2021 BOA Austin (Sept. 25)

[BandFan59]

1 minute ago, WILKINSON said:

Thanks for the links, guys!

 

I hope Box5TV learns from this and figures out a way to be a little more prepared. Especially for an event like Grand Nationals, which will have much, much more traffic.

I have a feeling they underestimated how many people would be watching the streams and weren't prepared for the traffic on their website. Definitely hope they'll be prepared for the traffic flow for the rest of the season, especially for the super regional

[Origin]

Westwood - Always impressed with their musical ability. I absolutely love the drill move with the bows moving across the field. 

[abbytheflute]

Love that flute solo and the intro music! The Be Our Guest part is so much fun!!

[box5sop]

4 minutes ago, abbytheflute said:

Love that flute solo and the intro music! The Be Our Guest part is so much fun!!

Got a little crowd participation there! 

[Origin]

Leander - Those props are really fun. The atmospheric effect put on the Sax solo is super cool. The Buc-ee’s reference on the prop is too funny. The tuba soli into solo is one of my favorite moments. Great soloists all around. Beautifully strong chords in the ballad to end the show! I think they had a much better performance than prelims. 

[BandFan59]

Enjoyed Leander's show a lot! Their sounds are very strong and they have excellent soloists. The tuba solo to finish off the second movement was really cute. The show definitely seems to be on a bit of a smaller scale than some of their past shows (Radioactive and Fourth Dimension come to mind), but they're still performing it very well.

[Origin]

Westlake - They had one of my favorite shows of prelims. Something about them reminds me of flower mound. That jazzy sax solo is awesome. 

[Origin]

Round Rock - Not sold on the visual theme of the show yet (but it’s early, the guard doesn’t even have costumes yet.) You can always count on Round Rock for a big sound. They’ll be looking for their fifth consecutive national finals appearance, and I think the potential is there. 

[Origin]

Weiss - I appreciate the commitment to theme with the band all in foam wigs. I think they may have given a more controlled performance in prelims, but that’s the excitement of making Austin finals! 

[Origin]

Rouse - Small but mighty! The translucent props create a neat effect and I love how the cream colors contrast against the maroon of the band. The big ball of paper opening to make a stage is the attention to detail I like to see! 

[LostChoirGuy]

Wow Rouse!  Im amazed at the great sound they produced!

[LostChoirGuy]

Did I lose track of the date?  Because I was thinking this was still September.  I can't fathom a band being that good so early in the season.  Then again, Vandegrift is the reigning GN champion.

[Origin]

Vandegrift - Second consecutive show about paper, lol. The red is so striking against the black and white. The dance team’s outfits look stunning as they shimmer under the lights. The drill is constantly moving, so there’s always something fresh to look at. The visual design of their past two shows has been immaculate. 

[livonian]

As  an aside, this has nothing to do with their performance, but I remember these CTJ uniforms from 2014-2016. Seems like they had something different after that but I'm not sure (edit: they did; I googled). Most of the bands change so often.

Interesting they're back. It worked with this.

 

 

[ohwell]

That felt like a dci performance from ctj

[BandFan59]

Vandegrift and Claudia Taylor Johnson...WOW!!!! I love Vandegrift's music selections this year, they play them so well and with such full sounds. I really like Jar of Hearts and thought the ballad was incredibly well done. Visually they're already very clean with what they have so far which is a good sign for the rest of the season. There are very few bands in the state that can play as strong and as cleanly as Vandegrift; Hebron might be the only other band I would say is on their level musically.

Claudia Taylor Johnson...what can I even say? This show is unbelievably developed already, and there's still a month and a half left in their season. I love the showmanship and performance levels that all of the students perform with. One of the biggest things that stuck out to me was the difficulty level of the show; this is easily the most difficult show drill wise I have seen so far this season and probably in a good few years, and they're still performing it relatively cleanly at the moment. There's no doubt in my mind that this show can win Grand Nats.

Between the two so far, I'd have to give the edge to CTJ, but it's quite close. Both shows are amazing.

[Vidal28]

Having not seen either show in person, just through what is passed around on YouTube and this live stream tonight, Vandegrift was really really GOOD, and I can see why they won prelims!! Butttt, CTJ I feel should win finals tonight, so entertaining, so challenging, and so so well performed! Vandegrift, Reagan, CTJ, FloMo and Hebron I feel have the most difficult/expressive musical programs, going back to a previous comment, and I think for me personally it was just unreal to hear what CTJ put out there tonight. Going back to another comment(!) probably as close to DCI as you could sound for marching band, and so early in the season for them too! I believe they win tonight??

[LostChoirGuy]

Cedar Ridge was very entertaining.  I love the use of "Superstitious" throughout the show.  Very funky and fun.

[TheHornplayer]

I won’t even say Im not going to be surprised by the scores because I know I’m not going to be able to predict anything tonight

[Origin]

CTJ - Feels like it has some callbacks to past shows which is cool. The show isn’t the glorious mess it usually is at this point in the season, but there’s obviously still work to do to make it flow even better. There are some really really cool music moments in there that are gonna be just awesome come nats. The theme and visual design of the show is very on the nose which I don’t know how to feel about. 
 

Vandegrift - Just wow. The performance was so strong I’m kindof feeling a Vandy sweep tonight. 
 

Cedar Park - A very technically solid show. Impressive marching. Less bells and whistles than they normally have, but I actually think it helps focus on the talent of the performers. 

Cedar Ridge - I don’t remember hearing any of the “Superstition” electronics in prelims? Anyway, I was very entertained. Strong music and guard. 

Vista Ridge - Again, it’s an ambitious show. The drill at the beginning with the fast and slow movement intertwined highlights the difficulty of this show. A lot of moments just need cleaning, but they have plenty of time.  They always surprise me in San Antonio with how polished they become. 

[LostChoirGuy]

5 minutes ago, Eelisee said:

Round Rock parents are rude and all left before Vista Ridges performance.

Let's keep it nice.  We never know what another person's reasoning is for what they do.  Sometimes parents have to go help the students or something.

[LostChoirGuy]

hmmm I didn't realize they aren't doing full retreats.  I mean, it makes sense, but it is still sad.

[Tubalord11]

ROUSE OMG 

[BandFan59]

Finals Results

 

1st Place - 84.25 - Vandegrift H.S., TX

2nd Place - 84.00 - Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX

3rd Place - 81.80 - Rouse H.S., TX

4th Place - 80.95 - Cedar Park H.S., TX

5th Place - 80.625 - Vista Ridge H.S., TX

6th Place - 80.025 - Cedar Ridge H.S., TX

7th Place - 77.80 - Leander H.S., TX

8th Place - 77.25 - Westlake H.S., TX

9th Place - 76.80 - Round Rock H.S., TX

10th Place - 74.15 - James Bowie H.S., TX

11th Place - 73.55 - Westwood H.S., TX

12th Place - 72.40 - Weiss H.S., TX

Outstanding Music Performance - Vandegrift H.S., TX and Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX

Outstanding Visual Performance - Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX

Outstanding General Effect - Vandegrift H.S., TX

 

Vandegrift and CTJ in a tier of their own, separated by just 0.25 points. It'll be very interesting watching them both for the remainder of the season. And how about Rouse with a medal!!!!

[LostChoirGuy]

Wow Rouse!!! What an exciting contest.