Early season videos

[ChristopherRoden]

Pearland and Shadow Creek (Area E) 

 

[packwick]

FloMo's backdrops are very very pretty this year, muuuuch more appealing than the brick walls from last year lol. very painterly, colors look fauvist, like tropical-ish, can't tell what the images are on my phone. i think i see ppl??

Hebron has like 4 large ring lights on the field on movable pink platforms, i don't think they're actually ring lights lol, just whitish circles. they also have several narrow black obelisk looking things backfield. eeeenteresting!

[Tubalord11]

57 minutes ago, packwick said:

FloMo's backdrops are very very pretty this year, muuuuch more appealing than the brick walls from last year lol. very painterly, colors look fauvist, like tropical-ish, can't tell what the images are on my phone. i think i see ppl??

Hebron has like 4 large ring lights on the field on movable pink platforms, i don't think they're actually ring lights lol, just whitish circles. they also have several narrow black obelisk looking things backfield. eeeenteresting!

I’m very excited to see Flomo at Wylie next week based on all you’ve said about them! Sounds like they have a very good show, snd of course they bring a Huge sound! 

[ChristopherRoden]

Looking forward to some early season vids from the first big Texas contests!

[packwick]

totally no idea who made this but it's pretty cool...

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMlRGEIwJ1RH6pknu46-TkCHsE8TGJuTV

[Rubisco]

13 hours ago, packwick said:

totally no idea who made this but it's pretty cool...

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMlRGEIwJ1RH6pknu46-TkCHsE8TGJuTV

Thank you, Bill! 😄

[Jon]

You can watch Haltom around 2:14:22(i think their first movement is unfortunately blocked by sponsorships and not shown  but they sound great in their ballad! ) and SLC starts around 2:24:10. (surprised to see they have basically  their whole show done but their 3rd movement requires a lot of smoothing over, much more than their other movements) Also this was from last friday(9/22)

[Tubalord11]

 
 

heres Lonestar from the Melissa comp yesterday, they sound PHENOMENAL!!! It’s definitely weird seeing them in custom uniforms for the 1st time, but they definitely work very well with the theme! It’s just another loud sounding, big drill Lonestar show everyone will love! 

[packwick]

awwwww, Strong Silent Hero took down his video already. i guess technically vis design is covered by copyright laws.

congrats to the 5 ppl or so who saw it lol. like getting a rare Beanie Baby. y'all got ur limited edition Princess Diana Bear!!

[clarinetistkai05]

Forney High School 5A (Area C) - In the Arena

https://youtu.be/HvPMtcVvAd8

[tennertrumbow]

7 hours ago, Tubalord11 said:

 
 

heres Lonestar from the Melissa comp yesterday, they sound PHENOMENAL!!! It’s definitely weird seeing them in custom uniforms for the 1st time, but they definitely work very well with the theme! It’s just another loud sounding, big drill Lonestar show everyone will love! 

we had custom show tops, hats, and plumes for Primal but they came in the week following BOA DFW because of supply chain issues with who we ordered from. needless to say we switched companies this year lol

[SaxA41]

anyone going to the FISD marching showcase?

[tennertrumbow]

2 hours ago, clarinetistkai05 said:

Forney High School 5A (Area C) - In the Arena

https://youtu.be/HvPMtcVvAd8

y’all sound great. i definitely see you going places this year. why weren’t y’all at BOA dfw last year?

[Rubisco]

That clarinet feature in Cy-Fair's show is so impressive, even with the poor audio quality! That technique! Wow! This is a fascinating show. It seems to be about metamorphosis, but instead of your typical beautiful butterfly emerging, we get a white moth. 😄 This all seems a bit darker and more subversive than what we usually see. We could be merrily frolicking in the fields with caterpillars or whatever, but the music here is often quite anxious. Just listen to that opening brass statement. Crawling in my skin, indeed! Even that color scheme in the 2nd video -- the black uniforms with the red "hooks" -- it's a little unsettling. Is that what they're supposed to be? Hooks? I'm not sure, but they're interesting.

I have no idea what Cy Woods' show is about just watching it, but it's all very clearly performed, musically and visually, at least considering the date it was performed. The guard continues their rise. I love the groovy second section with the spinning circles on side 1 and collapsing triangles on side 2. That middle section of the triangle that simply shrinks, it's just kinda dynamic. That oboe soloist in the ballad is wonderful -- the piece is Danse Bacchanale by Saint-Saens. The climax here with the spiraling swing flags interspersed with the band as it's stretched out all across the field is pretty breathtaking. There's just a control and balance to the design overall that I really like. You're not left guessing about the designer's intentions, at least at the level of the drill.

I think this Flower Mound show will end up being a stronger vehicle for them than last year. Obviously, without sound, it's hard to tell, but already the visual program is more appealing. Last year, the band was quite literally boxed in with brick walls. 😄 This year everything just breathes more, it feels like they're making fuller use of the field, even though it probably has the same coverage. Like in previous years, they're often stretched across the field doing some lovely, dynamic folding drill. It's a little more of an old-fashioned, more symmetric approach to drill design, as others have noted but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The splash of color from the set pieces is beautiful. I love when they pull them apart -- it's very dimensional, very interesting when mixed with the marching members. The guard is strong, and is frequently staged front and center. This is a smart decision because they have one of the strongest guards in the country. If you've got it, flaunt it! These gals are attempting some very tricky spinning skills, very fast with those flags. It's not quite clean yet, but I think they'll have it within a couple weeks.

Hebron's show, I'm just imagining it with the outstanding music I heard a few weeks ago, the heroic Wagner brass followed by that tricky Gavin Greenaway Disney firework piece with its ever shifting meters -- 2/8, 3/8, 4/8, 5/8, 6/8 -- Greenaway just wanted to use them all, I think. 😄 Hebron has black monoliths backfield. Get it? Monomyth, monolith. I'm not sure what the 4 large circles are supposed to represent. Perhaps it's the cycle of the hero's journey? His eventual return home? Or perhaps each represents a stage of the journey? Hero leaves home, encounters some trial, comes back changed -- that's the gist of it. Anyway, the drill performance is excellent for early season, truly impressive, and it's pretty consistently engaging as well. It works nicely with the set pieces on the field, like when the soloist is wheeled forward on one of the circles through the marching members. Guard is still a little bit weaker, execution is a little lacking. I think the main priority should just be to get the work clean for upstairs rather than dazzling with difficulty, because at the end of the day, I think there are a lot of visual judges who won't care how difficult your guard work is, or won't really be able to tell. Trust me, I know a few. 😄 

Marcus, this is another soundless one. It starts out very clean and controlled, but then they intersperse these more chaotic moments. It's a little confusing for me, honestly, but it probably works with the theme, whatever it is. (No, I don't know what the theme is, I'm sorry!) It's all very dramatically performed. Really great energy from the performers, you feel that upstairs. The guard is looking very strong, definitely one of the best guards in the state. There's a cool moment in there where they spin one of their white set pieces around to reveal percussionists on a stage. I love this theatrical, Broadway stuff, I gotta say! Great aesthetic effect!

Speaking of Broadway, the king of the Broadway show, The Woodlands, is still doing jazz, but this time with a Spanish flair, thanks to Chick Corea. Suitably, you've got those absolutely gorgeous curved benches inspired by Barcelona's Park Guell. The level of detail to both the set pieces and to the show overall is fantastic. The design is always clear, always in balance with the total elements on the field. This is my first time seeing a high cam of the opening fast stuff. With the guard as strong as it is -- currently the best in the country -- and with the design as strong as it is, it's like watching a great Avon or Carmel program, but in Texas. The music is wonderful as well, it just takes you places. I'm happy to see they're mostly caught up, too, although they have some cleaning to do. The show seems a step up difficulty-wise, so I'm wondering just how polished they'll be able to get this show. I also think the ballad, while beautiful, could be more dramatic in the climax -- maybe more conflict and resolution, some rubato as well. Guard costumes are interesting. They look like a sleek homage to their 2013 costumes.

I'm on the Bridgeland train this year as well. The angle of the earlier video with sound that I watched wasn't as good as these videos without sound. Thematically, it's not really anything special. "Another show about blooming flowers, how boring!" But it's less about WHAT the show is about than HOW it's about it, to paraphrase Roger Ebert. This visual program is dynamic and beautiful. It's layered, but without totally losing focus. And that guard, I think the only cleaner guards I've seen at this point in the season are from The Woodlands and Carmel. Now, their work isn't as challenging as some others, but look at how cleanly they're executing already, and look at what a big impact they're making. Like, literally, the guard is gigantic! 😄 Those full-field flag features -- eat your heart out, Wes Cartwright! I love during the slow section when the drill collapses into that density with the different colored flags all swirling around it. Just beautiful! When they spell out "Hope" at the end of the ballad (well, it's either that or "Hop" 😄) it could be cheesy, but it's actually kind of sweet in this context. The music is great and effective as well, but the last I heard it, it did need some major cleaning. The musicians weren't always in control, or in tune. They just need to dial that in.

Hmmm... Who else? Avon, I love how playful this Pictures arrangement is, like I couldn't even tell it was Pictures at first. They've saved us all from yet another boring Pictures arrangement. I love the energy, the speed, the commitment. Look at how those performers move in that opening choreography. Just stunning! Who else does stuff that complicated and that clean? That said, shortly after that opening that draws you in, the performance quality drops pretty significantly as they start to struggle with the challenges. It's not the prettiest visual design I've seen from Avon either. I'm not sure the empty picture frames add much to the program besides to signify that it's the band inside the Tableaux. The pacing is a little strange as well, but that comes from Pictures itself, with its back and forth slow movements and up-tempo movements. I'll reserve judgment on Avon for when this one's cleaner.

And that's really where Carmel dominated at Kentucky. They were just a lot cleaner, musically and visually. But then they also have that gemlike Gaines drill with the Saucedo arrangement that ALWAYS plays with tempo, with meter, with style, with dynamics -- the stuff that makes music really interesting. It just holds you from start to finish. This is a team that knows 110% what they're doing. And that guard, well, they're totally unsettling with their plague masks. 😬 Let's just say that they seem to be saying that this "prophecy" might not be a pleasant one for Texas bands at Nats, although I'm hoping for something other than yet another Carmel win. Also unsettling is how big and strong the guard is, but I guess that's also par for the course for Carmel. Kind of an unsettling show in general, but I can get behind it! 😄

[Rubisco]

Oopsie! Meant to say Strauss, not Wagner, for Hebron. Didn't proofread my wall of text!

[clarinetistkai05]

6 hours ago, tennertrumbow said:

y’all sound great. i definitely see you going places this year. why weren’t y’all at BOA dfw last year?

I honestly don’t know why. We just didn’t go, probably had something that same week, but I forget.

[packwick]

16 hours ago, Rubisco said:

That clarinet feature in Cy-Fair's show is so impressive, even with the poor audio quality! That technique! Wow! This is a fascinating show. It seems to be about metamorphosis, but instead of your typical beautiful butterfly emerging, we get a white moth. 😄 This all seems a bit darker and more subversive than what we usually see. We could be merrily frolicking in the fields with caterpillars or whatever, but the music here is often quite anxious. Just listen to that opening brass statement. Crawling in my skin, indeed! Even that color scheme in the 2nd video -- the black uniforms with the red "hooks" -- it's a little unsettling. Is that what they're supposed to be? Hooks? I'm not sure, but they're interesting.

I have no idea what Cy Woods' show is about just watching it, but it's all very clearly performed, musically and visually, at least considering the date it was performed. The guard continues their rise. I love the groovy second section with the spinning circles on side 1 and collapsing triangles on side 2. That middle section of the triangle that simply shrinks, it's just kinda dynamic. That oboe soloist in the ballad is wonderful -- the piece is Danse Bacchanale by Saint-Saens. The climax here with the spiraling swing flags interspersed with the band as it's stretched out all across the field is pretty breathtaking. There's just a control and balance to the design overall that I really like. You're not left guessing about the designer's intentions, at least at the level of the drill.

I think this Flower Mound show will end up being a stronger vehicle for them than last year. Obviously, without sound, it's hard to tell, but already the visual program is more appealing. Last year, the band was quite literally boxed in with brick walls. 😄 This year everything just breathes more, it feels like they're making fuller use of the field, even though it probably has the same coverage. Like in previous years, they're often stretched across the field doing some lovely, dynamic folding drill. It's a little more of an old-fashioned, more symmetric approach to drill design, as others have noted but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The splash of color from the set pieces is beautiful. I love when they pull them apart -- it's very dimensional, very interesting when mixed with the marching members. The guard is strong, and is frequently staged front and center. This is a smart decision because they have one of the strongest guards in the country. If you've got it, flaunt it! These gals are attempting some very tricky spinning skills, very fast with those flags. It's not quite clean yet, but I think they'll have it within a couple weeks.

Hebron's show, I'm just imagining it with the outstanding music I heard a few weeks ago, the heroic Wagner brass followed by that tricky Gavin Greenaway Disney firework piece with its ever shifting meters -- 2/8, 3/8, 4/8, 5/8, 6/8 -- Greenaway just wanted to use them all, I think. 😄 Hebron has black monoliths backfield. Get it? Monomyth, monolith. I'm not sure what the 4 large circles are supposed to represent. Perhaps it's the cycle of the hero's journey? His eventual return home? Or perhaps each represents a stage of the journey? Hero leaves home, encounters some trial, comes back changed -- that's the gist of it. Anyway, the drill performance is excellent for early season, truly impressive, and it's pretty consistently engaging as well. It works nicely with the set pieces on the field, like when the soloist is wheeled forward on one of the circles through the marching members. Guard is still a little bit weaker, execution is a little lacking. I think the main priority should just be to get the work clean for upstairs rather than dazzling with difficulty, because at the end of the day, I think there are a lot of visual judges who won't care how difficult your guard work is, or won't really be able to tell. Trust me, I know a few. 😄 

Marcus, this is another soundless one. It starts out very clean and controlled, but then they intersperse these more chaotic moments. It's a little confusing for me, honestly, but it probably works with the theme, whatever it is. (No, I don't know what the theme is, I'm sorry!) It's all very dramatically performed. Really great energy from the performers, you feel that upstairs. The guard is looking very strong, definitely one of the best guards in the state. There's a cool moment in there where they spin one of their white set pieces around to reveal percussionists on a stage. I love this theatrical, Broadway stuff, I gotta say! Great aesthetic effect!

Speaking of Broadway, the king of the Broadway show, The Woodlands, is still doing jazz, but this time with a Spanish flair, thanks to Chick Corea. Suitably, you've got those absolutely gorgeous curved benches inspired by Barcelona's Park Guell. The level of detail to both the set pieces and to the show overall is fantastic. The design is always clear, always in balance with the total elements on the field. This is my first time seeing a high cam of the opening fast stuff. With the guard as strong as it is -- currently the best in the country -- and with the design as strong as it is, it's like watching a great Avon or Carmel program, but in Texas. The music is wonderful as well, it just takes you places. I'm happy to see they're mostly caught up, too, although they have some cleaning to do. The show seems a step up difficulty-wise, so I'm wondering just how polished they'll be able to get this show. I also think the ballad, while beautiful, could be more dramatic in the climax -- maybe more conflict and resolution, some rubato as well. Guard costumes are interesting. They look like a sleek homage to their 2013 costumes.

I'm on the Bridgeland train this year as well. The angle of the earlier video with sound that I watched wasn't as good as these videos without sound. Thematically, it's not really anything special. "Another show about blooming flowers, how boring!" But it's less about WHAT the show is about than HOW it's about it, to paraphrase Roger Ebert. This visual program is dynamic and beautiful. It's layered, but without totally losing focus. And that guard, I think the only cleaner guards I've seen at this point in the season are from The Woodlands and Carmel. Now, their work isn't as challenging as some others, but look at how cleanly they're executing already, and look at what a big impact they're making. Like, literally, the guard is gigantic! 😄 Those full-field flag features -- eat your heart out, Wes Cartwright! I love during the slow section when the drill collapses into that density with the different colored flags all swirling around it. Just beautiful! When they spell out "Hope" at the end of the ballad (well, it's either that or "Hop" 😄) it could be cheesy, but it's actually kind of sweet in this context. The music is great and effective as well, but the last I heard it, it did need some major cleaning. The musicians weren't always in control, or in tune. They just need to dial that in.

Hmmm... Who else? Avon, I love how playful this Pictures arrangement is, like I couldn't even tell it was Pictures at first. They've saved us all from yet another boring Pictures arrangement. I love the energy, the speed, the commitment. Look at how those performers move in that opening choreography. Just stunning! Who else does stuff that complicated and that clean? That said, shortly after that opening that draws you in, the performance quality drops pretty significantly as they start to struggle with the challenges. It's not the prettiest visual design I've seen from Avon either. I'm not sure the empty picture frames add much to the program besides to signify that it's the band inside the Tableaux. The pacing is a little strange as well, but that comes from Pictures itself, with its back and forth slow movements and up-tempo movements. I'll reserve judgment on Avon for when this one's cleaner.

And that's really where Carmel dominated at Kentucky. They were just a lot cleaner, musically and visually. But then they also have that gemlike Gaines drill with the Saucedo arrangement that ALWAYS plays with tempo, with meter, with style, with dynamics -- the stuff that makes music really interesting. It just holds you from start to finish. This is a team that knows 110% what they're doing. And that guard, well, they're totally unsettling with their plague masks. 😬 Let's just say that they seem to be saying that this "prophecy" might not be a pleasant one for Texas bands at Nats, although I'm hoping for something other than yet another Carmel win. Also unsettling is how big and strong the guard is, but I guess that's also par for the course for Carmel. Kind of an unsettling show in general, but I can get behind it! 😄

ive been keeping up w/ Hebron's vids throughout the whole season so far and actually i think the guard continues to improve each week. doooont think they'll have any problem getting it clean by late season. also i disagree w/ the suggestion about watering it down for upstairs bc challenging yourself is so important, esp when they move to indoors for WGI and suddenly all eyes are on them.

agreed w/ twhs' ballad. made pretty much the exact same comment in May. they've actually drawn out the final heroic sounding "summit" chord at the climax and made it longer. think it would be better to maybe hold that chord for a few beats but then unexpectedly shift back down to a more tense, suspended chord, like they just slightly stumbled off the summit. then have some climbing mellos swirl into that tense chord w/ a ritardando like they're reaching for the top again, crescendo, THEN u get the flute soloist + warm blanket low brass chord resolution. i hear it in my head and it's brilliant, who knows in practice tho LOL.

[packwick]

here's another CTJ, from this past Saturday w/ crap audio. just did their opener, maybe bc there was some event before their perf.

https://fan.hudl.com/usa/texas/san-antonio/organization/7976/johnson-high-school/watch?b=QnJvYWRjYXN0NjQ1ODg0

NEISD marching fest is tomorrow at 7, usually streamed by NEISD Athletics channel on YouTube, not sure if they're streaming it this year.

[packwick]

aaaaand here's Reagan's most recent one from that site, think it might be from the same game as the last one i posted but better angle.

https://fan.hudl.com/usa/texas/san-antonio/organization/3456/reagan-high-school/watch?b=QnJvYWRjYXN0NjQ1ODM3

[Origin]

Finally saw a good video of Carmel from their regional finals performance. They’re so good lol. I take back what i said about the music, it just really really works. I can’t not love anything Bernstein. I also love how subtly eerie the show is. Gonna be a tough one to beat.

I also saw the first 3.5 minutes of Blue Springs. Not sure what the show is about, but there’s lots of fingerprint patterns on the tarps/props. I really like the narration at the beginning, which is rare for me. The emotional narration and dramatic woodwind solos just really draw you in. Guard is very strong and the band looks and sounds good, but everything so far is park and bark, which is kindof disappointing. 

[dj_sanders]

Angleton high school 5A Area E  full show at baytown also winning best color guard and percussion 

 

 

[ChristopherRoden]

12 hours ago, packwick said:

here's another CTJ, from this past Saturday w/ crap audio. just did their opener, maybe bc there was some event before their perf.

https://fan.hudl.com/usa/texas/san-antonio/organization/7976/johnson-high-school/watch?b=QnJvYWRjYXN0NjQ1ODg0

NEISD marching fest is tomorrow at 7, usually streamed by NEISD Athletics channel on YouTube, not sure if they're streaming it this year.

This is definitely a different style for CTJ. Interested to see how they’re going to flesh this out!

[packwick]

15 hours ago, ChristopherRoden said:

This is definitely a different style for CTJ. Interested to see how they’re going to flesh this out!

def more stripped down in its current form. im eagerly awaitin' that froufrou flamboyance. you know it's coming!! i see the flamingo in the drill!!

[ChristopherRoden]

Here’s a full run of North Shore:

I thoroughly enjoyed their show!

[itsstephenyo]

On 9/25/2023 at 1:56 AM, Rubisco said:

 

Hebron's show, I'm just imagining it with the outstanding music I heard a few weeks ago, the heroic Wagner brass followed by that tricky Gavin Greenaway Disney firework piece with its ever shifting meters -- 2/8, 3/8, 4/8, 5/8, 6/8 -- Greenaway just wanted to use them all, I think. 😄 Hebron has black monoliths backfield. Get it? Monomyth, monolith. I'm not sure what the 4 large circles are supposed to represent. Perhaps it's the cycle of the hero's journey? His eventual return home? Or perhaps each represents a stage of the journey? Hero leaves home, encounters some trial, comes back changed -- that's the gist of it. Anyway, the drill performance is excellent for early season, truly impressive, and it's pretty consistently engaging as well. It works nicely with the set pieces on the field, like when the soloist is wheeled forward on one of the circles through the marching members. Guard is still a little bit weaker, execution is a little lacking. I think the main priority should just be to get the work clean for upstairs rather than dazzling with difficulty, because at the end of the day, I think there are a lot of visual judges who won't care how difficult your guard work is, or won't really be able to tell. Trust me, I know a few. 😄 

 

The circles are portals, I believe. The ballad hit with the circles rotating is the portals opening.