HEB Marching Contest

[josephbandfan]

WOW! Prosper was amazing! So much louder this year. Ridiculously Clean for this early. So is their show just 4 minutes long?

They were really loud and powerful. My brother and I were sitting all the way at the top so I can only imagine what it was like in the front

[Immortalate]

Also Keller winning visual was kindof crazy to me because they generally struggle with their visual program and they definitely had the most demanding show. Prosper and Marcus have easier drill but Prosper was super clean.

[KinDallas]

Scores are up:

 

https://t.co/OSBQ6AEjUY

 

Prosper and Keller tied for music, which Marcus held at a prett good margin. GE and Visual won it for Keller.

 

Because people raised an eyebrow, Marcus raced the rain to put 2/3+ of their show on the field in September and will likely put part 4 up fast. By San Antonio, this show will be updated and shined within an inch of its life, but Marcus hasn’t learned a show that fast before. To echo other posters, these (high school) kids have experienced a tremendous amount of change in the last 8 months. They are also a young band. They lost a sizable senior class and gained 90+ freshmen. This isn’t to tarnish Keller’s achievement—they are an excellent program. So is Prosper. So are all the other programs, including Lewisville, who is blooming before our eyes. My point is every kid in every band works so hard, maybe even the (frequently picked apart) Marcus Band needs some kindness and grace this year.

[Sparks]

I am a Marcus Parent Alum... This is going to be a year of change but they will get there. I think having placed this welll in a transition year speaks for itself.

[josephbandfan]

And the gap between Keller and Marcus was even smaller in prelims. It really could have gone either way yesterday

[whitewing09]

Everything just seems up in the air with DFW bands.

 

I’m cautious to think that haltom could medal based on scores this week. Even if HEB isn’t a traditional BOA contest, they were behind their peers by a decent margin. Keller is infamous for a slow burn—they start off slower, but blossom into a force to reckon with. The fact that they’re doing well this early in the season implies that they will do very well at BOA DFW. Marcus might be enduring change, but they’re still a threat, and prosper apparently can destroy with 4min of their show.

 

CP on a normal year is a cut above Haltom, frankly. Even if we consider this year as an exception, CP’s finals performance last night demonstrated that they’ve chosen a difficult show and that it is within their reach. A week can do wonders for a band.

 

I really need to see some vids because all this haltom hype just doesn’t seem real?

[Jelonfish]

Everything just seems up in the air with DFW bands.

 

I’m cautious to think that haltom could medal based on scores this week. Even if HEB isn’t a traditional BOA contest, they were behind their peers by a decent margin. Keller is infamous for a slow burn—they start off slower, but blossom into a force to reckon with. The fact that they’re doing well this early in the season implies that they will do very well at BOA DFW. Marcus might be enduring change, but they’re still a threat, and prosper apparently can destroy with 4min of their show.

 

CP on a normal year is a cut above Haltom, frankly. Even if we consider this year as an exception, CP’s finals performance last night demonstrated that they’ve chosen a difficult show and that it is within their reach. A week can do wonders for a band.

 

I really need to see some vids because all this haltom hype just doesn’t seem real?

In my eyes haltom last night was a real bummer. I loved there show and the music and design . It was just really sloppy. Not clean and needs work from seeing it from a high perceptive. With that being said they have more than a month to prove to everyone they deserve it so we will see. I just wasn’t as impressed last night.

And don’t get me wrong they are good . Like I really enjoyed the first two movement of the show a lot . But everything after that was just dirty in my eyes and they have a lot to clean . But they also have a lot of time . So we will never know until then

[Immortalate]

Marcus won Percussion and Guard in both prelims and finals and it’s interesting to point out that they still retained those instructors after Drinkwater’s promotion.

 

I’m glad Marcus is fighting through change. I do think they will still make BOA San Antonio finals but I also think we’ll see groups like Vista and Keller pass them this year.

[Bandwoww]

Talking about cleanliness and completeness...

 

(I’m also assuming that each band still has more of their show to learn and perform)

 

Keller - They are starting this season off stronger than they normally do but I still feel their show has a lot of room to grow. So many things can be layered in visually and musically to emphasize the theme.

 

Marcus - I definitely notice a difference from last year but they are still very good. In terms of props and whatnot it feels all there. Musically it is very safe. They’ll super-clean this show but I don’t think it will have the same impact as the previous year.

 

Prosper - what we saw from them was probably the cleanest thing of the day. They apparently still have a lot more to put on the field which kindof scares me, because I hope they can get it out in enough time to be clean. I think they’ll be fine. Agreeing with another poster, I think this show may not have the potential to grow a ton over the season. I see them making state out of area B.

 

Haltom - it’s clear that some later parts of their show are messy but the beginning is great and has some phenomenal music moments. The visual design feels a lot like Bell to me for whatever reason. I think I see a lot of parallels between Haltom this year and Bell ‘16 and Bell ‘17 especially in the guard and props.

[Bandwoww]

Talking about cleanliness and completeness...

 

(I’m also assuming that each band still has more of their show to learn and perform)

 

Keller - They are starting this season off stronger than they normally do but I still feel their show has a lot of room to grow. So many things can be layered in visually and musically to emphasize the theme.

 

Marcus - I definitely notice a difference from last year but they are still very good. In terms of props and whatnot it feels all there. Musically it is very safe. They’ll super-clean this show but I don’t think it will have the same impact as the previous year.

 

Prosper - what we saw from them was probably the cleanest thing of the day. They apparently still have a lot more to put on the field which kindof scares me, because I hope they can get it out in enough time to be clean. I think they’ll be fine. Agreeing with another poster, I think this show may not have the potential to grow a ton over the season. I see them making state out of area B.

 

Haltom - it’s clear that some later parts of their show are messy but the beginning is great and has some phenomenal music moments. The visual design feels a lot like Bell to me for whatever reason. I think I see a lot of parallels between Haltom this year and Bell ‘16 and Bell ‘17 especially in the guard and props.

Also what the heck is Prospers show about?? It kindof feels they are flaunting their logo and the title “Royal Rising” seems like they are hyper aware of the fact that they are improving fast over the last few years. I kindof get the royalty theme but their logo is everywhere from band uniform to guard uniform to guard flag to props. Geez, at least when Marcus does it it’s subtle.

[NorthTexasBandMom156]

A friend of mine has a Senior Clarinet in the band. Apparently Prosper has 3 more movements?

[NorthTexasBandMom156]

Also what the heck is Prospers show about?? It kindof feels they are flaunting their logo and the title “Royal Rising” seems like they are hyper aware of the fact that they are improving fast over the last few years. I kindof get the royalty theme but their logo is everywhere from band uniform to guard uniform to guard flag to props. Geez, at least when Marcus does it it’s subtle.

Their show is about Kings and Queens. Their Color Guard wore crowns, but are those the costumes? Very strange...

[BandGuy2]

Their show is about Kings and Queens. Their Color Guard wore crowns, but are those the costumes? Very strange...

They weren't in full uniform, Prosper always has a crazy colored guard. I'm willing to bet they get a purple/blue skirt and some extra colors

[NorthTexasBandMom156]

They weren't in full uniform, Prosper always has a crazy colored guard. I'm willing to bet they get a purple/blue skirt and some extra colors

I could see that. It will be interesting to see how they do at BOA DFW.

[Mansfieldband]

Everyone always seems to only talk about the big 3 at this competition. Did anyone see any other bands that stood out?

Mansfield did rather well. I feel the trumpets were a bit sloppy, but that’s how they were last year as well in the beginning. The percussion seemed to be off from the drum majors at times, but overall, pretty good for the beginning of the season.

[TXMarchingMadness87654]

Considering the fairly consistent rain that I know has hampered many bands from being able to perform in front of a crowd at football games, I thought the finals at HEB were impeccable. I'm SO glad there were no rain delays for this contest. The finals were so good, I was bowled over. Every band performed well, imo. I thought Prosper was better than 3rd. I loved Wakeland. I'm a retired band parent, so it was a new experience for me to watch a contest without the stress of having a child performing. lol I do agree with others that Marcus was not as "big" as usual. I remember when Haltom had a MAJOR leadership shift, literally in the middle of their summer practice program. It was devastating to the kids, so my heart goes to Marcus. Haltom has since built themselves back up and their new leadership has a lot to do with it. I wish the same for Marcus. Haltom's show was a bit messy at the end, but their sound and the difficulty of music is there. I know with some polish, they will do quite well. They are headed to Broken Arrow this Saturday, as returning Grand Champs. No doubt they will be working diligently. 

 

Honestly, I felt like I underpaid for the amount of entertainment quality I enjoyed for three glorious hours on a Saturday night. Congrats to Keller for a phenomenal performance and to all the bands who participated. You blew me away!

[herbaflerb]

Anyone have videos of the shows?

[Bandwoww]

I was similarly shocked at how competitive this competition was. The top bands are REALLY good this year!

 

I saw some people discounting Marcus as being much weaker than the past but the reality is that they are still really good, they always start off slower. Haltom, Wakeland, Prosper, and Keller are all ahead of where they were last year at this point, by a pretty good margin.

[BandGuy2]

I know I talk a lot about Prosper but as of right now, they are my favorite show and I can’t wait to see how their show evolves as the season goes on. Super impressive growth for them.

[littlejaw]

I was similarly shocked at how competitive this competition was. The top bands are REALLY good this year!

 

I saw some people discounting Marcus as being much weaker than the past but the reality is that they are still really good, they always start off slower. Haltom, Wakeland, Prosper, and Keller are all ahead of where they were last year at this point, by a pretty good margin.

We know how slow Keller is always out of the gate, and having never beaten Marcus (that I can ever recall) the doom and gloom is on for Marcus.

 

And by doom and gloom I mean they are still in State Finals, just I don’t think top half.

[Bandwoww]

We know how slow Keller is always out of the gate, and having never beaten Marcus (that I can ever recall) the doom and gloom is on for Marcus.

 

And by doom and gloom I mean they are still in State Finals, just I don’t think top half.

Yeah, I see the same projection for Marcus. SA and State finals but a bottom half at SA and not a medal at State.

[Theshell12]

I got to see their 2016 show at BOA Plano and UIL State and really enjoyed it. They made Finals at BOA Midland last year, earning 8th place, and are signed up for BOA Waco this year. I fully expect to see them in finals here at HEB. 

 

Anybody know what happened to Berkner? Only a few years ago they were finalists in BOA.

Just watch out for them this year at Waco. We're doing big things this year!