NewMexicoBandsman

Obviously, but the speculation you're responding to was from more than a month ago, and that hadn't happened yet.

Oh. I see...those recaps confuse me even more.. Music Ensemble 4th? I can kind of understand the music GE, cause GE has always been kind of murky, but that music ensemble score. I saw everybody via webcast. I agree completely with Bell's win. They put on a fantastic show. I can also understand an overall placement of the Woodlands above Marcus yesterday, via GE. Marcus's visual was fantastic as ever, but Bell's was better, and the Woodlands was just as good, perhaps better than Marcus's. The two things that are really distressing me here are the music and visual ensemble captions. I cannot understand a judge placing Marcus almost an entire point behind Bell in the former, nor can I understand a judge placing Marcus half a point behind the Woodlands and more than a point behind Bell in the latter. On another note, finals yesterday was a FANTASTIC set of performances, and I really enjoyed watching what all of these bands had to offer. I still have Beethoven's 7th stuck in my head after hearing the Woodland's take on it, and the Circle's Edge might just be my favorite Bell show ever. A lot of bands really brought it in a good way, and that finals set was well worth the time and money I spent to watch it.

I second that. I almost agree with their overall placement, and I admit it's nice to see a bit of a shakeup, but unless the live performance was entirely different in a completely dramatic way from the webcast....what? those Vanity Fair runs were some of the best technical passages I've ever heard on a marching field, let alone at this competition. How on earth did they miss the music caption?

I agree that bands sometimes slip through the cracks in the BOA system, and I would also like to see a much smaller GE category, but I do have to say that most of the bands I see that score highly in the BOA system, combine these theatrical and/or interesting elements to a show that is fantastically marched and played. As for marching shows losing their technical skills, I disagree with that completely. I think that if execution has suffered any in the past 20 years or so, it's only because difficulty has shot up dramatically, not because additional elements let them get away with it.

...right...you might want to remove that post if you are also interested in doing so. As for "no support from any other band," I have relatives and friends in several texas programs who are hoping you do well, especially on such short notice.

I always thought that the number of bands an area sends was based on its number of 1's at UIL region, rather than upon the number who actually attended area. Was I simply wrong about that?

I don't actually have a strong opinion either way on the matter, but feel obliged to point out that the company does call itself Music for all.

Wow, congrats to Homestead. Avon is tough competition. Course, I'd still predict Avon for top at GN. If it happens, it'll be kind of like 07, when Bell won G-nats without claiming either Arlington or San Antonio

Right, I did not mean Area D. I was thinking about Area D when I wrote that post, and it kind of slipped.

Considering whether a band is a lock for finals or not is not about complimenting them and/or putting them down. I think people on these forums often tend to confuse, "I consider band X to be a lock for finals," with "I really like band X." They often correspondingly confuse "I would call them a bubble," with "They aren't all that great," or "I don't like them very much." In my opinion, a band can be considered a lock for finals if, and only if, there is no conceivably likely scenario in which they don't make finals. If (god forbid,) Haltom has a bad run at prelims, and enough other bands of similar level really up there game, Haltom could very well miss finals. If one of the big four this year have a bad run, they are likely to be knocked down a number of places, but considering the level they consistently perform at, a run bad enough to knock them down more than 10 places from their typical placement seems extraordinarily unlikely. Thus Bell, the Woodlands, Bowie, and Marcus can be considered locks, because they are "locked into" a spot at finals by the consistency and competitive success of their show. A bubble band, on the other hand, is by no means a band unlikely to make finals, nor is it a band that I, or anyone else, necessarily dislikes, but simply a band which has at least some reasonable chance of being ousted from a finals slot. I typically root for bubble bands, because they have a lot more at stake, so I sometimes feel more strongly about their shows than I would for a band which can coast through prelims and doesn't have to REALLY bring it until finals. As for that opinion, I disagree quite strongly. The "Band Y could always win because they always have won, and don't actually have to work for their success because they will be assumed to be successful" is a terrible fallacy, and I would be highly offended if I were a member of one of those bands. Two of the strongest bands here in New Mexico, Clovis and Mayfield, typically outplace the rest of us, (with the exception of certain TX bands who come here,) but I would never even remotely consider that it's because the judges expect them to be better. They win because in that performance, they WERE better. If a band wins all the time, it is because they consistently put the best show on the field, and not because of any judge favoritism. Were that mindset true, Reagan would still be winning because they put some incredible shows down in 03-04, Poteet would have won area D,(as they've done for god knows how many years in a row,) and Marcus would never have won state in 06. If you look at the bands at the top you NEVER see the musical or marching equivelent of Three blind mice. Have you even seen Bell's show this year? Have you even heard Marcus's? Or Bowie's(I've only heard it on my crappy laptop speakers. =() They are on top for a very good reason, and it has nothing to do with any sort of "attitude problem" amongst judges

Yes, though not in person, cause I live in New Mexico. I haven't seen a TX event live since I lived there. But I buy the BOA SA webcasts, and keep up via youtube. I'm basing them on this year's performances, and I only call Haltom a bubble because I believe that their chances of making finals are less than 90%. I still think that it's rather likely that Haltom will be there, but I wouldn't call any band a "lock" unless I would be truly shocked if they missed finals.

....I was not expecting that....Wow....did something go wrong during CP's show, or did the other bands simply knock it out of the park?

wow, bad luck for Duncanville. I wonder if their style contributes to that variance.

Honor band is not necessarily indicative of how a band plays WHILE marching. Look at 5A for the easiest example. Marcus hasn't won honor band yet, (though they came close in 2009,) but they seem to get the music caption everywhere they go. On another note, 1,4,1 is not a ridiculous crack score by any standards. Didn't Bell get a 10 from somebody in finals in 08? I remember being amazed that it ended up having no effect on their placement. Something crazy happened with Duncanville there too.

That certainly wouldn't surprise me. I find it rather odd that Bell is taking a late-blooming approach to their show this year, and I'm not sure what to make of it. It seems to me that Marcus is more typically a late season band than Bell, but Bell really seems to be working the difficulty curve this year. Musically Bell's book is approaching Marcus's this year, and their drill book is a whole different beast. I think that if both bands magically performed their shows with absolute perfection, Bell's show this year would have an edge, but they will really have to master their program if they want to take it. That being said, if there are two programs in the state who can be counted upon to master their programs, it's Bell and Marcus.

I agree that Marcus placing first is the most LIKELY result for SA, but given the difficulty of Bell's book this year, I think they haven't come as close to peaking as Marcus has at previous contests. If they peak at SA... Well I'd still put my money on Marcus, but a Bell win does not seem terribly unlikely. As for being overtaken by Bowie or the Woodlands, idk. I'm certainly rooting for Bowie to take it all this year, but I'm a little dubious as to whether they can edge out Bell again for second.

I'm tempted to just take the finals list from BOA Conroe, add Bowie in 3rd place, maybe throw in a Flower Mound or Hebron to spice things up, and just submit that as my prediction for this event. BOA Conroe was just so stacked

Seconded.

I think the definition of a "lock" in this case is a band that will absolutely, without a doubt make finals. Churchill is a great program, and they will certainly be a strong contender for a finals slot, but given last year's upset, it's hard to be absolutely sure with them. As such I think it's fair to call them a "bubble" band

Wouldn't surprise me at all, but I'm afraid I don't really follow non-5A schools in Texas as much as I'd like.

We must be looking for different things, then. For me it's always the exquisitely performed ballads that get me. Last year the cut from the Requiem, two years ago it was the Wagner, three years ago the trumpet parts in Mahler 7, and the everything parts in October and four years ago it was the finale from Candide, though I also really liked the following part. (does anybody know what Marcus's part 5 was in 2007?) . I was sad that their oboe/english horn soloist graduated...he was incredible. At any rate, IMO it is really difficult to choose a favorite among the truly elite programs in the country, because they all have their own distinctive way of taking the field, and do so with such passion and power.

I would add SFA to the locks

Their mirror show gave me a headache

...Stay classy Round Rock