utee94

I'm quite pleased with a 1:00/12:00 performance time. Now it's time for bed. G'night all!

The trombone solo and the entire ballad are beautiful. Really nicely done. I think they should play in the next round.

Leander killed it, maybe their best run of the year, too. They sound SO good!

Holy cow I'm still panting from the field exit. From the field I think that may have been CP's best run all year. So proud of the kids, they were pretty emotional. Now it's time to wait and see.

Somebody better check Leander's prop room to make sure Miamisburg didn't steal their sunglasses! Oh and I'm a sucker for anyone that uses a-Ha in their show.

Yeah no doubt! It's fun but it's definitely a little disorienting.

Seems like they also gave (most of) the Texas bands Friday prelim times so there'd be less travel and missing school.

Really nice job from Friendswood there, I never got a chance to see it at State.

Here's a sample of the 7-judge adjudication sheets. Not sure if they're the most recent or not, they're on the UIL site so probably the current ones. They list details on what each judge is looking for, and the range that each judge will score based on observation. https://www.uiltexas.org/files/music/State_7-Judge_Adjudication_Sheets.pdf

The UIL scoresheets and metrics aren't secret, all directors have free access to them at the start of each season. It's true that some bands do more than others to tailor their shows specifically to maximize scoring against those metrics-- that's simply what it takes to place well, and win, the competition. If the goal is to win UIL competitions then that is the smart and correct thing to do. I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised or upset about that? I feel like some people expect BOA-style scoring at UIL, and it's just not going to happen. The BOA scoresheets are different, they reward some aspects of a show more than the UIL sheets do, and they reward some aspects less than the UIL sheets do. This is why we see things like Vandegrift placing 5th in BOASA finals, but 2nd at State. It wasn't just that they had "better runs" at State, it's that their show and their style of play and marching is more aligned to the UIL metrics. Some people prefer the BOA style scoring and some people prefer the UIL style scoring, but either way, the fact remains that they are different, and emphasize different aspects of a marching band and its show. And I don't agree that there's any such thing as "the best show." That's entirely subjective and fans' opinions and judges' opinions will vary significantly on that. There's not ever going to be a consensus and that's fine.

Had to miss the last bands and announcements last night in order to load trucks for the trip to Indy, but huge congrats to Hebron for the gold, and to all of the other Finalists. Such a great few days of marching band shows.

Today multicam is working for me and high cam isn't. It was the exact opposite last week for 5A.

I remember unloading our trucks next to theirs in the parking lot of the KRAC back on that hot September Saturday, and looking over at those props, and wondering WTH is going on over there? I've had a chance to see their show a few times over the months and it really has grown and impressed, it's a lot of fun. Anybody using Wrecking Ball as a ballad is obviously thinking outside the box, and we can always count on Cedar Ridge to do something quirky and unusual. I think they're such a great part of the fabric of Central Texas marching, I don't ever want to see them change.

They look good to me, and apparently to the prelim judges as well-- at least, good enough to take 2nd in prelims. I think you might have a blind spot here.

That's fair, but honestly I like their show this year better than last year.

I only caught a few but these are really so enjoyable!

For CP it was just the long commute affecting the need for rest, and the need for kids to have some time for doing schoolwork. I can't speak for Vandegrift but it wouldn't surprise me if it were something similar. Ha. Or probably this, knowing Vandy.

Yeah just saw the final itinerary for CP for the weekend, in our Mandatory Booster Club Meeting (aka, "the speech" to the kids to behave themselves and don't do any of the things I did on my high school band trips! 😃). First buses with about 2/3 of the band leave the hotel at 2 AM Sunday morning, so I'm not sure they're even going to have time to take a shower before heading out. Good thing I won't be on that airplane with them...

It'll definitely be leaked among the bands-- within an hour of release everyone at every high school that competed, will know the placements. So if you really wanna know, ask someone in one of the bands. Or their parents. Or their friends. Or...

Having Eddie Van Halen's guitar as a prop is always going to get a big thumbs up from me!

I was thinking maybe the OP meant Vista Ridge instead of Cedar Ridge in the 6th slot? I like CR's show a lot, one of my best friends is a band dad there and has two kids in that band and it's a lot of fun, but it's more likely to be toward the bottom of the finalists than at #6...

Yup. And the judges are also looking for different things in UIL compared to BOA. Vandegrift, Vista Ridge, TWHS, are all in it for the top 3, so far today.

i absolutely love parts 3 and 4 of that show. Well done VR.

Yeah they definitely pulled them apart at BOASA, to me that was the best part of their visual package. I can't even imagine how much those props must have cost, wow.

I'm working upstairs and competition is on TV downstairs, I had to jump on a conference call, but did I just hear Bocelli and Alice Cooper in the same show? Now that's something!