itsstephenyo

Do you have the fully expanded score sheets from Finals?

Sorry but that's just not correct. Hebron received 3 1st places in the ordinals and won 4/7 of the judges head to head against Vandegrift

Retreat just began

Anyone know if there's a livestream link for retreat?

Audience choice based on crowd reaction would go to Pearland or Woodlands since all of Houston is inside the Alamodome right now lol

How the heck does a judge separate Hebron and FloMo?!

You and I have really watched 2 different shows today lol I thought it was clean.

Oh good lord, the Appian Way played the way it should be, with the full force of the Roman Army!

I love that Pearland is using mvt 2 of Pines

I feel like Vandy left the door a biiiit ajar for VR to sneak in ahead of them

I'll be a skeleton by the end of VR's show it they keep ripping the skin off my face like this!!

You just described San Antonio Super Regional

That first Angels hit from Seven Lakes in the closer was so so good!! This band is going to stay at the top for a long time

I want to say yes, they'll win music, but FloMo has been so close this year and Vandegrift is always clean. As cliche as it sounds, it really will come down to who brings the heat Sat night.

Very neat to have a marching band competition on a Wednesday evening with this really awesome lineup of bands. The show ran a bit late. All I could think was that this competition was not the well oiled machine that BOA is. Flower Mound was excellent. I love this show from them and the kids perform the snot out of it. Thought they won last night, personally. Hebron's music, as always, propels them to the top. I didn't think it was their best performance, but the show is cleaning up nicely. That closer is insane. We've heard Rocky Point on the field before, but it seems like they just grabbed the hardest sections of it and stuck it on the field. Somehow this show is even higher in difficulty than their past 3 years. These recaps have to be very, very interesting. How does FloMo win 3 captions and not win? I suppose Hebron must've been like .05 or .1 behind in each caption to still win by .2. But surely Hebron didn't crush FloMo by over a half point in just music. AT&T is an absolutely horrible stadium, so so so echoey. It's hard to hear any clarity since everything sounds like a one big warble. This sets up a wild SASR and SMBC. FloMo has been nipping at Hebron's heels this entire season and they could take over down in SA. Hebron needs to clean clean clean the next few days. Throw Vandergrift, Reagan, and TWHS and you have an absolute bloodbath for the gold medal and podium spots.

I didn't think they were over a point back, either. After the 2nd block of finals, I had it as Avon, Carmel, Hebron, TWHS. Avon's show was stunning.

Having spent the weekend in Indianapolis for the first time, and also as someone who was a staunch supporter of a traveling Grand Nats, I've come to realize that there is absolutely 0 chance that GN comes to San Antonio. The infrastructure at Lucas Oil Stadium is not just for football, but also absolutely designed for hosting 90 bands in a weekend. Practice halls (plural), all of them containing full sized indoor fields for groups to reserve and practice, halls for entire bands to relax, food, hotels, nothing at all like mess that is the Alamodome and surrounding SA. Would it be cool? Absolutely. Will it ever happen? Never. Lucas Oil was designed for band, too. It's the perfect stadium.

Thoughts from inside the stadium last night: Avon: I was flabbergasted at this show. This show was incredible. The musicality, design, visual package, everything was an absolute treat. I don't think I blinked a single time cuz I didn't wanna miss anything. The sections when the band would travel through boxes absolutely blew my mind. Such a simple idea but holy heck, goes to show what design can provide. Carmel: alright I understand they're dynastic and are absolutely one of the best bands in the world... I just don't connect to their shows. I love Bernstein's Jeremiah Symphony and they played the snot outta it, but if you ask me to remember a moment in their show, I just can't. I was bored. Hebron: After their performance, I knew they didn't win it. I knew Avon was way way way too clean. Also felt like their semifinals run was just a bit tighter. What's amazing though, is how Hebron's music is just a cut above even the other bands. The raw technicality, musicianship, volume, everything. They're in a class of their own. Blue Springs: another show that didn't connect with me. I felt like it was an 8 min long soprano sax solo with random hits from the full band. Not my cup of tea. TWHS: Good lord what can you say about their guard that hasn't already been said? They're entrancing. Several times, I had to force myself to look away from the guard just to watch some of the band. I love how they allow the guard to enter the field first, a nice little homage. I wasn't surprised by them dropping either. A super fun show. What an absolutely incredible night! This was my first time on Grand Nats and it was such a treat to see the differences in style. Indiana bands definitely have a flair and style that isn't present in TX bands and vice versa.

Absolutely, the top half can be shuffled and drawn blindly through a hat and nobody would be surprised.

In case you haven't figured it out, Hebron skipped BOA SA to go to Grand nats this year lol

Quick answer, yes, very much so. I know this is kinda ancient history, but I'll always remember the 2004 season in which Stephen F. Austin placed like 20 something at SMBC and then got 4th at Grand Nationals, winning music. Just shows that they score very, very differently.

Time for everyone to ask about the recaps that inevitably get leaked

2nd Marcus 1st Vandergrift Repeat champions!

7th Reagan 6th woodlands 5th Vista ridge 4th Flo MO 3rd Hebron

The Woodlands also does such a great job of staging their guard during major features. Really puts that world class guard on stage and you can just see the Visual/GE points going up up up!