Football 🏈 Halftime Shows

[John Smith]

KELLER VS MARCUS 

Since Keller didn’t perform their part 2, I can only comment on their part 1.

Not gonna lie, Kellers part 1 may be one of the most physically exhausting openers I’ve ever seen. They are spread out all over the field, and there are a lot of marchers that go off the field. There are jazz runs, flutters with choreo (over a 20-30ish yard span, runouts into a curve-linear, and so much form awareness.

Musically, they sound great (as always). Their hornline is amazing, and they have two very good flute soloists. There’s some minor tweaks that need to happen which I’m sure they will hit and clean so I’m not worried whatsoever. The biggest challenge with this opener is that since they do so much physically, it’s hard to not sound tired, which isn’t a problem now but if they can 100% nail it, it’ll be super impressive.

Visually, they move like a completely different band. Visual performance has always been Kellers weakness, but this year they look really good and really clean. There’s a few choreo spots they have to iron out, but in terms of drill, it’s stupid clean (especially since they are running around for half the time).

Can’t wait till I see this with props and no technology issues, congratulations Keller!

[JFNDOWBFAN]

1 hour ago, John Smith said:

KELLER VS MARCUS 

Since Keller didn’t perform their part 2, I can only comment on their part 1.

Not gonna lie, Kellers part 1 may be one of the most physically exhausting openers I’ve ever seen. They are spread out all over the field, and there are a lot of marchers that go off the field. There are jazz runs, flutters with choreo (over a 20-30ish yard span, runouts into a curve-linear, and so much form awareness.

Musically, they sound great (as always). Their hornline is amazing, and they have two very good flute soloists. There’s some minor tweaks that need to happen which I’m sure they will hit and clean so I’m not worried whatsoever. The biggest challenge with this opener is that since they do so much physically, it’s hard to not sound tired, which isn’t a problem now but if they can 100% nail it, it’ll be super impressive.

Visually, they move like a completely different band. Visual performance has always been Kellers weakness, but this year they look really good and really clean. There’s a few choreo spots they have to iron out, but in terms of drill, it’s stupid clean (especially since they are running around for half the time).

Can’t wait till I see this with props and no technology issues, congratulations Keller!

Sounds impressive! Rockwall often does pep band stuff the first few games but has hit the ground running this year!

[packwick]

woodlands show is cool. music had a jazzy promenade vibe, like a stroll down a street. visual - hard to tell w/ the camera w/in the 40s and a lot of the action outside of the 40s. maybe started partway in, not sure? no benches tonite. some interval issues w/ the drumline right away as they marched out to side 2, but overall solid from the winds/perc for a first show. guard: challenging skills don't even seem to challenge them much. freakishly clean for first show. loved the 6 or 7 into the ground w/ the rifle kick. i like that they've made it a little harder for me to tell when their phrases begin and end, something Avon and Carmel do very well, could still be a little bit "spinnier" as they travel to their next dot, like full 360 rotations as opposed to just kinda posing w/ the weapons. minor complaint tho, i mean they're so far beyond where they need to be for a field show quality-wise. gives the whole thing a sheen of visual clarity.

[Vandy_Insider]

First performance minus preshow.

 

Looking good so far!

[quenslays]

vids of moe and gene and cedar ridge (no audio tho)

 

 

[TWHSPercDad]

1 hour ago, packwick said:

woodlands music had a jazzy promenade vibe, like a stroll down a street.

You might be on to something here, @packwick!!!!

😉

[MikeKyu]

57 minutes ago, Vandy_Insider said:

First performance minus preshow.

 

Looking good so far!

Vandy's articulation already is sounding great. Going to be fun to watch this show develop

[packwick]

1 hour ago, Vandy_Insider said:

First performance minus preshow.

 

Looking good so far!

haven't missed a beat. another beast of a show. look at all that marching and playing!! 👀 almost like the 90s and early 00s. nostalgiaaaa...

gonna be a hard one to clean, but they always get cleaner than i think they will.

[packwick]

20 minutes ago, TWHSPercDad said:

You might be on to something here, @packwick!!!!

😉

oh ive known what inspired the show for weeks now. my choice of words there was just to indicate that it matches the theme well, which is great!!

[Rubisco]

Vandegrift's performers are just flying around again, while playing a billion notes. This is going to be a major flex when they clean it. Chasing Infinity. I definitely see the infinity symbol pop up a couple of times. They've got the speed and the follow-the-leader drill for the "chasing" part, although it does look a lot like their previous drill programs.

1 hour ago, packwick said:

woodlands show is cool.

What's it about?

[homerchap]

Klein Oak has most of part 1 & 2 somewhat completed. There's some blank spaces in the show that'll be added later by different "instruments". Overall they seem to have a pretty solid first game performance.

 

[josephbandfan]

9 minutes ago, Rubisco said:

Vandegrift's performers are just flying around again, while playing a billion notes. This is going to be a major flex when they clean it. Chasing Infinity. I definitely see the infinity symbol pop up a couple of times. They've got the speed and the follow-the-leader drill for the "chasing" part, although it does look a lot like their previous drill programs.

What's it about?

Apparently TW’s show is called Fantasia on Frenchman Street so I’m imagining a lively and jazzy New Orleans street scene.

[Thanos]

5 hours ago, Vandy_Insider said:

First performance minus preshow.

 

Looking good so far!

I smell a three-peat!

[zxrzxz]

Anyone seen or heard anything about Lonestar’s and Argyle’s shows at their game? I know they’re both in the competitive range in Area B so i’m curious about how they might stack up. 

[tubapop]

On 8/13/2024 at 3:01 PM, Houston213 said:

I think it would be very difficult for Cypress Woods to beat any of the legacies that Packwick mentioned in his post above. This line up is super packed with great bands and not all of them will appear in finals. Cypress Woods might have placed 3 out of finals last year but we also must consider the absence of Keller, Coppell, Hebron, and Flower Mound who didn't attend last year but will this year. It would be lovely to see Cypress Woods join Bridgeland as a BOASA finalist, but this year will be tough to do so. 

 

12 hours ago, Vandy_Insider said:

First performance minus preshow.

 

Looking good so far!

I have obsessively watched Vandy's show from last year because I loved it so much. And I note a lot of musical parallels between that show and this video. A lot of the "pa pa pa pa pa" articulation spots sound exactly the same as last year. I'm not saying that's good or bad, just interesting.

They look very clean for this early in the year.

[JFNDOWBFAN]

What’s Lake Travis like?

[11BandMan11]

Some Houston Area Groups: Paetow HS out of Katy ISD and CyFair HS from CyFair ISD 
 

Show starts at around 37 seconds in for CyFair 

 

[packwick]

reagan still great. might even like it a little more than this time last yr. hard to judge the quality of music tho 'cause the audio was streamed through a potato, but look and feel and energy is similar. huge full field drill w/ lots of bodies and symmetry. fallen?? like a fallen angel, maybe? kinda celestial sounding, maybe some angle wings in that opening drill? opens w/ symphonie fantastique chimes, then gets quite poppy/Reaganesque, before Verdi requiem kicks in.

[youraveragebandkid]

5 minutes ago, packwick said:

reagan still great. might even like it a little more than this time last yr. hard to judge the quality of music tho 'cause the audio was streamed through a potato, but look and feel and energy is similar. huge full field drill w/ lots of bodies and symmetry. fallen?? like a fallen angel, maybe? kinda celestial sounding, maybe some angle wings in that opening drill? opens w/ symphonie fantastique chimes, then gets quite poppy/Reaganesque, before Verdi requiem kicks in.

Fallen angels? That is SO AWESOME! Aahhh! Sorry sorry that’s such an awesome concept for a marching show tho🤩 cannot wait to see it at BOA webster if I’m able to

[packwick]

ctj maybe has their full opener? seemed pretty lengthy, w/ huge tempo shift to a slower part in the middle, couldn't hear that part, prob a woodwind ensemble. cool arrangement of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. pumpin' out some major volume. look and sound is i think more similar to last yr than before. too early to know.

[packwick]

6 hours ago, 11BandMan11 said:

Some Houston Area Groups: Paetow HS out of Katy ISD and CyFair HS from CyFair ISD 
 

Show starts at around 37 seconds in for CyFair 

 

loving cy-fair's music book!!! tryin to put that together mentally w/ the visual i saw.

[packwick]

On 8/31/2024 at 12:24 AM, Oboeish20 said:

Guys, Leander is BACK. They did 7 Minutes of their show tonight and it was GOOD!!!

yesssss, it's quite crazy!! they have through their ballad and the very first part of their closer on the field. maybe taking the classic ctj approach of getting it all out there asap. drill writer is meeting his deadlines, that's for sure lol.

[JFNDOWBFAN]

Who are your week 2, get to sees?

Not making the long roadtrip this weekend but our district live streams and usually carries the band show at halftime 

[Rubisco]

All this talk, but where are the videos? 😭

Okay, I found the soundless ones, because I remember them from last season. Does Michael Gaines write the drill for Tomball Memorial now? I know it was the Avon guy before. Gotta say, they look quite Carmel-ized this year. It helps that their uniforms are also blue. Plus, Saucedo arranges for them, right? I wonder what it sounds like. Very clear, formal drill program, with all those pods collapsing into double files like you see from Gaines pretty often. Flags around the band could use some work, but my interest is piqued.

[Rubisco]

The ones I'm viewing are on TexanLive, by the way.

Is Flower Mound not loading for everyone else, or is it just me? This is... frustrating. It's so tantalizing!

I think Wylie East looks pretty awesome for their first show. I love how the circle in the middle spins like a gear and sort of cranks out the follow-the-leader drill into the center of the field. I like how it all feels connected, too -- not just isolated moments. Plus, it has a clear focus. Just gotta hear it with the music now! Honestly, I feel like getting the visual to match the music is quite easy. What you really want to do is elevate the music, and I feel like part of accomplishing that might just be having an interesting visual program even without music!

I'm confused by The Woodlands. Am I watching TWHS or BAC -- their guard is that good! Some of the same skills, too. Ensemble 7s the new scholastic world class standard? Whatever the standard is, they're going to crush it this year. I love the clarity and energy of the choreo from the band, too. Those hips! So much attention to detail already. Lots to take in. I do, however, wish the video showed more of the field. Hard to judge the overall package.