Ugh. I will never again open my mouth about the weather being nasty. I thought it could not get much worse last Saturday, only to brave almost identical conditions with an intermittent mist of rain added to the mix this time around. Okay, mother nature, I get it. I will no longer complain. At least the stellar lineup of bands seemed unaffected by the weather and found a way to give some very high quality performances. I was very relieved to see that the rain did not make the turf slick enough to cause any bad falls or injuries. I love the new stadium Madison Central built, with just one exception: I really wish the stands extended a couple more rows up and just a bit steeper (maybe by 1-2 inches per step). I really like the ramps for the mobility impaired, though, and the bleachers are definitely more comfortable than most I've experienced over the years. Please, though, PLEASE get some better speakers for your PA system! As always, it was great hanging out and talking with my Madison Central buddies and my former mentor. This is always one of my favorite competitions to attend because of the memories it brings back, and this excellent lineup was the icing on the cake. Anyway, I digress. Sadly, this will be the last really detailed review I will be able to do, since my winter job is finally giving me shifts starting this week. I will still at least try to say something about the bands either on the forum or on my blog, but I will not have quite as much time to devote to them.
On to the bands. I actually found the performances to be a mixed bag between prelims and finals: there were still quite a few bands who had better runs in finals than in prelims, but a couple of bands had pretty comparable runs between prelims and finals, and one or two actually had a better prelims run than they did in finals. I apologize in advance for sounding like a broken record, since the same issues seem to pop up often with many different bands, especially the ones in the middle or back of the pack in their respective classes.
Fleming County - "In a New York Moment"
Watching this band is always a struggle with me, not because of the quality of their performance, but because it seems to me that this band works just as hard as any other band that competed there on Saturday, and their plight must be caused by something besides effort level. What exactly it is, I don't know, because I know very little about that program or its staff. However, I would be willing to bet that going through a stretch where they had 4 different directors in 4 years has probably taken a heavy toll on the program and they have not yet recovered from it. Their performance level is still not what I would call competitive, but their overall performance level has improved through the course of the season. Despite a shaky opener, there were some bright spots in the second and third movements. The clarinet soloist is a huge boost to their energy level, and their blend and sound improvement have both improved. There is still a lot of work to do on projecting and blending a good, steady tone and lasting all the way through every phrase, though. The size of their band limits what they can do with drill, but this show's drill seems a little uninspired even taking that into account. Low movement, not a lot of personal responsibility required from the performers, and the forms aren't really interesting or relevant. I mean no offense to the students when I say this, but it looks like they just don't know how to march properly (which is not their fault). Their execution of the drill was decent, but their posture and technique need a major overhaul. I like the improvement that I saw on Saturday, and I want to see them improve even more in the next two weeks. Going forward, I would like to challenge the students in this band to review their personal standards for marching band and raise those standards a little bit every week of every season. If they stay true to this process, then I guarantee that they will be a much better band a year and two years from now. I wish them the best of luck going forward.
Lewis County - "How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse"
Despite the band parent yelling out from the stands to run for your lives and that it was a zombie apocalypse (that was a nice touch), this show is beginning to underwhelm me. When I think of a zombie apocalypse marching band show, there are just an endless amount of visual effect moments that flood into my mind, and very few of those moments are portrayed in this show. Zombies sneaking up on band members and attacking them, unconventional weapons, the use of the rifles and sabers to "kill" zombies... Oh, if only. From an execution standpoint, it had promise when I saw it at Bourbon County at the beginning of the season, but it has not improved much if at all since then. I was dismayed that they stuck with the change where they put their backdrops in the middle of the field and then marched around them, effectively cutting off the sound of every band member marching behind them. In my opinion, that is a poor show design decision. Their music was not overly challenging and lacked dynamic movement and flow, which made it sound robotic. They really need to put more emotion into their show and give it some soul, and not play the notes on the page as much as sing it out to the audience. Some rudimentary story telling would really help here; doesn't have to be anything directly put into the show, but just something to give the kids an idea of what the music is portraying at a given point in time. The opener portrays the chaos and terror of discovering what is going on and adapting on the fly in order to survive; the ballad portrays loneliness, sadness, longing for lost loved ones. That sort of thing. If they're more connected to the story, then they will give the music more emotion. The guard outfits have grown on me, and their presence is good, but they need to work on being more together throughout the show, and with their weapon work in particular. I like that the drill tries for field coverage, but that very trait also causes some chaos among feuding factions in the band who are far from one another. The voices in the back will need to work on anticipating the beat. Subdivision, as with so many other bands around this time of the season, is absolutely essential. Marching technique needs to be improved, as well, to make the drill look cleaner. Upper body angles were not quite locked toward the sideline, and bent legs and inadequate toe lift basically guaranteed hard impact from footfalls that became audible in their tones. A lot of the stuff a marcher has to do in order to make their show as good as possible that seem wrong at first, but they will get used to it and it will become second nature after a certain amount of practice. That is what this band will need to work on between now and regionals on the 25th. They have the potential to be a semifinals caliber band, but they will need to add more life and attitude to their show in order to maximize their chances.
East Jessamine - "One Voice"
Regarding singing in a marching show, my opinion has not changed. It may be a great vocal performance that goes really well with the show concept, and I will still feel uncomfortable watching it. I think I'm just still too traditionalist when it comes to what should and shouldn't be in a marching band show. Bias aside, however, the singer himself did a great job on Saturday. His voice projected better, he had better and steadier tone, and his vibrato is really starting to shine. As much as I cringe at the idea itself, his performance is fast becoming the highlight of the show (which it should be). The narration, on the other hand, is repetitive, generalized, and needs to be revamped or removed. I can see the premise of the show, and I like its inspirational message, but it seems to me that portraying that premise musically is really tricky. I think the narration ends up hurting their music effect because it focuses too much on the "beacon of hope" aspect and not enough on the aspect of adversity that sets up the beacon of hope as a real impact moment. The first 2/3 of the show seem to be dark and depressing musically, so I believe the narration through that point should have a parallel focus. It will be difficult to do this without specific examples, so I think maybe some other voice-overs citing such examples would really help set the stage, and then a second set of voice-overs discussing how those specific examples make it difficult to get up in the morning or make a person feel sad all the time would help create that trough of depression that seems to be implied by their ballad. The real impact moment of the show is when the narrator begins to sing, so the show leading up to that point needs to build more tension and energy than it does. I think the narration about that one person shining as a beacon of hope needs to happen RIGHT before the vocals in order to make it that big impact moment that it needs to be. I was surprised to see 4 sousaphones when the rest of the brass section was so tiny; 2 should be enough to provide the bass for a band of their size, and they could probably use the help in the other low and middle brass sections. The black wrappings on the guard girls that are discarded to reveal the white dresses underneath is a pretty nice visual cue, but I believe that ALL of the disrobing of the black wraps should occur in a completely concealed location (behind the backdrops is ideal), and not down in the front of the field. Also, the white dresses are fine, but I think some white tights underneath would be a tasteful addition that would also make sure they don't freeze to death on cold days like the last couple of Saturdays have been. Like Lewis County, their music was a bit robotic, and I think that's one of the problems that really hurts their effect scores. This show should strike chords with everyone, not just the audience, but the performers, as well. I think it would really help them if they could think back to a time in their lives where they were in a bad place but one person encouraged and inspired them to persevere, and then hold on to that feeling so they can draw upon it for added emotional impact in their performance. Air support was another issue that limited their range of expression; they will need to use more air and project their sound toward the stands, especially during the passages portraying inspiration or encouragement. The drill does not stand out except for the set where the narrator sings; it moves a little slower than average, and there are no distinctive or appropriate forms. The band needs a lot of work with marching technique, which made their slow-moving drill look sloppier than it actually was. Also, the guard will need work on their uniformity and expression, especially during the last phase of the show where they need to be expressing inspiration. They have improved quite a bit from when I first saw them at Bourbon County, but I'm not sure how much they can improve before regionals. Marching technique and air support both take some time to teach properly, and time is running out. They may be able to reach semifinals this season, but they have a lot of work to do if they plan on improving their results from previous years.
Russell Independent - "In the Time of Kings"
It's a shame this band did not get a second chance to perform on Saturday, because I believe they could have performed better than they did in prelims. Even so, there were a lot of bright spots in this show. I got a kick out of the sword in the stone, and the triumphant moment where the guard member portraying Arthur removed Excalibur from its resting place was definitely the highlight of the performance. I think this show could use more visual cues to help portray what's going on in the show, because there were times when the band was playing something and Arthur was just running around randomly, and all I could think of was that it was a battle or something. I think some sort of one-wheeled medieval looking cart would really help portray Arthur's early life as a squire in the opener, and I think a fight scene with a guard member would be a great visual tie-in to one of the faster passages toward the end of the show. There could even be another featured guard player playing the villain, Mab or Malagant or even just a generic baddie. As much as I hate to say it, some voice-over narration in a good Merlin voice would also help boost their effect. I like the music, which has an appropriately medieval feel to it, and the drill is pretty well written to go hand-in-hand with their telling of the King Arthur story. This show is pretty rough, but there were a lot of bright spots. In contrast to most of the bands in AA, Russell has a good, powerful sound that fills up the stadium, but they have to be careful not to lose control. Their percussion definitely earned the AA best percussion award, and were the most consistent section in the band. The middle brasses seemed to have some issues with their attacks, which plagued them throughout. I really liked the ballad, but the small ensemble feature at the beginning came off as just a bit clunky and could use some smoothing out; the voices in the harmony started off pretty nicely, but then quickly went out of balance. They will need some work listening in and blending those tones. There was a sizable tempo tear that made a mess of their music before the band fixed it -- just in time to save Arthur's big moment with Excalibur. The tuba soloist at the end of the ballad had a very nice, warm tone, but I would love to hear him last all the way through that phrase without having to take a breath if possible. There were a lot of phasing moments in the music, so as with many other bands, subdivision will be key (especially with the bass drum in front -- use more wrist, less elbow, and your notes won't drag). I saw quite a bit of foot phasing, and like Lewis County, that made the drill look messier than it was. Their lines were half good, half squiggly; some more work with keeping track of where you are in the formation is going to be important for fixing that in these last two weeks. Horn angles were mostly good, but leg angles will need to be fixed; I saw way too many bent knees, and that contributed to their foot phasing. Also, they need to work on uniformity during their ensemble visuals; everyone needs to start their lean at the same time. A lot of these problems are fixable, and with a couple of weeks of hard work, they have the potential to earn a top 4 placement in a somewhat soft AA East pool, putting them in pretty good position to make their case for finals with a clean run. I don't see it happening this season, but with 3 weeks of cleaning and a nailed semifinals performance, stranger things have happened.
George Rogers Clark - "Rising Up"
I'm not a fan of this show, despite the fact that I like all of the selections they play. The ladders are a nice way to portray the show concept, but there is little else in their visual package to help with that effect subcaption. There is only so much they can do with their drill to help with this deficiency, so I think visual effect will be a weak point for them for the rest of the season. There was not much that was obviously wrong with their show, but the band's execution level was not great and there were a lot of minor errors that really added up. The body movements in the beginning still aren't together, and there are students starting their routines at the wrong times, which made it look pretty chaotic. The flute solo was good, but I think some vibrato would help improve her expression. I believe there was a trumpet that was either very sharp or just over-exuberant, which threw off the band's blend and sapped excitement from their musical performance. The band sounded somewhat tinny, and I think the low voices will need to play out more, especially during crescendos, where they tended to get left behind. Their big hits tended to run out of gas because they hit their loudest point before the final statement in the phrase and had no more room to crescendo. The sax solo during the ballad was well done; I thought the held notes at the ends of the phrases were a bit short for my taste. If visual effect is their weakest caption, then visual performance probably would be their second weakest; I saw a myriad of issues pop up. Some really random spacing, a bunch of slightly off lines, the triangular forms never really hit, and the guard just could not get on the same page. Again, nothing major, but a lot of small things that made them look messy pretty much throughout the show. The one thing that frustrates me the most about this show, though, is that the I believe band is pretty talented musically, but they are never really given a chance to prove that musical ability. I think they can play much more difficult music just as well by the end of the season, and I would really love to see them set the bar higher next season. In a very difficult AAAAA east, I don't see them placing higher than 8th, and a very good North Laurel performance may keep them out of semifinals.
Washington County - "The Ancient Art of War"
This is a very Washington County show, and I think it will serve this band well if they can grow into it in the next couple of weeks. Vigorous, full of attitude, and lots of brassy hits. I liked the way the guard chose to portray the show concept in less of a militaristic way and more of a primal warrior way; they added a lot of energy to the show at points where it needed that energy. The quad player in the Spartan armor also added a lot of character to the show, especially when he interacted with the guard. The band is a bit smaller than I remember them being, but their winds still packed a lot of power regardless. What disappoints me about this band is that they don't seem to have the clarity of tone or confidence in their musical ability that they had in years like 2008's "Deja View". They also don't seem to have quite as much energy as they have in the past. Their music is not easy, but it seems like the kind of book that Washington County should be able to handle a lot better than it seemed like they did on Saturday. Their ensemble blend was okay, but it was plagued by issues with tone quality, especially during their technical passages. The sections seemed to be at war with each other (no pun intended) at times during the performance, and it took away from the energy level of their music. There were also timing issues that led to a couple of tempo tears and made the faster parts of their music messy. As with the other AA bands performing on Saturday, subdividing will be absolutely essential in cleaning this show the rest of the way. I liked the sax solo in the ballad, but it could be even better if the soloist could put some more expression into it; vibrato and subtle swells in dynamics during phrases will help with this. The front ensemble will need some work staying in time with the field commander, but the battery did a great job. The drill was pretty good and had plenty of sets that supported the show concept, but I think a little more velocity would have supported the concept a little more. Their posture was good, but foot phasing and bent legs were both issues throughout the performance. Their lines were not as crooked as other bands, but they seemed to maintain a constant of being just a little off. Spacing could have been better in a couple of spots during curves or follow the leaders (which may have been from one or more absences?). Their closer fell apart somewhat, falling prey to some timing intonation issues; the kids sounded pretty tired at that point, and they did a good job of keeping the energy level up despite that fact. The guard really added to the visual performance, both with their presence and with their work. Uniformity was an issue among them at times, though, especially right before the first hit when they tossed their flags between one another. I think this is a finals quality show, but this seems to be a down year across the board in AA (the sole exception being Garrard County), and Washington County may be able get into finals even with a show that is still messy. Backing into finals, however, just seems wrong to me, so I have my fingers crossed that they clean this show up a great deal in the next few weeks so that they can field a performance at semifinals that isn't just good enough, but something they can really be proud of. I've seen this band give that performance in the past, and I want to see it from them again.
Madison Southern - "One"
I'm not sure where this show came from, since it's very little like any show Madison Southern has done so far, but I really like it. Sort of a mashup of Raggedy Ann and WALL-E, where humans have disappeared from the world, and only robots remain. I was particularly intrigued by the system they created where robots always come in pairs; that concept was very well done. Great visual design, with plenty of eye-catching stuff and something going on pretty much all the time. The LEDs on the pit and drum line were a nice touch, and the heart on the student playing Ann was great. The robotic body movements were an amusing addition, as well. I believe they're also a bit larger than they have been, which helps with their visual versatility. The other big surprise about this band was that their musical performance level has been raised a notch. A fuller ensemble sound, better blend, more ambitious music played just as well, and a very talented battery. The woodwind feature was more ambitious than I've heard them perform in the last few years, and it was a refreshing change. They're almost completely together, but will need some more practice with subdividing throughout. The trombone soloist did a very good job, but was a little rough on some of his attacks and will have to practice going from note to note to eliminate it. The trumpets had some problems with roughness in their attacks during bigger moments in the show, as well. The tubas had a bit of trouble reaching up to some higher notes and will need some practice getting all the way up to them. The saxophone soloist did a very good job, and I have a feeling that solo will be nailed on November 1st. The fingerings got just a little bit muddled toward the end, which threw it off. Their blend could still use some more work; the woodwinds tended to get lost in the mix, and the low brass tended to overpower the high brass. The voices that won out sounded good, though; it will just be a process of bringing the other voices up to that level and keeping a good, even tone throughout. I enjoyed the drill, and especially appreciated the forms representing the open circuit (open arc formation) when Ann was powered own and the closed circuit (circle formation) when she was reactivated. However, I did not like how the drill kind of banished the color guard to the back or off to the side so much; I wish they could have been integrated more into the band's movements. Their lines were mostly good, but got a little crooked during rotations. There were very few problems with foot phasing, but bent legs during marchng made their feet look sloppy and may be taking away from their visual scores. All of the visuals the band performed were together and looked great, with just a couple of errors. Visually, this band has improved light years since David Ratliff has been there. Musically, they can be hit or miss, but this year is definitely a hit. I think the hiring of Tyler Myers and Kristen Harrod to their feeder programs is already paying off, and if their improvement over the course of the season is a taste of things to come, then this program may pull off a shocker in class AAAA in the near future. This year, I see them being a solid semifinalist this season, and they could finish top 8 with a clean musical performance.
Beechwood - "Muse"
It's pretty obvious from the kind of music this band plays that they're one of the most musically gifted bands in the state. However, they are held back by dirtiness in their music and a dearth of visual design in their show. There is very little in this show that directly conveys the idea of a muse, so in essence, their show is just a collection of nice sounding musical pieces and a nice-looking drill. I think that cost them when they compete against bands like Williamstown, Hazard, and Murray, who have very clear concepts and convey them very well throughout the show. While still not what I would call clean, their music is definitely improving, especially the trombone feature. What sounded like a maelstrom of almost random sounds in week 3 is now a melody that is mostly recognizable. The glissandos are the toughest parts to get clean, and they still need more work, but they're getting there. The trumpets are having a hard time staying together while using their mutes, probably because of the change in airflow caused by the mutes themselves. I like the sound they put out, and their blend is very nice. The woodwind features are all insanely fast and performed at a very high degree of execution. I liked the stage, but it sometimes meant that the viewer could not focus on both the band and the featured performers at the same time. There were a couple of issues with dragging syncopated notes, especially in the trumpets and when leading up to a hit. The low brass did a good job with their parts, but their feature was just a little rough and will need more practice. The closer is still pretty rough, and the band will need more time to grow into it. Visually, there was a bunch of good and some bad. They are one of the better bands in the state with coordinating visuals, and they did an excellent job with all of their body movements on Saturday. Their lines are good, but sometimes they just don't lock into place and are a little off. Their technique was mostly very good, but there were a few scattered issues with foot phasing and bent legs. The color guard was not bad, but since visual effect is this band's weak spot, not bad isn't good enough. They will need to work on their timing and really get all of their movements in sync in order to maximize their much needed contribution to the band's visual effect caption. I did have them in 6th instead of 7th overall, but regardless, I hope this result will serve as a wake-up call and motivate them to work hard in these last two weeks and maybe find a couple of additions they can make to the show's visual package. Williamstown had a rough couple of years after Bob Gregg retired, but they are back, and Beechwood is going to have to raise the bar with cleanliness and show design if they want to keep their current streak alive going forward.
Grant County - "Dilemma"
Grant County and Anderson County are the two bands I always seemed to miss this season, so it was great to have a chance to watch them perform, finally. There were a lot of things about their performances on Saturday that really impressed me, and a couple of things that did not. I like the show, but the concept is too difficult to portray adequately. I guess I can see the tense, minor key music being a good parallel for the stress caused by indecision, but that's a pretty major stretch. The only thing that really supports the show concept is the backdrop, which is static. It does have a screen that changes, but only once per movement. More question / answer in the music and more changes of direction in the drill might have been able to pull it off. As I saw it on Saturday... I just didn't get it. Maybe it's supposed to leave the crowd (and judges) confused. Personal reservations about their design aside, however, their performance was the next biggest surprise for me personally (Madison Southern's improvement being the biggest). I remember saying many times over the last few years that Grant County's sound production was a bit anemic and that I wished they could pack another dynamic level into their arsenal; well, they have that next dynamic level now. They sounded much more full and balanced top to bottom, and for the most part, their blend was better than I had anticipated. The only major musical error I heard was one or two trumpets who lost control frequently during impact moments and took away from their performance. If not for that loss of control, Grant County MIGHT have been able to overtake Tates Creek and sneak into 5th place. The two woodwind features in the opener were both really well done, and I especially liked that they used some lower woodwind voices, which I think are vastly underused in marching band. The energy level dropped in the ballad, and subtle issues with intonation, phrasing, and dynamics popped up. Using air support and breathing exercises to fight fatigue is a difficult technique to master, but that will really help them to push through their phrases and maintain good tone quality when they get tired and oxygen-deprived. The crazy brass run in the closer was not bad at all; it was almost together, and will need just a little more work. Their marching is by far their biggest strength, despite wearing white uniforms that highlight every move they make. There were a couple of breakdowns that I saw, like a student being out of step for a count or two before fixing it, or bent legs during some faster drill moves, but those breakdowns were very sparse. Like Beechwood, their visuals were all really well in unison, though I bet they would have even more impact if they did a little more work on keeping all of the body angles in unison along with the moves themselves. There were a couple of really messy moments in the drill that hurt their visual scores. At the end of the opener, the band forms an S-curve, but there were a number of members out of place. Their lines were mostly straight, but there were a couple of sets where they formed blocks, but the blocks were really messy. The guard looked professional (especially the ones on weapons) and were together for the most part; a couple of guard members got out of sync with the rest of the group, but no one ever got too far ahead or behind, and they got back in sync quickly. I'm not sure how much their conservative visual design will cost them in November, but based on what I saw Saturday, I think they're a very solid contender for finals again this season, and may crack the top two again if they can clean up the messy lines and rein in those wild trumpets.
Tates Creek - "Pulling Strings"
This show is growing on me. My first impression of it at Ryle was that it was gimmicky and cheesy, but once I let that knee jerk reaction fade, I saw a pretty good marching show emerge. I still think that no amount of streamers can replace the amount of marching that they don't do, and I think their drill is arbitrarily risky by splitting up the band into groups that far away from one another, which just invites field coverage phasing. The music seems random compared to the show concept, and I think they could improve their effect scores a fair amount by putting more moments into their show where someone is pulled along by a string, or one section of the band pulls another section to them while carrying the melody, or something like that. Regardless, it has lots of eye candy, which is becoming something of a pleasant trend with Tates Creek. I like how the show starts off with a nice trancelike solo that evolves into a duet between what SOUNDS like an electronic oboe and a flute, building up to a nice, full first hit. Their blend is very good, but was sometimes top-heavy, especially during fortissimo hits. Some timing issues did, indeed, pop up due to field positioning, the most noticeable ones appearing at points where the woodwind and brass sections exchange the melody. The brass will need to smooth out their tones during their parts of the question and answer in the opener. The woodwinds sounded great in the ballad, and their blend had a few moments of a nice, dark tone. I would love to hear them put more dynamic movement into the lower dynamic levels, though, to help shape their musical statements more and add expression. The tubas dragged constantly because they were so far in the back, and will need to anticipate the beat during the entire piece. The battery solo was nice, and had a great moment with the orange streamers snapping back into place over the heads of the bass drummers. They will need to even out their notes a little more, though. If the woodwinds are supposed to have the same dynamics as the brass when they repeat the melody during the closer, then the two sections will need to be balanced out dynamically, because the brass is about 20 decibels louder (and behind the beat) during their melody. Shrillness began to creep into the high voices during the closer, and unbalanced the blend, which took a little bit away from their nice, big ending. Their drill is a mixed bag to me: there are plenty of memorable sets and it moves well, but it's too spread out and doesn't always make sense to my eyes. There were quite a few sets that looked for all the world to me like blobs. Also, there are entire parts of the show where the guard is pushed out to the edges of the performance area and their ability to add impact to the show is limited. During most of the impact moments they are relegated to running around unleashing streamers instead of doing flag or weapon work, which I think also limits their visual scores. What they do looks nice, though. The band's lines need work, especially during rotations and while moving. They did their curved sets pretty well; I only saw one or two that were warped slightly. Numerous issues with spacing and foot phasing throughout the show kept their visual performance from looking as clean or crisp as it can look. The streamers do work well to add visual impact to their musical impact moments, and I think they're used pretty tastefully. It's too bad that there are so many excellent bands fighting for the top 4 spots in this class, because Tates Creek deserves more recognition than they end up getting for the work they do. I see them getting somewhere between 6th and 8th at semifinals despite performing in the first half.
Boyle County - "Fixation"
This is one of the more entertaining preshows this season. Watching the pit jam to the song "Sail" while the guard soloist details her plight to the crowd is great, and then watching the band warm up with some nice visuals sets up the viewer nicely for their show. They need to make sure that those visuals are locked in together, though. They were good, but can be a little better. I liked the remote control prop and the yellow stands with the flags on them that show the Albert Einstein quote "I fear the day that technology surpasses our human interaction" word by word. This band's pit is one of my favorite front ensembles to watch, because they are very professional, very into their parts, and are always clean. I don't mean to be vindictive, but the trumpets are really holding the band back. They're like mayonnaise: runny, ruins the texture of the dish, and there's always more there than you want. The band's hits tended to be a brass sandwich with tubas and extra trumpet. The tubas do a great job staying on beat and keeping their tones smooth during their ostinato, providing a nice foundation for the rest of the band. Their opener has a few timing curve balls, and the winds handle them nicely. The trumpets need to smooth out their soli and make sure everyone is together; I heard what sounded like some wrong notes. Their music tends to use forte pianos at impact moments to add more movement to the music during their hits. They always start off with a good, well-blended hit, and then the crescendo back to forte always goes out of control by the end. They will need to work on those moments. The saxophone soloist does a great job, especially in the midst of the guard soloist's onslaught of distractions. As cheesy as it might seem to some, the kazoo feature is a very amusing addition to the show and does a great job of portraying the television's mockery of the guard soloist, adding to their music effect. I enjoyed the moment. The appearance of the "Eye of the Tiger" theme is hilarious, and done very well -- except for some incorrect notes in the trumpets. The flute solo in the beginning of the ballad is good, but could use some more dynamic movement to give it more emotion. The mallet players did a great job with the countermelody at that point. The ballad's hit had a great impact, with the guard running through the band as the brasses play a mournful melody signifying the despair of the guard soloist. It would have been so much better, though, had the blend not been so top heavy. Their releases at the end of the hit were a little sudden, though. The flute solo to end the ballad was very emotional, and the mallet countermelody accompanied it beautifully. I love the piece they chose for their closer, and I'm sure it will sound great once it's cleaned up. However, the eighth notes that crescendo and decrescendo need more definition and more dynamic movement. Their blend fell apart toward the end, so they will just need to grow into that last movement. There's a lot going on in the show visually, and there are no really dead spots, though the drill does not move enough for my preferences at a couple of points. They have some good body movements, but they tended to be a little messy and will need to be cleaned up. Their lines were all good, but did not hit all the way all the time; there were often just a couple of kids out of line. Their spacing will need work, especially while they're doing lines, because their diagonals were the only part of their visual package that wasn't at least pretty good. The guard adds a lot to the show, and is integrated very well into the drill. During their big moment at the ballad's big hit, I love the appearance of their flags. I would like to see them form a straighter line during their move, though. If they can clean up this show, then it's definitely finals quality. The trumpets have to catch up with the rest of the band, though, and they have to fix their blend, their diagonals, and their spacing. We'll see how much progress they've made by semifinals.
Ryle - "Face Off"
I like where this show is going. After a few weeks of cleaning, they look and sound a lot better (and less tired) than even their surprisingly good exhibition performance at the competition they hosted in week 3. The edginess in the music is a really nice portrayal of the contentious nature of their show concept. I'm not really thrilled with the major key music, because it just seems out of place. The Red Cape Tango is awesome, though, and the soloists and guard really bring it to life. It's a shame that the guard is banished to the back field for so much of this show; they could really add to this show's effect scores with some good integration and choreography during holds. This band has a very underrated woodwind section that is really starting to solidify. Their rendition of Red Cape Tango is really high quality. The woodwind quartet in the opener is doing a really good job, and is almost nailing the part; their timing is off by just a little bit in places. The low brass ostinato in the opener and their hits in the ballad add a lot of excitement to the show at those points, but they need to make sure not to drag or else it will lose some of its impact. The two trumpet soloists did a great job, and I love the echo effect caused by one playing toward the front and one toward the back. The second soloist missed a note but recovered quickly and finished well. The band lost control just a bit a couple of times at the ends of their movements. The battery feature was very clean for a band not known for its percussion, which is also very underrated. The drill is hit or miss with me; some of it looks great, and then at other times, I can't tell what they're doing. I do think that it moves a little slow at times and I wish they would employ double time marching a little more. Their lines were not bad, but can be improved with more cleaning. Their spacing was also not bad, but can also be improved. There was some foot phasing at times, espcially in the front. I like where this show is going, and I think they will be a top 4 band in the toughest region in the state. I'm not sure where they will place, but they have the ability to achieve their highest finish since returning to KMEA. Finals? Probably not, but we'll see how well they clean it up between now and semifinals.
Adair County - "Invictus"
There are subtleties in this show's design that probably very few will notice, but are really impressive when discovered. For example, a lot of people will notice the preshow with "Sweet Dreams" playing in the background of Maya Angelou reciting her poem "Still I Rise"... but not as noticeable is that the poem's rhythm is in beat with the music. I was thrilled to hear that they would be playing selections from the Eurythmics hit and Clint Mansell's "Lux Aeterna", both of which are among my favorite pieces of music. The modulation to major in the closer is strange, though, and I think just performing a different piece set in a major key may haev been a better choice. Their blend is fantastic, especially when playing dissonant chords with which other bands tend to have trouble. The flute soli was noticeably quieter than the rest of the soli sections after the first hit, so they will need to play out to balance it. Their mellos have a strong, clear tone that other bands tend not to have, but they were just a little rough at high dynamic levels and can be smoothed out a little more. The brasses pretty much nailed their double tonguing, so just keep doing that. The high brasses lost a bit of tone quality toward the end of the opener and will need to maintain that good, dark tone through the end of the piece. The duet at the beginning of the ballad sounds great, but their timing was a bit muddled at the end of it before getting back on track for a wonderful last sustained unison note. I really liked the effect of the trumpets playing their eighth note ostinato facing the backfield, which provided a nice filtering effect that made them sound faint and distant -- another one of those subtleties that many may miss but that I found brilliant. They need to be careful leading up to the ballad's big hit and watch the field commander for the tempo change, because they didn't quite slow down all at the same time. The solos at the end of the ballad were excellent and fit in beautifully with the stanza from the poem. Their percussion feature was surprisingly good, both in the pit and in the very underrated battery; those bass drum runs are very difficult to coordinate correctly. The woodwinds have a passage in the closer that has some tricky tonguing, which they handed very well, but their intonation started to diverge just a bit, which began to happen throughout the band shortly thereafter. Shrill high brass overpowered the rest of the band just enough to unbalance their blend and sap from their energy level at the end. Visually, it was just as good as the music. I think Adair's drill is my favorite of any Kentucky band so far this season. Good velocity, good field coverage, doesn't space the band out too much, good color guard integration. Very elegant. The guard was phenomenal, and added a lot of visual impact to the show. Moving around under the sheets, they seemed almost ghostlike, and their tosses were perfectly timed and executed. The cascading tosses they did are especially tricky, and they did really well. I think they can be just a little better, so they should keep working. Their body movements were very accurate, with nice uniformity of movement and body angles. There were a couple of moments toward the end of the show where this uniformity was not as good, though. Their posture is excellent throughout and they maintain good marching technique. There were a few spacing issues during their curved sets, and some of their forms warped while marching. They had some really nice straight lines, but others that did not hit, especially in the opener and the closer. The drill in the last few sets fell apart along with their blend, and they finished on a line that wasn't quite straight. Basically, what I took from this show is that they started very well and fell off toward the end, which was expected since they had only had their whole show on the field for less than a week. They need to grow into this show, stretch their good blend and accurate drill all the way through, and keep cleaning. Contrary to all the hype on the boards, this band is right there with Bourbon County and, if they nail it, will be very difficult for any band to beat. They need to keep their heads down and work hard, though.
Paul Laurence Dunbar - "Unbridled"
Boy, did this band do work in 2 weeks. They looked rough visually at Morehead and their dynamic range wasn't quite where it needed to be. At Madison Central, their blend was better, their drill was cleaner, and their impact moments had much more impact. I like their selections, which portray very nicely the freedom and majesty attributed to the horse. The drill, while not being directly involved with horses, still moves very well and almost always has something going on. I don't mind the long hold at the beginning of their show, because it allows for a nice, even blend and some very lyrical playing. I just wish more were going on visually during this time, and I think their visual effect suffers a bit as a result. They do an excellent job with the opening passage, but the mellophones were slightly behind the beat and their tones were just a bit harsh. The high brass needs to be careful while building dynamically to the first hit, because they crescendoed faster than the rest of the band and went out of control, which happened throughout the show. The melody in the woodwinds was a bit awkward and muddy for most of the opener and will need more work with being together during their passages. Intonation in the woodwinds became an issue in the second movement, and continued through their ballad, taking away from their blend. The trumpets sounded pretty good in their double tonguing section, and did a good job blending their parts, but were not completely together and sounded a bit messy. Small timing issues popped up throughout, with winds lagging behind the beat at various times. The hit at the end of the ballad was nice, but their blend needs to be more balanced; there were trumpets sticking out for pretty much their entire finals performance, which diminished some otherwise great musical moments in the second half of the show. The drill is kind of a mixed bag; there are some parts that are really demanding, and there are other parts that do not move much or at all, which they cover up most of the time with field coverage. The guard is integrated pretty well in the first two movements, but then the flags stay in the back field for pretty much the entire closer and can have much less impact than they would if they were integrated into the band's drill. There were plenty of rotating and moving lines, and some of them hit beautifully. Others were pretty messy, and will need cleaning. Marching technique was pretty good, but I saw some foot phasing at a couple of points, and upper body posture in the woodwinds will need some work. They do a lot of slow follow-the-leader during hits with weapons integrated and flags in the back, which I don't mind, but it would have been great to see them change it up a little bit. Put the flags in different locations, maybe a couple of more symmetrical shapes, straight lines, arcs, circles. The flags during the hits in the opener and the ballad were really nice visual moments, though. The weapon line wasn't bad, but there were moments when they were not together and looked like a mess; they really need to work on getting their speed of rotation and their body work on the same page. They're getting a lot of hype at the same time that Madison Central is getting bashed, and I'm not really sure why. Dunbar has a good chance of winning the cup, but no better of a chance than Madison Central, and not much better than either Lafayette or North Hardin. So the best thing this band can do is ignore the hype, keep their heads down, and work hard. Rein in the trumpets, work on the weapons, and keep those lines straight.
Madison Central - "Vendetta"
Traditionally, a band's weakest performance the exhibition performance given at the competition they host. Sadly, this held true for each of the competitions I helped host at Madison Central. However, this is not the same Madison Central band, and they did an great job overcoming their exhaustion to give a very good performance for their audience. Their first hit was very impressive, loud but at the same time balanced with good blend top to bottom. Their blend at low dynamic levels is really impressive, and the intensity that they put into it helps keep the music exciting. The mallet players had an uncharacteristic muddy spot that was fixed quickly. The woodwind feature was great, but was just a little bit off toward the end. The trumpets went just a little out of control in the last hit of the opener and will need to work on evening out that last crescendo. The mallets redeemed themselves with a great feature to begin the ballad, setting up the mellophone soloist nicely. The soloist's tone has really improved over the last few weeks and is beginning to give the music more emotion. The flute soloist missed a couple of attacks, but kept it together nicely and maintained an even tone throughout. Ironically, the trumpets got drowned out when the melody passed to them, and will need to make sure that passage is heard while maintaining their tone quality. The hits at the end of the closer sounded great, but the high brass lost control in the second one and lost some of their tone quality. They managed to fix it for a nice, long chord to end the piece. The closer, all new material, was very interesting to watch unfold. Everyone who was talking about how Madison Central's show wasn't difficult or had too much park and bark should be at least somewhat satisfied with it. The brass run caught me off guard, and I was thrilled to find that they were finally letting the brass show off a little bit. The short battery feature was very clean, but the pit player using the marching machine was slightly ahead of the beat. During the buildup to the second hit in the closer, the brasses had some timing issues and were not quite together, and the harmony needs to play out a little more to blend better with the melody. That hit ended abruptly on a cliff hanger that I can only imagine is an ending that they have yet to put on the field. Visually, it did look a little tired, but was not too bad. Most of their body movements were great, though a couple of them seemed to start a little too early. Toward the end, a couple of them were not quite as uniform and will need more work. There are a lot of moments in this drill where the marchers come together to form a line that immediately disintegrates into a different shape. These moves require pinpoint accuracy or else they look like a mess, and they hit very well, but some of them did not quite make it and will need more work. The spacing in the woodwinds is improved from previous performances, and can be improved even further with more practice. The lines in the brasses fell apart whenthey sidestepped during their exchange of the melody in the closer, and will need work keeping their formation together as they move. Some of the drill in the closer will need work, but most of the block formations hit nicely, considering it was either their first or second public performance of that portion of the show. The guard sometimes can be staged better, but for the most part, they are integrated well into the band and their red flags help portray the show concept with nice staging during their hits. The weapon line does a good job of staying together, adding further to the show's visual performance during hits. I think this is their best show design since they have been in AAAAA, and the band itself is playing even better than they did last season. This could be their best chance to win the class.
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