Texas Marching Classic 2019

[bruhmomentum]

  On 10/13/2019 at 5:00 AM, livonian said:

Thanks! It's the school's third year and first with seniors. And we got a new director in January. The kids hit the ground running when the school opened and haven't stopped.

 

UIL calls it a small 5A so far, but it easily could get classed up for next year. And the feeder schools are bursting at the seams. My wife teaches at an elementary that feeds into Weiss, and they have almost 1,200! The middle school between her elementary and Weiss is also way over crowded. It's got a great band program that two of mine went through.

 

In the next three years we're opening two more elementaries and a middle to feed into Weiss.

 

So this band is going to get bigger and better fast.

Sure sounds like it. Seeing the school blossom since it opened my sophomore year has made me feel some sort of weird connection with the school even though I’ve never been associated with it? (I know that probably sounds weird). We watched the bands performance of the Carmen show after our prelims performance at Austin in 17 and we were impressed by what a small first year school could do. Seems like y’all have defined a standard that new schools like Johnson seem to be following in.

[LHSbandDad]

I am happy for our LISD south placements 2-3-4-5!!!  What a great show by everyone!!  Can I just say Reagan was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!??!!  WOW!!  They definitely were the better show tonight and I think we can put to rest all all that talk last week about their Houston score being inflated.   I have Reagan written in black ink in my top half of BOA SA finals predictions!! :-) 

[BandNerd20]

Brandeis beating Hendrickson is kind of a big moment for NISD bands.

[livonian]

  On 10/13/2019 at 5:12 AM, bruhmomentum said:

Sure sounds like it. Seeing the school blossom since it opened my sophomore year has made me feel some sore of weird connection with the school even though I’ve never been associated with it? (I know that probably sounds weird). We watched the bands performance of the Carmen show after our prelims performance at Austin in 17 and we were impressed by what a small first year school could do. Seems like y’all have defined a standard that new schools like Johnson seem to be following in.

I get what you mean, not weird.

 

And Johnson really impressed. They looked good last week and stepped it up even more today.

 

One of the directors was at Hendrickson when my eldest was there. They're doing great with such a young group.

[livonian]

I don't think it's been pointed out here (unless I missed it), but six of the bands in finals tonight are in the hornrank top 42.

[Rubisco]

Super duper decisive victory by Reagan here, yet again. And this time they had to top a very clean and well-designed show from Vandegrift, not to mention an excellent one from Leander as well. Reagan is making a very strong early season statement this year. I'm not sure how much this contest correlates with BOA, but it probably bodes well for them.

[sabandalumni]

Don’t underestimate NISD. no surprise Ronald Reagan took the gold medal.

[vbassoon]

  On 10/13/2019 at 7:30 AM, sabandalumni said:

Don’t underestimate NISD. no surprise Ronald Reagan took the gold medal.

Ronald Reagan is North East ISD. Brandeis and Stevens are Northside ISD. (NISD)

[LeanderMomma]

  On 10/13/2019 at 1:23 AM, Band2013 said:

They improved a lot from BOA Austin, very direct sound statements.

Night and day difference. Same with Bowie. Two incredible performances with those two last night in finals. Everyone around me was just so excited about both shows. Fantastic stuff!

[LeanderMomma]

  On 10/13/2019 at 5:12 AM, LHSbandDad said:

I am happy for our LISD south placements 2-3-4-5!!! What a great show by everyone!! Can I just say Reagan was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!??!! WOW!! They definitely were the better show tonight and I think we can put to rest all all that talk last week about their Houston score being inflated. I have Reagan written in black ink in my top half of BOA SA finals predictions!! :-)

Agreed. I’m not sure ANYONE can beat that. We were all just in complete awe!

[LeanderMomma]

  On 10/13/2019 at 6:30 AM, Rubisco said:

Super duper decisive victory by Reagan here, yet again. And this time they had to top a very clean and well-designed show from Vandegrift, not to mention an excellent one from Leander as well. Reagan is making a very strong early season statement this year. I'm not sure how much this contest correlates with BOA, but it probably bodes well for them.

Sure wish they were taking this thing to Indy!

[TWHSParent]

  On 10/13/2019 at 12:07 PM, LeanderMomma said:

Agreed. I’m not sure ANYONE can beat that. We were all just in complete awe!

 

  On 10/13/2019 at 12:08 PM, LeanderMomma said:

Sure wish they were taking this thing to Indy!

 

Sure they can beat that. My opinion is that some of the GN shows have higher potential than Reagan's show, it just takes longer to get there. By SA, I will predict that there will be at least 4 shows that can directly challenge or beat Reagan's show, and that at least 2 of them will be going to GN.

 

It's kinda fun to go out on a limb from time to time. There was a time when I would never put my thoughts out there in the world like that.

[CTJBandPops]

  On 10/13/2019 at 12:42 PM, TWHSParent said:

Sure they can beat that. My opinion is that some of the GN shows have higher potential than Reagan's show, it just takes longer to get there. By SA, I will predict that there will be at least 4 shows that can directly challenge or beat Reagan's show, and that at least 2 of them will be going to GN.

 

It's kinda fun to go out on a limb from time to time. There was a time when I would never put my thoughts out there in the world like that.

I would agree - great prediction

 

it is always a matter of upside - what is the ongoing growth potential of a show and how much can it grow going forward - there are many shows that are going to Indy that still have huge growth potential and have 3 weeks to SA and 5 weeks to Indy. 

 

not sure there is as much additional upside on the Reagan show - I could be wrong (and I often am) but just my thoughts

[TWHSParent]

  On 10/13/2019 at 12:42 PM, TWHSParent said:

Sure they can beat that. My opinion is that some of the GN shows have higher potential than Reagan's show, it just takes longer to get there. By SA, I will predict that there will be at least 4 shows that can directly challenge or beat Reagan's show, and that at least 2 of them will be going to GN.

 

It's kinda fun to go out on a limb from time to time. There was a time when I would never put my thoughts out there in the world like that.

 

  On 10/13/2019 at 12:54 PM, banddad84 said:

I would agree - great prediction

 

it is always a matter of upside - what is the ongoing growth potential of a show and how much can it grow going forward - there are many shows that are going to Indy that still have huge growth potential and have 3 weeks to SA and 5 weeks to Indy. 

 

not sure there is as much additional upside on the Reagan show - I could be wrong (and I often am) but just my thoughts

 

While I know there is rivalry, etc. I do want to give big props to Reagan for having this show so ready this early in the season. That is just a massive accomplishment, and I don't want to sound like that isn't appreciated - it very much is! Outstanding job to that program, and especially all the band members at Reagan!

[CTJBandPops]

  On 10/13/2019 at 1:04 PM, TWHSParent said:

While I know there is rivalry, etc. I do want to give big props to Reagan for having this show so ready this early in the season. That is just a massive accomplishment, and I don't want to sound like that isn't appreciated - it very much is! Outstanding job to that program, and especially all the band members at Reagan!

agreed - wonderful show and they deserve Kudo's for what they have put on the field - a show to be proud of

[LKendrick]

Hebron sticks out to me as a show with a TON of late season potential.

[TWHSParent]

  On 10/13/2019 at 1:33 PM, LKendrick said:

Hebron sticks out to me as a show with a TON of late season potential.

 

 

Every GN program has pros and cons. My perspective:

Hebron and Vandegrift both have such strong music, but do lag in visual design. I worry if they have enough visuals to get over the top.

CTJ has struggles getting their show clean enough, but the concepts and designs are great.

Round Rock has had so many challenges in recent years - they are on the road to recovery, but it takes time. This GN trip should be educational and helpful for their rebuilding.

Leander is actually pretty balanced. Good music, good visual, but they don't always have both going at once.

TWHS has had design struggles in recent years, and have had difficulties with getting the concepts across with the judges. I think they've addressed that this year.

[natertater21000]

I really expected the top three last night to be within 1.5-2 points of eachother. The order I agree with, but the 4 and 2 point gaps over leander and vandegrift I just don't see. The Reagan show is Super clean both musicaly and visually and has a lot of great GE moments, but am I the only one who feels as though the show is really Disjointed? It felt to me like less of a show that takes you on a journey, and more like big moments that just kept happening until they didn't. A friend of mine thought the show was over 4 seperate times when they first saw it, and I think that explains what I was feeling pretty well.

 

TL;DR the show is fantastic just not my cup of tea.

 

Overall a very well deserved win for RR. That trombone glissandi feature was some of the most matched playing I've heard from a high school marching band.

[TWHSParent]

  On 10/13/2019 at 3:12 PM, natertater21000 said:

I really expected the top three last night to be within 1.5-2 points of eachother. The order I agree with, but the 4 and 2 point gaps over leander and vandegrift I just don't see. The Reagan show is Super clean both musicaly and visually and has a lot of great GE moments. Am I the only one who feels as though the show is really Disjointed though? It felt to me like less of a show that takes you on a journey, and more like big moments that just kept happening until they didn't. A friend of mine thought the show was over 4 seperate times when they first saw it, and I think that explains what I was feeling pretty well.

 

TL;DR the show is fantastic just not my cup of tea.

 

Overall a very well deserved win for RR. That trombone glissandi feature was some of the most matched playing I've heard from a high school marching band.

 

So when I saw it for the first time last week, the ending had the same effect - it seemed to be over a few times, but in reality it wasn't. I am guessing that is by design - the crowd reacts like they do for the end, and do it several times. Now that many of us have seen it multiple times, that won't be as unexpected. As a design choice, I think it is effective. Not going to comment on anything other than that element.

[Guest]

I was a bit surprised Clements didnt make finals. Did anyone see their show?

[LeanderMomma]

  On 10/13/2019 at 3:23 PM, Cityscapes said:

I was a bit surprised Clements didnt make finals. Did anyone see their show?

I saw it and it was good, but yesterday’s competition was by far the most stacked TMC has ever hosted! It made me appreciate just how intense San Antonio is going to be next month. Seriously intense!

[Rubisco]

Obviously, going into San Antonio, it's easy to lean towards a top three that contains the three regional champions (Vandegrift, Reagan, and Flower Mound). I was really thinking that Vandegrift would challenge for the very top, as I love their show, especially that cool twist on Mozart in the ballad (plus the beautiful, intricate drill!), but this Texas Marching Classic result is giving me pause. I've seen all the shows, so I knew Reagan would probably win here, but by over two points? Nope! And they 4-pointed poor Leander! I wasn't expecting that, either. And the panel here was a typical BOA panel. That said, actual BOA contests often do turn out a little differently than local contests, even if the judges are similar.

 

As others have mentioned, I do think there are three shows this year that could challenge for a spot in the top 3 at San Antonio, depending on how clean the groups are able to get their (very difficult) shows. These groups are Hebron, CTJ, and The Woodlands. Even though I wasn't jumping up and down about CTJ's show at Austin, a lot of that was because it was dirty, some of that due to misaligned props. The kids are such energetic, wonderful performers, it's hard for me to imagine them not challenging for the top at SA, if they get the show clean. Hebron and TWHS both got beaten by over two points by Flower Mound and Ronald Reagan, respectively. But both of those were instances of substantially dirtier shows being beaten by substantially cleaner shows. So, I don't think it's totally hopeless for them. Plus, design-wise, I just see more potential there.

 

I really don't know what will happen at SA. I don't think it'll be a blowout, whatever it is. At least, hopefully the spreads aren't as extreme as they were here!

[LeanderMomma]

  On 10/13/2019 at 12:42 PM, TWHSParent said:

Sure they can beat that. My opinion is that some of the GN shows have higher potential than Reagan's show, it just takes longer to get there. By SA, I will predict that there will be at least 4 shows that can directly challenge or beat Reagan's show, and that at least 2 of them will be going to GN.

 

It's kinda fun to go out on a limb from time to time. There was a time when I would never put my thoughts out there in the world like that.

Well you’re right, there’s still a ways to go for the GN attendees. Leander is definitely still building their production and it’s very obvious that TWHS is in it for the marathon and not the sprint. I also think we will see a much more polished CTJ show in San Antonio than we did in Austin. Round Rock and Hebron are going the slow build route as well, so things could certainly look a lot different in a few more weeks, but that Reagan show is just ATE up with GE and I was enthralled yesterday. As was the majority of the TMC crowd. They fired us all up!

[LeanderMomma]

  On 10/8/2019 at 3:42 AM, LeanderMomma said:

I’m looking for Rouse to give Cedar Park a run for their money here. I think the 5A competition will be tight and I’m not convinced that CPHS will take every caption. Can’t wait to see this competition on Saturday! And it’s just such a fun one, too! All those hokey shout outs between bands. I can’t wait.

Someone liking this comment brought attention to the fact that I was totally DEAD ON with this prediction. Rouse took the Auxiliary and Visual captions in 5A yesterday while Cedar Park took Music, Percussion and GE. Then Rouse went on to (barely) beat CP in finals. Are we looking at a new 5A state champion this fall?!

[marimbajack]

This competition was so much fun! I loved getting to sit in the stands and meet other bands, although I was quite sad to hear about no full retreat. Does anyone have the score sheet for finals? Curious how this worked out between rouse and CP.