meursault

ah. true. we’ll see how they lined up with Leander when full spreads are out

youre right, they ONLY managed to be the best playing group out of what? 85 other bands? what a strange qualification to make

a whole 6/32 ? incredible. progressive. congrats boomer

oof. coppell might be a dark horse into finals. what a run!

ah, the old phantom regiment brutally-kill-the-drum-major tactic.

The recording mics are much taller, there are fewer, and they stay in the same spot between shows. The shotgun mic stands are like 6 ft tall, they're right up on the field, and you can see the performers and parents set them up and take them down for groups that use them.

also im sure CTJ isnt the only group using them today or tomorrow. just the first that caught my eye, probably because the pit isnt there in the front to visually block me from seeing the mics.

yeah, i’m all for capitalizing on there not being rules against certain things - it’s what makes BOA shows tend to be more creative and out of the box than their UIL counterparts. well, that and the different sheets. but i just cant get behind a band spending thousands on electronic equipment with no other purpose than to give them a leg up on sound production and control than other groups. and that’s not to take anything away from CTJ, at ALL. theyve had arguably the most successful program in recent memory in the Texas BOA circuit. just not a fan of the shotgun mics.

it’s been a pretty big debate in the dci world for the past few years. i dont follow hs marching band nearly as closely so i guess i didnt realize top hs groups were doing it too. it’s not necessarily unfair, but it is an extremely direct way of showing how money can quite literally buy you a better sound. im eh about it for dci, cause it seems that most if not all world class corps use them now, but the vast majority of hs cannot afford to keep up with the electronics arms race.

.... is ctj using shotgun mics across the field? dont like that very much.

That's why it seemed so familiar! It has a similar melody as "Test Flight" from the movie.

that Keller ballad... is so gorgeous. What piece is that?

let's see if Keller got the chance to clean up this closer! love this show so much

impossible to tell at this point.

1. Reagan 2. Vandy 3. FloMo 4. Hebron 5. Leander 6. CTJ 7. Marcus 8. TWHS 9. Vista Ridge 10. Keller 11. Bell 12. James Bowie 13. Cedar Park 14. Cedar Ridge - Finals - 15. Coppell 16. Westwood 17. Rouse 18. Westlake 19. Wakeland 20. Lake Travis

ah... which would also explain wakeland being left off. And Cedar Ridge and Westlake. I'm bad at reading apparently!

not sure i can get behind this. agree with the rouse and westwood upper bubble, but TC is clearly on an “off” year (off in quotes because theyre still one of the best in the state), JBA maybe? but not familiar of any contest theyve competed in other than BOA Mcallen. Clear Brook, Pearland also maybes. Lake Travis is having a great year, but also Coppell outscored them by 5 points at STL. So if youre going to include Lake Travis in your bubble, you also have to think about Coppell.... and if youre thinking about Coppell, you also have to think about Wakeland!

ok.... now i gotta know .... WHAT is going on?

Ha! you got me

idk about a video of Hebron, but there's a video of a band called Not Hebron on youtube

Coppell and Wakeland will almost certainly do better than both LT and RR barring major mistakes from the former 2 and major improvements from the latter 2. Other than I think this is a pretty solid analysis. I'd personally put Keller a bit higher (Waco performance was dirty because they just added the closer).

But it does imply that they probably know a ~tad~ better than a few randos who likely don't have the education, experience, or decades of exposure to the activity that these judges do.

i mean it more or less is a similar lineup.... just without some of the dfw finalist bands and with haltom

i think keller will have to have a very rough run to fall out of the top 3. haltom had a fantastic showing at st louis and waxahachie has made some amazing improvements, but keller at waco is the dirtiest they will be this entire year. keep in mind this is the same band that beat THE marcus at HEB and barely came in 4th to them at DFW. while anything could happen - i still think the top 3 here will more or less be in a league of their own.

I'm guessing they will be competitive with Waxahachie for that 4th place spot with a closer gap to Keller than I previously predicted. Hachie just bronze medaled at Waco, a little more than a point behind Keller, with Haltom a similar distance behind Bell. Bell and Keller have competed once so far with Keller taking 4th place over Bell's 5th place at DFW earlier in the month. Right now, I'm thinking Waxahachie has the slight edge over Haltom just because of the massive improvements they made from DFW --> Waco, but I'm guessing it will be pretty close.