Most Challenging High School Show

[Drummantx]

I've always wondered what the most challenging show is out there, any thoughts? Avon lately has been putting on some intense shows.

[KlarinetteRed_64]

  Drummantx said:

I've always wondered what the most challenging show is out there, any thoughts? Avon lately has been putting on some intense shows.

 

Broken Arrow had an extremely difficult show this year. Riding bicycles out of the field while playing? Now that's just BA.

[mellopwn1]

Their visual book this year was actually disappointingly easy. They executed it pretty much perfectly, but those kids are capable of SO much more.

 

  KlarinetteRed_64 said:

Broken Arrow had an extremely difficult show this year. Riding bicycles out of the field while playing? Now that's just BA.

Edited November 14, 2010 by mellopwn1

[KlarinetteRed_64]

  mellopwn1 said:

Their visual book this year was actually disappointingly easy. They executed it pretty much perfectly, but those kids are capable of SO much more.

 

I agree that it certainly wasn't their hardest drill to date, but they all worked hard and I believe they deserved their high placement at Grand Nationals this year. Their drill is very visually appealing and I think their music also adds a ton of difficulty to their show as well.

[takigan]

I don't think a lot of the shows Texas does are as difficult as a lot of the stuff in other states. Tarpon Springs (FL) always puts out an incredibly difficult drill book. And I think that's due to the fact that we don't have the rehearsal time to spend on the drill while still being able to be competitive as these other schools do. In any case though, I think the Spring/Westfield shows from the 90s were probably pretty insanely hard, especially the ones they wrote before the 8-hour rule went into effect. They had to use DCI style drill in a show that constantly had to keep moving since UIL was a lot more strict then against schools that didn't have a continuity of motion/marching. Today there are tons of interludes in shows where the drill stops, the pit keeps playing but the band stops marching/playing and does some choreography from a standing location. This may take a similar amount of time to learn and clean than a series of marching moves, but it's far less physically demanding.

 

Not to mention we know this music was tough. They played Hindemith and Barber and lots of "Grade 5" stuff that had very little watering down from the original.

 

As for other schools, I think LD Bell's 2000-2005 shows were extremely demanding, even if the drill wasn't performed as well as the music.

[bj05johnson]

For me personally, my junior year (2003) pushed my physical abilities to the absolute limit. It wasnt the most "challenging" show by any means, but for someone like myself who was in peak physical condition as a 17 year old it really took it out of me; a full run-through was no joke. LD Bell- ConVergence was the show that year for me.

[Prof. Chaos]

  takigan said:

... In any case though, I think the Spring/Westfield shows from the 90s were probably pretty insanely hard, especially the ones they wrote before the 8-hour rule went into effect. They had to use DCI style drill in a show that constantly had to keep moving since UIL was a lot more strict then against schools that didn't have a continuity of motion/marching. ...

 

Not to mention we know this music was tough. They played Hindemith and Barber and lots of "Grade 5" stuff that had very little watering down from the original.

 

Good examples. See a few underappreciated shows: Westfield '94 - On the Waterfront. Spring '95 - Stained Glass. Westfield '98 - Bernstein's Mass (note: post 8-hr. rule).

 

Those two programs could have challenged for GN's every year in the mid-'90s (and it's a crime that Westfield didn't win in '95).

[moose_eggs]

LD Bell and Tarpon Springs had the most difficult shows at grand nationals, all things considered.

 

I feel like Bell could have won if it was a different panel, and Tarpon could have won if they just had one more week to clean. There show was over the top!

[MahBoi]

One of the most challenging shows I've ever seen from a visual standpoint is Carmel (IN) 2002 show, "Metal." I don't know if Michael Gaines still does their drill today, but seeing them try to pull off one of his visual programs back then was just insane. The drill was some of the fastest, toughest, and most dangerous I'd ever seen at the high school level; I saw three different instances of people falling down during their finals run, one of which was a near train wreck at the end. It was a crazy fun show to watch, especially with the electric guitar solo at the end, but those kids had to be exhausted at the end of that season.

 

And then of course there's L.D. Bell's "King of Kings" and "Exodus" from 2000 and 2001, respectively. That suicide drill... *shudders*

Edited November 20, 2010 by MahBoi

[Montoya]

  moose_eggs said:

LD Bell and Tarpon Springs had the most difficult shows at grand nationals, all things considered.

 

I feel like Bell could have won if it was a different panel, and Tarpon could have won if they just had one more week to clean. There show was over the top!

 

 

Just curious, not trying to start a fight... but three different panels saw LD Bell at GN's and not one of them (collectively) placed them first. What "different" panel would you think would have them in first?

Edited November 20, 2010 by Montoya

[Montoya]

And I agree about Spring/Westfield in the 90's. Man... some challenging drill and music.