judges say: 87.80 (6th)

 

Friendswood - I like how the sax soloists are framed on side A and side B. Their opening number was lukewarm; your standard fare. Enticing guard moments, fah sha. Their concept is not working for me. (It seems like music for music's sake.) Grab me! Pull me in! Shake me around! Execution was there, technically, but not effectively.

Robbie Rob sez 84.00 (13th). Judges say: 84.30 (10th)

 

L.D. Bell - They entered the field in a sporadic way. They seemed to suggest that this was their stage and they owned it. Yeah, I can see how that looks intimidating. The auxiliary lined up their prop-work as best as they could, I felt...but it was choppy. Extreme release, yeeeah! Though I like the rush to stage those pod forms with defined touches, the undefined left some to be desired. (Takes the fun out of it, doesn't it?) Again, there is that blob that shakes and shivers. The sounds from past shows works, but not as well as the past shows because I think the past shows had better cohesiveness. I almost got a sense that this band was too schizophrenic for their own good. (Not that this show is NOT cohesive, but it lacks clarity in more ways than one.) You guys are creative, or at least creative enough...so come up with something new! Once again, like in prelims, the end is the THING..and you can't hold them back NOW. I really, really, really like the procession off the field--majestic.

Robbie Rob sez 93.80 (1st). Judges say: 94.55 (1st)

 

Marcus - A non-stop chord makes it known that big, bad Marcus is here. Why hello, Marcus! The uniformed guy in black sure acts like a god. I like how they keep it simple but on point with the "god" uniform color change. Their sounds cook, simmer, and come out perfect. They are not as profound as L.D. Bell, for sure, but they bring in their identity with what they do, and in full force I might add. Dare they make complex shapes in drill, or perhaps take some risk with some more ballet moves (or something similar)? I'm going to nickname this band "Upright Marcus." Very vibrant, clean, almost anti-bacterial-soap-sanitary-clean show.

Robbie Rob sez 92.70 (2nd). Judges say: 93.35 (2nd)

 

James Bowie - The frenetic spot-switch drill by the woodwinds is quite sharp. Those square outline forms are tough to do and even tougher to rotate, but this band seemed to pull it off with little fuss. The entrance of the sax quartet was timid. Great musical shape, musicians, especially during the ballad, ESPECIALLY. Ha ha! But they do it again! Yes! Low brass, during your feature, where oh where are the horn angles? Are the tubas right? Are you right? Let's figure this out. The finish was as it should be, with a ring-a-ding-DING.

Robbie Rob sez 89.70 (6th). Judges say: 90.10 (4th)

 

Hidalgo - Nice show. I had more fun watching you guys at night. Good luck in Indy.

 

Now I'm going to copy what Alan Irons used to do:

 

Robbie Rob's Scores

14th 82.20 Ronald Reagan

13th 84.00 Friendswood

12th 85.90 Leander

11th 87.00 Berkner

10th 87.80 Westlake

9th 88.50 Keller

8th 89.00 Winston Churchill

7th 89.40 Haltom

6th 89.70 James Bowie

5th 90.00 Stephen F. Austin

4th 91.30 Hebron

3rd 91.50 Cedar Park

2nd 92.70 Marcus

1st 93.80 L.D. Bell

 

The Real Deal

14th 82.40 Ronald Reagan

13th 82.85 Haltom

12th 82.90 Leander

11th 83.55 Westlake

10th 84.30 Friendswood

9th 84.40 Keller

8th 84.55 Hebron

7th 86.75 Berkner

6th 87.80 Stephen F. Austin

5th 88.80 Winston Churchill

4th 90.10 James Bowie

3rd 91.45 Cedar Park

2nd 93.35 Marcus

1st 94.55 L.D. Bell

 

Music - L.D. Bell & Marcus

Visual - L.D. Bell

Effect - L.D. Bell

 

It was good. Thanks.

 

Rob OUT! See yaaaaaaaaaaaaa!