TechGuy

Somewhat interesting that the domain name was only renewed for one year last year. Domain Name: ILMARCHING.COM Registry Domain ID: 137808793_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.godaddy.com Registrar URL: http://www.godaddy.com Updated Date: 2018-12-21T17:35:36Z Creation Date: 2004-12-20T16:25:14Z Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2019-12-20T16:25:14Z

This is beyond unfortunate. Unless the teacher's union can step in and moderate the situation, I fear you are correct.

Holy crap Morton takes Music AND Visual over Marian? Well done!

Numbers management across so many bands, so many classes, over such a long day, is somewhere between really really hard and impossible. Infuriating to the fan, perhaps, but I wouldn't want to try it.

I was at U of I briefly (between the raindrops) long enough to see bands from Carl Sandburg - Danville. I was really, really impressed with Waubaunsie's show. Guard was nearly immaculate and well written, this show had it going on. Band sounded great, had excellent movement and visuals, drumline was tight.It was the only show that really "got to me". I'm officially not a fan of voice-overs. One group's was skipping or cutting out, the other inaudible half the time (and I was down low). The "Phobia" show was interesting, but I think didn't deliver.How do you announce "fear of love" and then go on for a 60 second dance between guard and band? Aren't they afraid? Took me 'out of the moment' and I don't think I made it back in. And I'm generally a fan of props on the field, but unfortunately when things go wrong all you end up remembering about a group is their failure to get the giant pyramid set up correctly. And lastly, in a strictly "homer" opinion, it's nice to see Danville finally getting whipped back into shape. Still small for their class, but they generate what I think is a really good sound, the drumline is solidifying, and the guard is finally getting a book with some teeth to it. Let's keep it going.

Well, being 'of the era' myself, I would tend to agree with her, but don't have the empirical evidence to back that up.

Hmmm. Does someone sense an impending retirement somewhere?

And congrats to the four people in the poll that picked IVC.

Absolutely.

No matter how you slice it, the maximum final score is still 100. According to the spreadsheet those scores are added, then divided by 10 to get the "Final Score", which is not averaging them.

Interesting point. I've been at 'local' shows where there has been an 'agreed on' floor of 50 for scoring, but I'd be surprised if something like that went on here. The spread looks about right, but I think you're right in that the bottom is too high.

I had what would otherwise be great seats, just off the 40 about halfway up. Only three incidents of idiots walking in / out during a show, and one parent telling a group of kids to shut up. I wanted to stand up and applaud him, but it was in a slow section of someone's show. Love to see afternoon recaps if anyone has them.

yeah I was pissed about the balcony. Anyone know the reasoning?

Crap. I knew I should have stuck around after Bloomington. Interesting caption awards in 4a.

Got to see most of 4a & 6a today. My very brief impressions: DGS : Great show. Can't wait to see how it does next week. Waubaunsie : Lots of potential here Fremd : Nice show but not the difficulty / demand of the other two. Rock Island : Great concept, kind of reminds me of old Normal West. Well played, but execution issues abound. Lots of clean-up to be done before next week. Galesburg : LOVE the way this show plays. Man these kids can blow, the first true "Sit back and let us part your hair" moment of the day. A more demanding visual book under this group and they'd be tough to beat. Danville : Funny, but basic and short. Execution is there but demand is not. Bloomington : Favorite show that I saw. Just has it all. Can't say enough good things about it, but I'd love to see it again.

Danville Viking Invitational Class A 3 Okaw valley 2 Georgetown ridge farm 1 Oblong Class AA 3 Charleston (Guard) 2 Urbana 1 LaSalle-Peru Class AAA 3 Argo 2 Champaign Central 1 Edwardsville (All Captions) GC Edwardsville

Just a heads up the a local organization formerly known as KnightFire Percussion is now KnightFire Drum and Bugle Corps. They're apparently going to start off in the SDCA. For more info go here: http://www.knightfirepercussion.com/ Note that this marks the entire extent of my knowledge about this. I'm not familiar with the organization or the directors. I heard the announcement at the Danville Invitational and thought I'd spread the word. I wish them well!

No contest here : Arthur High School's competition, back in the day. I don't remember the menu exactly, but I do remember making two trips that day when normally I'd grab something quick and run.

In general, that's what they've done in the past - gone into the fieldhouse for standstill performances. But it has to be coming down pretty seriously for them to make that call. Still remember UT performing prelims in an absolute downpour years ago.

I'd hand the DM caption off to one of the visual or music judges. Shouldn't be a major issue for them to spend a minute, spaced throughout the show, to sample the DMs. You wouldn't get as much by way of comment, but you could at least get a score. As for the guard / percussion, I'm torn. A good visual judge will have guard comments on the tape, the same way a good music judge will have percussion comments. Granted you're not going to get the detail, but something should be there. But I can also see someone wanting more input, more detail. I can't speak for percussion folks, but I can't remember a guard tape that had something on it that caused me to change something I wasn't already going to change.

As always, this is just one old fat guy's opinion, so don't take it too seriously. (See signature.) All bands worked hard to put their shows on the field today, and you all should be proud of your accomplishments. Any comments I make on show design in no way reflect on performance, and I try to avoid them unless I just can't stop myself. <rant First, for the love of God people, learn some Live Performance etiquitte. DO NOT seat yourself during a show. DO NOT proceed to talk about the stadium pointing out various sights (loudly) to impress your friends with your knowledge. And these were adults. Kids, you don't want someone blocking your parent's veiw while you perform, please extend the same courtesy. And can we get over the whole 'I put my jacket down so this seat is mine' thing? I understand if you're sitting there and saving a couple of seats for someone. But if you lay down a blanket and walk away and no one has any idea who put it there 30 minutes later and it's the only seat left, I'm going to let someone else sit there and reserve the right to look at you like you're an idiot when you return. You want to save the seat? Sit in it. And Drum Majors? The only people worried about your salute are you, your parents, and maybe the Drum Major Judge if there is one. We want to see your show, not your 42 count salute. Snap one off in two or three counts and get the show rolling. In reviews, I will abbreviate this "Salute rant". </rant On to the shows! Johnsburg - Percussion too loud at times. Guard has major drill and work clarity issues. At some point someone dropped a flag they should have retrieved instead of 'air flagging'. (Techguy's rule: If you can get it in less time than you'll be without it performing, then GO GET IT!) Trombone solo a bit flat. Winds drill OK from a clarity standpoint for the most part, but basic. Salem - Great show! Loved the guard uniforms, really enjoyed the opening statement. Caught some foot phasing in tune 2 in the woodwinds. Felt like the soft sections could have been a tad louder. But then I wrote "Rude people walking in front of me during show", so that might explain it also. Liked the ending to second song. Liked the good ole 'High Step' and thought it was very uniform across the unit. Well done! Highland - Holy crap where'd all these kids come from? I don't remember Highland being this big. Salute rant. Like the opening silk. Heard phasing in the first big impact. Drumline dutting too loud (insert discussion on dutting, volume, and it's merits here. I am unmoved. If I can hear you dutting from the second-to-last row in the upper deck at the U of I, it's too loud). More phasing. I thought the white swing flag was too small for the moment, it needed a bigger silk. Drill appears complex at times and is handled reasonably well, but demand is not all that strong. Nicely done. Morton - Here's what I wrote for Morton's show : ! Too busy watching to write anything else. Shows like this are the reason I love marching band. They're telling a story but not beating us over the head with it, it's just another layer in this finely nuanced show, while at the same time it's the underpinning of everything on the field. Can't wait to see how far they take this. Pontiac - I was really impressed by Pontiac's show. Haven't heard any Copeland on the field in some time, so it was a great joy to return to it. I really liked the opening statement. Great to see Base Clarinets on the field! Opening of Simple Gifts was very well done. Love the 'windup block'. Some minor guard form issues at the end. Was happy to have some Pontiac parents sit behind me later in the day so I could tell them I enjoyed it. I'd really like to see this one again. Rochelle - Guard lost me at the streamer - hoopy things. If you can't spin it, I hate seeing it in the guard. Just my pet peeve. Nice sound from the band. Caught some moving at a halt - c'mon, it's October! Saw too many basic form and facing issues throughout. Flag duet where one person didn't have a flag... I assume that was not on purpose. If it happens again, I'd stay off the field. Caught some phasing in the percussion feature. Streator - bathroom break. Sorry guys. Sounded like the crowd liked it. Bloomington - Great sound. Thought the keyboard was a bit loud during soft passages. Thought the ladders were neat but under-utilized. Musically complex sections sounded muddy, but couldn't put my finger on why. Guard has a lot of cleaning to do. I've enjoyed Bloomington's show over the last several years, but have to admit a bit of surprise at seeing them win thier class today. Well done! Lincoln Way West- Hey! Small bands! Look over here at LWW! Here's what you can achieve! Really enjoyed this show. Well deserving of second in class, although I would have had them first. Lots of movement and nuance, very well done. Some around me thought they were 'prop heavy' but I thought they filled the negative space nicely without being overwhelming. Great show! East Peoria - Ok, I heard 'Elvis' and immediately thought "Cheese Dog time". Glad I stuck around. The guard was one of the best on the day, very confident and a great bunch of performers, obviously having fun with the show. I didn't feel that the drill matched the intensity of the music in some places, but overall it was a fun show and they managed to avoid any 'gimmicky' stuff. Very well done. Galesburg - Salute Rant x 2 Noticed some interval issues, may have been marching a hole? Make sure it stays there. Some phasing in the impact in second tune. I wrote 'sets take a long time to build' which means I thought sections lacked needed velocity in drill. I appreciate the rifles but wish more work was done with them. Winds if you're going to stand still to play a difficult passage, you'd better nail it consistently. Today you did not. Overall a nice 'Galesburg' sound and show. Washington - Drumline is tight but sometimes overbalanced. Guard was very good. Again I thought drill lacked some needed velocity. Appreciate the musical styles attempted here and with other groups doing more modern stuff - the Journey worked for me. Well done! Yorkville - Not handling vertical form responsibility well, noticed cover issues throughout. Found the guard to be pretty basic but clean. Appreciate the double-flags at one point, not sure how it's been since I've seen that. Some folks off step in the slow tune, others foot-phasing. Watch the major. Guard has some clarity issues when varying upper body facing pull equipment to different angles. Appreciated the woodwind sound in song 3. Alan B. Shephard - Guard moves and spins very well, really nice sabre work (normally I'm not a fan of sabres on the field, but this was good!) Trombone solo could have been louder. Noticed some minor form issues at the end of second tune. Enjoyed this show! Overall a nearly perfect day at the U of I. It will be intersting in the coming years to see how / if some bands adjust to the new sheets, or if they just go elsewhere.

Unfortunately I arrived too late to see both Dunlap and Mahomet.

Say what? I was sitting on the fifty about three rows from the top and it happened to me All. Day. Long. I was ready to start asking kids what band they were from, and then telling them why I wanted to know. But I didn't want to talk / distract myself further from the shows. It got worse with people walking down the row directly in front of me as the stadium filled up. Perhaps some of it is my bad for sitting on the aisle. But I don't mind moving between shows to let folks through. I do mind letting three people by while someone performs. I'm just going to start being an ---- about it.

In hindsight I wish I would have had more info, what band played what, etc, but I enjoy watching the shows too much to write that stuff down.

I stayed for most of the next class, but chose not to review because I have family competing in that class. I left before the last class.