Immortalate

One of my friends who has a kid at Timber told me that the Keller kids cheered for Timber before Timber went on for finals during warm up and that the Timber band returned the favor after they finished and waited for Keller outside the gate.

After looking at the results is was pretty clear that in prelims and finals *most* of the judges agreed on Keller and Waxahachie as the top 2. I think most judges though Coppell and Prosper would round out the top 4. It really was just that one judge that had a grudge against Keller. 5-10 is where it gets scary.

Here is my way too long commentary from tonight... I was unsure about Keller Central this year before seeing them but I really like what they are doing. It feels kindof different and fresh compared to their previous year while still being classic to the program. I much prefer this show to their last state year. I felt that their 2016 production wasn’t the most mature while their 2017 production lacked personality. I think this year is a nice balance so far. It has some pretty recognizable music and I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it so much. The narration is a little boring to me at the beginning but it sets up the theme I guess. Also they looked smaller this year???? Fossil Ridge is still the underdog of KISD but I loved them and they are definitely on the up. French themes usually bore me but I found this one really nice, I really liked their props. I also really like Timber Creeks show this year. Their pre-show and transition to the opener was one of my favorite moments from the night. When I first found out they were doing a show essentially about nature and flowers I was skeptical because a lot of bands take a real cutesy subtle approach but Timber Creek goes all in with this show. There are some ominous moments, some very powerful moments and obviously some more subtle moments. This hornline can play. If I’m being really nitpicky, the pacing in some parts of the show loses me a bit and I feel like there could be more visual elements in terms of props to tie the theme together but I expect more to come in typical Timber Creek fashion. Keller’s 2nd production of their show is FULL of some really difficult exposed musical moments. There is difficult simultaneous musical and visual responsibilities that is really cool like when small sections of the brass play 16th note runs on the move or when the woodwinds play a feature that switches between duple meter and triple meter while on the move. What they are doing is not easy and will have some major payoff. I don’t really know what the show is about but each moment kept me engaged. Ballad is on the cusp of being sensational. It has a certain sense of personality that I have desperately been wanting to see from Keller. Again I’m being pretty detailed but I would like to see more cooperation with the prop because it kindof just sat there. Also I think this show will benefit from any added nuances to emphasize the theme. Give me sensory overload! Overall was a fantastic night and I can’t wait to see KISD well represented at BOA DFW on Saturday.

Marcus won Percussion and Guard in both prelims and finals and it’s interesting to point out that they still retained those instructors after Drinkwater’s promotion. I’m glad Marcus is fighting through change. I do think they will still make BOA San Antonio finals but I also think we’ll see groups like Vista and Keller pass them this year.

Also Keller winning visual was kindof crazy to me because they generally struggle with their visual program and they definitely had the most demanding show. Prosper and Marcus have easier drill but Prosper was super clean.

They won it in prelims so it was probably really close.

Yeah, I think Keller’s show is really accessible on both fronts. Obviously there are other more UIL based bands like Bell, Prosper, etc. but I think Keller will do extremely well throughout the season. I also think it’s really impressive that Keller won because even though this competition has captions similar to BOA, it feels more similar to a UIL competition for whatever reason.

Keller was absolutely phenomenal, I thought they would run away with the music caption, holy cow. They will do really well at BOA DFW next week, I think they can push to get a medal considering how Cedar Park finished at Austin. Prosper was a huge surprise. They will have a tremendous season with that show. I hope the make Grand Nats finals. Marcus was great but I didn’t think the would be that close to Keller.

Was the execution typical Marcus level?

Keller - “Change Is the Only Constant” Haltom - “Carmina Burana”

There’s a video of Duncanville performing a portion of their show out there. They definitely seem more pulled together than last year but it’s still pretty basic. Their guard looks great though and they sound nice.

LD Bell - “Wherever You Will Go” There is a public video online of their show and there is a bagpipe solo