2021 Grand Nationals Continued

[IPlayDrumsAndStuff]

Hey y'all, I don't know if anyone else has been having this problem of posting on the old Grand Nats forum discussion, but it looks like there's too much internet traffic.

[An Inspirational Pinecone]

1 minute ago, IPlayDrumsAndStuff said:

Hey y'all, I don't know if anyone else has been having this problem of posting on the old Grand Nats forum discussion, but it looks like there's too much internet traffic.

Yeah last post I can see was from half an hour ago

[Origin]

Just want to say: Marcus’ ballad>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[Tailgate88]

Broken Arrow, holy crap.

1. BA, 2. Marcus or Avon, 4. Carmel .... but what a crazy amazing Grand Nats after a year off... these kids were HUNGRY and threw down some of the greatest shows we've seen in years.  

Marching Band kids are the best kids!

[LoudBaritone]

Holy these last couple of bands are amazing! I personally just from the eye test I have 1. BA 2. TWHS 3. Avon 4. Marcus (this is how I would have it not a prediction just what I think)

[Origin]

Avon was obviously great, but I’m having a harder time getting into the show. Maybe their music caption win set my expectations too high, cuz I’m just not hearing it. I think the visual caption makes a lot more sense for them to win. Saw quite a few drops in the guard though (but to give them credit they nail most of their insanely difficult work).

[BandFan59]

Yeah I think the last thread broke for real lol. Anyway I thought Broken Arrow was near flawless and likely the champion here, but Avon sure brought the house down! Love their rendition of Fire of Eternal Glory.

Marcus was just beautiful. I don't know how else to put it, but those mellophone soloists were outstanding and the best I've heard all year. Absolutely deserved that music caption in semifinals and wouldn't be surprised to see them win it again.

[clarityrozu]

The only thing I’m seeing is a BA win, that show was a masterpiece and it kept giving and giving.

(wouldn’t be surprised though if TW ends up in the top 3) 

I’ll put my predictions up after the last band performs.

[Origin]

Carmel definitely has one of my favorite shows of the year. 

[katew1228]

1 minute ago, Origin said:

Carmel definitely has one of my favorite shows of the year. 

Do you know what their ballad was?

[Origin]

1 minute ago, katew1228 said:

Do you know what their ballad was?

Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini 

[IPlayDrumsAndStuff]

Way to go, FloMo.

[Origin]

Flower Mound was just SO clean!!! That had to have been their best run, right??? I can’t imagine it being any better than that.

[BandFan59]

I think Flower Mound had their absolute best run!!! That was so WONDERFUL!!!!!! I love this show and the playfulness of every part of it!!! If this doesn't get a medal I will be SO disappointed!!!

[Origin]

10 minutes ago, BandFan59 said:

I think Flower Mound had their absolute best run!!! That was so WONDERFUL!!!!!! I love this show and the playfulness of every part of it!!! If this doesn't get a medal I will be SO disappointed!!!

Me too! Easily the cleanest performance of the night (next to Marcus or course). Guard was totally on fire.

[IPlayDrumsAndStuff]

I can't call it for the final placements. Each band in the Top 6 all had their moments for me, and I suspect there may be a surprise towards the top. Excited to see!

[FloMoParent]

I'm a homer but that was the absolute best run for FloMo all year. Crisp, popping lines, guard and band in sync, and I LOVE the tuba feature!

 

Mojo brought tonight.

[BandFan59]

I think Broken Arrow will ultimately come away with the Eagle tonight. That show was built to win it all. That being said, there were other groups I preferred (Flower Mound, Avon, CTJ) and I am absolutely pulling for Flower Mound to swoop in and keep the Eagle in Texas!

[Tailgate88]

I was going to post my predictions, but instead I'll just say, WOW!... after a year off I am so proud of how all these kids absolutely killed it this year. Some of the best shows ever. Half of the top 12 were Texas bands and every one of them left it on the field. No matter what the final rankings are, it's 1) Texas 2) Everybody else. If you are a student, parent, or director of any of these programs... congratulations!

[slowbrass]

Two Dallas shows! 

[Tailgate88]

From the live blog:  BOA announces they are expanding from 18 Regionals this fall to 24 Regionals in 2022, plus Super Regionals in San Antonio, Indianapolis, and St. Louis. New locations include North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Arizona, Southern California, Kentucky, and a second show in Dallas.

 

 

[FloMoParent]

I really liked The Woodlands show too. I thought they had their best run in finals.

I know Broken Arrow is the favorite, but it seemed a bit off in my eye. Just not as crisp. It was very pretty and the music was wow.

Did Marcus change something? Earlier runs I was wowed by their marching and was waiting for it in finals. Their music book was performed at world class level.

I really liked Avon and LOVED Carmel's use of negative space and silence. 

[BandFan59]

A second show in Dallas is great news! That regional's been at or near max enrollment for quite some time now, another regional will do good to relieve the enrollment and bring in more bands in the area.

[Rubisco]

I watched on the multicam tonight, so I don't know what it all looked like from high up, but every band seemed to give their best performance of the year. Just absolutely astonishing after what everyone has been through these past couple of years. To come back like this is amazing.

Watching on multicam (read: close-up cam) I gotta say that Broken Arrow impressed me the most. Their guard moves like a friggin' dance team. You could see Michael Turner just staring at them and slowly nodding his head up and down with the ebb and flow of the movement. Just gorgeous stuff from that ensemble. They move SO well.

Speaking of guards, I am SO excited to see what The Woodlands and Flower Mound bring this year. Unfortunately, neither is going to the WGI World Championships this year, but both have improved significantly. Flower Mound's guard was just in complete character the whole time, and executed everything so cleanly. The Woodlands absolutely can hang with the top dogs with the right show design. The stuff they were doing equipment-wise was stuff you'd see in a top notch world class show, but on a marching field, which is rare, because you don't need to do such complicated skills to generate effect from high up. That super exposed forward handspring toss at the start; that massive toss caught seated on the chair with the rifle pointed toward the ground; that ripple toss, where each girl catches the rifle in a different position, some behind their back, others under their leg. Just astonishing. How did they get this good this fast?! And they had 38 (!) rifles in that opening statement. What is their JV guard going to look like?!

Anyway, brilliant performances all around. I couldn't be happier about how this finals went. Shake 'em up in a hat and throw out the numbers.

[FloMoParent]

2 minutes ago, Rubisco said:

I watched on the multicam tonight, so I don't know what it all looked like from high up, but every band seemed to give their best performance of the year.

I only watched the high cam so I didn't get the intricate details, I'm a sucker for big marching movement.

I would have loved to have a split screen or two large TV's to watch. Sometimes it seems like multi-cam misses a lot