BOA Denton Sep. 29, 2012: Schedule and Predictions

[mellopwn1]

7:30 Colleyville Heritage, TX

7:45 Flower Mound, TX

8:00 John H. Guyer, TX

8:15 Legacy, TX

8:30 Lone Star, TX

8:45 Plano East Senior, TX

9:00 Wakeland, TX

9:15 Trinity, TX

9:30 Frisco, TX

 

9:45 Break

 

10:00 Keller Central, TX

10:15 Edmond Memorial, OK

10:30 Hebron, TX

10:45 James E. Taylor, TX

11:00 Ryan, TX

11:15 Keller Fossil Ridge, TX

11:30 Denton, TX

11:45 Blue Valley West, KS

 

12:00 Break

 

12:30 Marcus, TX

12:45 Richland, TX

1:00 Wills Point, TX

1:15 Claudia Taylor Johnson, TX

1:30 Birdville, TX

1:45 Ronald Reagan, TX

2:00 Boswell, TX

2:15 L.V. Berkner, TX

 

2:30 Break

 

2:45 James Martin, TX

3:00 Coppell, TX

3:15 Cedar Park, TX

3:30 Centennial, TX

3:45 Vandegrift, TX

4:00 Wagner, TX

4:15 Vista Ridge, TX

4:30 Keller, TX

4:45 James Bowie, TX

 

5:00 University of North Texas Marching Band

 

Judging Panel:

Music:

Andre Feagin

Andrew Markworth

Chester Phillips

Jay Webb

 

Visual:

Michael Gray

Tim Landress

Randy Nelson

 

Chief Judge:

Gary Markham

 

 

 

This event is going to be really exciting! A brand new stadium and a great schedule!

 

To me, Bowie and Marcus have the top two completely locked up. I don't think anyone attending this regional can touch them, at least not this early in the season.

 

Finals Locks (Bands I cannot imagine finals without, in no order):

Bowie

CTJ

Richland

Marcus

Cedar Park

Ronald Reagan

 

 

Upper Bubble (Bands that I really think have a chance, in no order):

Flower Mound

Berkner

Hebron

Coppell

Martin

Keller

 

Outside Bubble (Bands that could be darkhorses and sneak in the top 10):

Wakeland

Vandegrift

Plano East

 

I'm not going to spoil my predictions (it is a contest after all!), but the band I had the hardest time placing was Reagan. I just have no idea what level they are going to be on this year. I'm hopeful, though!

Edited September 20, 2012 by mellopwn1

[Drummantx]

Coulda sworn Edmond Memorial was an Oklahoma band?

[mellopwn1]

  Drummantx said:

Coulda sworn Edmond Memorial was an Oklahoma band?

 

Whoops, of course they are! I just cut and paste the schedule from the MFA forums, so it's not entirely my fault...

[Drummantx]

  mellopwn1 said:

Whoops, of course they are! I just cut and paste the schedule from the MFA forums, so it's not entirely my fault...

 

It's all good. A Kansas band, interesting. I have NEVER heard anything out of Kansas marching band wise.

[Xenon]

BVW has been in GN Semis a few times.

[T.Stechnij]

Woah! What happened to Bell?

I saw Bowie tonight and I they have a top 3 lock, but I would not go as far as saying top two.

 

Locks:

1-3, Marcus, CTJ, Bowie

Ronald Reagan, Cedar Park, Berkner

 

Bubble:

Hebron, Richland, Flower Mound, Legacy, Plano East, Coppell

 

Dark Horses:

Wakeland, Cenntenial,

[mellopwn1]

  T.Stechnij said:

Woah! What happened to Bell?

 

For some reason they decided to forego Denton and travel to the St. Louis Super Regional later in the season. Which is kind of a bummer. :/

 

  Quote

I saw Bowie tonight and I they have a top 3 lock, but I would not go as far as saying top two.

 

How would you compare this year to last years performance level/show design?

[Statebound]

I was able to take in the new $60 million Allen football stadium Friday night and saw both the Allen and Hebron programs.

 

Allen is still early in their show but their sound is improving each year. Their is certainly no problem with volume. It was a bit intimidating to see what looked like over 200 alternates lining the end zones but it has definitely cleaned up the field for them to have a a little more of a sophisticated drill. To their credit, they are perhaps the best game band that I have ever seen. They play a lot of fun music and the kids seem to have a great time. Did I mention that they are really loud!?! Their bull fight version of "Macarena" is awesome.

 

Hebron has a great deal of their program already put in and played for roughly 7 minutes. The show is called "In Concert" and appears to be constructed from several different composers. Hebron is always one of the strongest bands musically, but I detected a change in the style of drill and a considerable upgrade in the visuals and colorguard. In fact, at one point during the middle portion of the show, it reminded me of something I would expect to see from LD Bell. They are already well ahead of the curve and I expect this show to play well during contest season.

[~ME~]

What I'm interested in seeing:

 

 

-Flower Mound really impressed me last year. They had a wonderful show and their colorguard was excellent. Now that they've bursted onto the scene, I'm wondering what's in store for them this year.

 

-Richland was awesome as well last year. Hopefully they'll be improving some more this year, because I would love to see them return to the level they were at when they made Grand Nats finals in 2005.

 

-Legacy: Once again, another program that appears to be on the rise. It's always great to see bands get better each year.

 

-Hebron had a...strange season last year. It might have been due to the issues they had, or it might not have. It will be interesting to see if they still have it in them now that it's a new year.

 

-One band I haven't seen mentioned much is Keller. They are a VERY solid program, and I'm sure they'll remind everyone of why they are come Denton. Definetly a contender for finals.

 

-Bowie: Do I even need to explain why I'm excited to see them???

 

-Marcus: It's always a joy to watch arguably the best HS marching group in the nation.

 

 

 

It will certainly be a fun competition to watch, to say the least.

[icemanf109]

I'm most curious to see how Marcus, Bowie and Coppell do. These guys should be in the top 5 at 5A state, but it will be interesting how they are progressing this early in the season. All of the show on the field, part of it and really clean? We'll see. I'm also anxious to see Cedar Park. Since they went to 4A, I feel they have gone down a little bit. 2008 was by far their best year.

[Anthony V]

  ~ME~ said:

What I'm interested in seeing:

-Richland was awesome as well last year. Hopefully they'll be improving some more this year, because I would love to see them return to the level they were at when they made Grand Nats finals in 2005.

 

Aww How sweet! They're progressing extremely well this year. Their show this year is... not easy. They've actually benefited greatly from their 2 new directors (I know, again!). Both are brass specialists, and at the rate they're improving, the brass will be stellar by the end of the season. Plus, the drumline dominated at HEB and Plano Drumline Contest. And as usual, the color guard is incredible. It's too overwhelming to think about how well they will do at Denton because I don't want my bubble to be popped!

[mellopwn1]

  anthony v said:

Aww How sweet! They're progressing extremely well this year. Their show this year is... not easy. They've actually benefited greatly from their 2 new directors (I know, again!). Both are brass specialists, and at the rate they're improving, the brass will be stellar by the end of the season. Plus, the drumline dominated at HEB and Plano Drumline Contest. And as usual, the color guard is incredible. It's too overwhelming to think about how well they will do at Denton because I don't want my bubble to be popped!

 

It'd be great to see Richland back at the State level this year! Which will be no small feat considering the Area they are in...

[buzz]

  mellopwn1 said:

How would you compare this year to last years performance level/show design?

Musically, they rival Marcus.

 

As for the visual, they'll be clean by State Finals. However, it wasn't as strong as it was in 2010. IMO, 2011 was dirtier around this time last year.

 

GE will explode through the roof when they have all of the props. It's a brilliant show design.

[icemanf109]

So, its supposed to rain on Saturday all day. Thoughts? I'm quite mad actually because all bands and staff have been looking forward to the first show of the season, and its BOA, and now it looks like it will rain. Hopefully the weather can be nice, but either way, it will be crazy.

[mellopwn1]

  icemanf109 said:

So, its supposed to rain on Saturday all day. Thoughts? I'm quite mad actually because all bands and staff have been looking forward to the first show of the season, and its BOA, and now it looks like it will rain. Hopefully the weather can be nice, but either way, it will be crazy.

 

As a performer, rainy games and competitions were always the most fun and memorable! Slipping in mud, tripping in a puddle, and briefly catching the rain falling against the stadium lights as I performed were some of my favorite band experiences.

 

Of course, the rain doesn't make for the best marching band performances, if that's what you care about. But it's definitely is a hoot for the kids. Just ask anyone who was 2002 5A State. Sounds like it was a riot!

Edited September 28, 2012 by mellopwn1

[Xenon]

Rain also makes it really hard to live blog....................

[icemanf109]

As a staff member for a band, it is frustrating to work very hard and have the kids looking forward to the first contest, but know they cannot show the true potential because of rain. Also, I feel bad for the fans who are paying big money and traveling far to see their kids or past bands, but not be able to see the show how it is supposed to be.

[Anthony V]

  Xenon said:

Rain also makes it really hard to live blog....................

 

Maybe you could get a tiny umbrella for your iThing

I'm sure there's an app for that...

[takigan]

Kinda feel sorry for that Kansas band......I mean think about how far they traveled and the money they spent on travel and hotel costs for what was basically a folded contest.