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BOA Houston 2019


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The video of Clear Brook from the Friendswood contest was very impressive. They should definitely challenge for the top half of finals here.

 

I really enjoy them a lot as well, it's a very complete package that they're performing at a high level for this point in the season.  By far my favorite offering from them in recent memory.  Percussion has always been a strong point, but the guard seems like it took a huge step up this year as well.  

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I also was at the NEISD Fall Festival last night - some quick takeaways

 

CTJ-LOVE this show! So much fun, great energy, and a ton of visual demand! I can’t wait to see if at Nationals.

 

Reagan-Wow. Just wow. I was worried about what has become one of my favorite programs over the last few years after seeing their videos from a football game the last few weeks. Seeing it live is a totally different ballgame. Not as big of a sound as CTJ but so powerful. The show grabs you and seems to never let you go. They go big like only they can (and they keep it interesting without props, AGAIN), but also have this character relationship with a guard leader and a band member that is super engaging and I totally missed on the video. They are going to compete for the top spot at SA again this year.

 

MacArthur-SO Fun! I want to take a second and echo the person above who said they were great. They have this solo Trumpet player that was AMAZING and stole the whole night for me. Incredible!

 

Lots of good stuff from other programs but I have hijacked the thread long enough ☺️

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The video of Clear Brook from the Friendswood contest was very impressive. They should definitely challenge for the top half of finals here.

 

Did you see both the finals and prelims runs? The angle from the stands on the finals run was a little better and that run in general was a little better than prelims.

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This year will be our first year at a BOA in the state (because Waco got oofed) since 2016 and so far the overall atmosphere and prep season for the contests have been going far better than usual. I hope we make our comeback as well as other schools do well alongside with us! As Saturday approaches I’ve been getting more and more nervous.

 

-Falls

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(1) If you saw 7L at the Tompkins game last Friday, then this list is flattering.

 

(2) I completely agree on the top 8 (although no clue on the order); thinking Pearland & JET can slide into spots 9 and 10. My lack of certainty about JET being in finals pains me, but they have a LOT of competition from fellow bubble bands.

 

(3) Hoping Brazoswood recovered with their show progression after the flooding debacle. They’re always an excellent program.

 

Best of luck to all! I’ve analyzed this contest to the fourth dimension and back, and my verdict is: still no darn clue. My Saturday morning is going to be so much fun!

I’ve seen a video of seven lakes, I was in awe.

The last two finalists can be anybody, but I put SFA there because I think they’re one of the cleaner bubble bands. But then again, this could be very wrong come Saturday.

 

I’ve tried analyzing this too I just can’t wrap it around my head just yet.

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Being an alumni, my bias is out there but I really hope Oak Ridge surprises us. They got some pretty challenging drill they need to perfect and they definitely need to work on dynamics and music detailing. I hope they got the rest of their flags and the dress for the solo dancer.

 

After Friendswood, I'm really rooting for Clear Brook. They are definitely a favorite for this season for me.

 

Heard talk about Seven Lakes and people hoping they beat The Woodlands. No offense to any Woodlands people, the show is amazing this year like always, but it'll be pretty cool to see Seven Lakes beat a Houston giant.

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Being an alumni, my bias is out there but I really hope Oak Ridge surprises us. They got some pretty challenging drill they need to perfect and they definitely need to work on dynamics and music detailing. I hope they got the rest of their flags and the dress for the solo dancer.

 

After Friendswood, I'm really rooting for Clear Brook. They are definitely a favorite for this season for me.

 

Heard talk about Seven Lakes and people hoping they beat The Woodlands. No offense to any Woodlands people, the show is amazing this year like always, but it'll be pretty cool to see Seven Lakes beat a Houston giant.

 

 

"Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. And hear the lamentation of their women."

 

- Conan the Barbarian

 

 

:D

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Of all the videos I’ve seen, Clear Brook is really strong, with great everything! The other usual strong programs (Pearland, CyFair, JET, Dawson) seems to be in a similar place. I feel like I’ve seen stronger years from them all recently. But I know it’s still super early. Haven’t seen SL, and only a very early video of SFA on Texan live. I’m always amazed at how much can happen in the last week before a contest. It’s anybodys game! I didn’t comment on the Woodlands, Reagan, or Westlake, because they are locks.

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It’s looking like for the first time in a while, The Woodlands will have a completed show on the field at this regional. They are typically a group that peaks late in the season, and I don’t doubt that the extra week this year will benefit them a good bit. Apparently their rehearsal tonight is closed so it should be interesting to see the show on Saturday. I doubt they’ll be using the metronome this weekend considering that the reason they did so at last weeks game was because they had bumped the tempo of Gallop. I honestly don’t know what to expect between TWHS and Reagan, considering that no one has really seen either show yet.

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It’s looking like for the first time in a while, The Woodlands will have a completed show on the field at this regional. They are typically a group that peaks late in the season, and I don’t doubt that the extra week this year will benefit them a good bit. Apparently their rehearsal tonight is closed so it should be interesting to see the show on Saturday. I doubt they’ll be using the metronome this weekend considering that the reason they did so at last weeks game was because they had bumped the tempo of Gallop. I honestly don’t know what to expect between TWHS and Reagan, considering that no one has really seen either show yet.

 

I suppose that if someone peeked at a not quite peaked show, she might be a bit piqued.

 

Anyway, what little I do know is that there are going to be some unexpected things with this show. Green is so yesterday!

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I am so excited for this one!  I debated over whether to go to this one or Bedford, but ultimately landed on this one because of the fun of the unpredictability!  Aside from maybe 3-4 bands, I think this one is so up in the air with who makes finals with so many really good bands, but lots of unknowns!  It's not terribly often that we have a contest where the bubble list is this much longer than the lock list.

 

Plus, in over 20 years of going to marching band events, I've never been to this BOA.

 

And, looking at the map orientation, it looks like Legacy Stadium home side faces east, so hoping there might be a little press box shade by mid-afternoon!

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I am so excited for this one!  I debated over whether to go to this one or Bedford, but ultimately landed on this one because of the fun of the unpredictability!  Aside from maybe 3-4 bands, I think this one is so up in the air with who makes finals with so many really good bands, but lots of unknowns!  It's not terribly often that we have a contest where the bubble list is this much longer than the lock list.

 

Plus, in over 20 years of going to marching band events, I've never been to this BOA.

 

And, looking at the map orientation, it looks like Legacy Stadium home side faces east, so hoping there might be a little press box shade by mid-afternoon!

 

I've been to Legacy stadium once when it first opened. IIRC, the seating area is also double decked, so the shade isn't only dependent on the press box.

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I suppose that if someone peeked at a not quite peaked show, she might be a bit piqued.

 

Anyway, what little I do know is that there are going to be some unexpected things with this show. Green is so yesterday!

Green is indeed the color of the past from what I’ve heard. It is understandable for her to have a closed rehearsal but it is a bit unusual as well. I’m excited to see what The Woodlands puts on the field this Saturday.

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Alrighty. I just watched a few YouTube vids from the Friendswood contest prelims. I also watched Seven Lakes for the first time. Obviously, videos are never perfect representations of live performances, but they were good (or at least pretty good) quality videos.

 

Reagan

Seven Lakes

Clear Brook

Pearland

Cy-Fair (video is a bit older)

Dawson

Oak Ridge

James E. Taylor

TWCP

 

Going into the contest, this is roughly how I'd rank the ones I've seen. I couldn't find anything for Westlake, Westwood, and The Woodlands. I saw Westwood in Austin finals, but I don't remember the show well enough to rank it. Making finals in Austin is an impressive feat, so Westwood will probably be in finals at Houston. I really like Seven Lakes' show this year. I think it's better-written than their show last year; however, I'm not convinced it's being performed well enough to top either Reagan or TWHS. I think Clear Brook could possibly overtake 7L as well. Cy-Fair did very well at this regional last year. There's a lot to like about their show this year, but the performance I saw seemed weaker than last year. I think Pearland through Oak Ridge on my list are all pretty close in quality, honestly. It's going to be interesting to see where the bands in that group place. Still leaning towards a Reagan win, but I do prefer The Woodlands' music book by quite a bit, which is the only aspect of the two shows I'm able to (somewhat) compare right now.

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Anyone not ranking Westlake in top 3, prepare to be very surprised. Their show this year is a big step up for the program, even from last year. Design is great and it is very clean for this part of the season and it is the best sound I've heard from the group from every year that I've heard them (since 2013ish). I will be very surprised if the top 3 at Katy are not Reagan, TWHS, and Westlake, and I wouldn't be overly surprised if Westlake pulls an upset over TWHS but it's not in my predictions.

 

1) Ronald Reagan

2) The Woodlands

3) Westlake

4) Westwood

5) Cy-Fair

6) Seven Lakes

7) Clear Brook

8) Oak Ridge

9) Pearland

10) Stephen F. Austin

--------------------------

College Park, Dawson, Westfield, James E. Taylor, Cypress Falls, Richland, Brazoswood

 

My full contest thoughts coming very soon...

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