Vintage DCI at 2023 BOA Grand Nationals

[Jeff Ream]

if there had been a drum trophy i'd love to see the Avon vs. Dartmouth battle

[gbass598]

19 hours ago, Quad Aces said:

Totally different than a band who wheels 32 ten foot towers around the field as a part of the performance.

IMHO, YMMV.

In any event, the bands are paying more for the designers than they are props. It’s all part of the presentation for entertainment value. Nobody is watching a stage show on broadway without a set.

[jjeffeory]

Fishers high school was incredible and underrated at last place in finals. Saw them live about 4 times this year. Too bad Vandergrift and Tarpon Springs didn't come, but Avon, Carmel, Hebron, Mason, Woodlands, and all the bands were just incredible.  The brass playing is sublime, and the woodwinds play a lot of intricate music very well. This is as close to a national champion marching band contest as can be.

The huge trend this year was outstanding soloists and small ensemble work. Blue Springs had a fantastic soloist. Hebron had incredible herald trumpets and brass in general. Mason had incredible woodwind soloists. Fishers was no slouch either with that bass trombone feature and Christmas show. Just tasty music.

4 of these finalists were from the Indianapolis suburbs, which blows my mind.

 

[kdaddy]

19 hours ago, Jurassic Lancer said:

Artifacts 

Jurassic, bro!

[kevingamin]

21 hours ago, oldbandguy said:

And The Woodlands show visual designs were by Jon Vanderkolff with set designs by Michael Raiford of the Bluecoats!  AWESOME SHOW.  

I was thinking the uniforms were kind of reverse Bluecoats, with the guard in white and the winds in yellow.

[Phantom56]

9 of the top 12 bands in Indy came from two states: Texas and Indiana.  

[gjramsey]

1 hour ago, Phantom56 said:

9 of the top 12 bands in Indy came from two states: Texas and Indiana.  

13-15 were also from Texas. 

Hebron and Woodlands were my favorites from the weekend with Mason close behind. Woodlands CG were absolutely amazing and so clean.   I swear I heard some Cadets 2000 (or Illuminations) in Hebron's show

[mingusmonk]

18 hours ago, jjeffeory said:

Fishers high school was incredible and underrated at last place in finals. Saw them live about 4 times this year. Too bad Vandergrift and Tarpon Springs didn't come, but Avon, Carmel, Hebron, Mason, Woodlands, and all the bands were just incredible.  The brass playing is sublime, and the woodwinds play a lot of intricate music very well. This is as close to a national champion marching band contest as can be.

The huge trend this year was outstanding soloists and small ensemble work. Blue Springs had a fantastic soloist. Hebron had incredible herald trumpets and brass in general. Mason had incredible woodwind soloists. Fishers was no slouch either with that bass trombone feature and Christmas show. Just tasty music.

4 of these finalists were from the Indianapolis suburbs, which blows my mind.

 

Mason next-leveled the guard/musician integration to where it was beyond integration. Just one.

The visual demands on Avon winds performers is wild. Constant intricately choreographed movement. Remember when drum corps and bands started removing white lines down the pant-leg to reduce the readability? Avon put white lines on everyone's legs AND arms and killed it. 

Also, the year of the bassoon. 

[oldbandguy]

5 hours ago, Phantom56 said:

9 of the top 12 bands in Indy came from two states: Texas and Indiana.  

And some of the top bands from Texas did not go to Indy this year...such as their state champion and BOA super regional champion Vandergrift!

[Boss Anova]

On 11/13/2023 at 12:09 AM, Jeff Ream said:

and in many cases an educational system that has things set up from elementary on up

 We see that in schools with Reading and Math too. I know school districts whete the high school marching band can be either non existent or small, rag tag , and marching out of step, etc and the MB Director has had the job for decades and it’s apparently fine in the community . But if any grade has it’s students not at 95% of the national average  on grade level in math  or reading or drops a few points from the year before , all hell breaks loose in the community with that teacher (s) and dept head  ….. tenure or not .. and they are under pressure to resign or be forced out .
     The competition level is fierce , )maybe even unhealthful at times, ) as parents are positioning their kids in such public schools to get into the so called best schools  upon graduation . So it’s unthinkable for such public schools in these communities not to have at minimum 80% of all its students on grade level state wide and nationally in these particular subject areas . 
    Some high schools in the US however have the head football coach paid a higher salary than the Math and Reading Dept Heads and even the Principal of the high school. As a result the football team is well staffed and funded ( and the marching bands very good ) , but in the school subject areas of Math and Reading ( and other subjects ) less  than 60%  of the students at all the grade levels in the community  are reading on state and/ or national grade level . Some are sadly in the 20% or lower range too . It’s a matter of both culture , tradition , expectations , demand , and priority mostly I suppose .  A few public high schools however ( Woodlands H.S,. comes to mind ) excel across the board from the early grades all the way through 12th grade in just about every aspect of instruction and subject areas , including most all extracurricula activities and offerings , and with the MB outstanding as well . 

Edited November 15, 2023 by Boss Anova