Notinband

I was at Indy last weekend, and took notes on bands I thought would finish in the 5-25 range to assess who I thought would make Finals. (Avon, Carmel, Blue Springs, were locks for Finals.) The bands I noted with playing while marching and audible woodwinds did well in placements.

Agreed, Romeoville. Without even opening this thread and by reading the title, they were the first band to come to mind. Other bands I thought stepped up this year: Providence Catholic and Victor J. Andrew.

There are two things I look for when watching marching bands: 1. Marching and playing instruments at the same time. 2. Good woodwind movements. I do not like performances that are basically loud horns.

Congratulations to all the Illinois bands! They did a fantastic job representing Illinois!

I have friends who's kids are in Downers Grove South band. They were really surprised they did not make finals.

My predictions (best guess after top 4) : 1. Avon H.S., IN2. Carmel H.S., IN3. Blue Springs H.S., MO4. Homestead H.S., IN5. O'Fallon Township H.S., IL6. Centerville H.S., OH7. Castle H.S., IN8. Fishers H.S., IN9. Lincoln-Way H.S., IL 10. Lockport Township H.S., IL11. Plainfield H.S., IN12. Marian Catholic H.S., IL13. Center Grove H.S., IN14. North Hardin H.S., KY

This is tough. Before last weekend I had 18 bands for 14 slots. After this past weekend, I have not eliminated any.

I’ll post my predictions later this week. Before this past weekend, I thought four bands from Illinois in Finals was a stretch. After ISU, I now feel it is possible.

Nice show. Just me, the props cause viewers to focus on the props, and not on the band. During Finals, I ignored the props and only watched the band. I believe their overall placement in Finals was correct.

Agreed. But on a broader perspective, the overall quality of Illinois Marching Band programs has been improving over the past several years. There was a noticeable overall step improvement this year.

A week ago I commented that Lockport Township needed to work on their second half of their show. The difference in their performances from the Lincoln-Way Invitational to ISU was amazing. I thought Marian Catholic also showed a lot of improvement in one week. And I am really surprised in the margin between Marian Catholic and Lincoln-Way/Lockport Township in both preliminaries and finals. Prospect always looks good. I do not ever remember them being anything but excellent. VJA really stepped up this year.

Awards are given by class, while Finals selections are the top 14 scores in the Preliminary round regardless of class.

I do not know a lot about Warren Township. They do not participate at the competitions I normally attend.

My picks: 1. Marian Catholic 2. Lincoln-Way 3. Lockport Township 4. Prospect 5. Morton 6. Downers Grove South 7. Victor J. Andrew 8. John Hersey 9. Romeoville 10. Galesburg 11. Plainfield North 12. Bloomington 13. Joliet West 14. Eureka It is unfortunate that O'Fallon is not attending. One band I am cheering for (and have no affiliation with the school), is Providence Catholic. They have finished first in their class at every competition they have performed at this year. But there is just not enough slots to get them into Finals.

Glad to see all this discussion on this topic...always like to see participation and feedback on these forums. While I was most impressed by Lockport Township's program, I do not expect them to win ISU. I also think Marian Catholic has more to reveal. For instance, they had one prop on the field at Lincoln-Way, which they promptly move to the back of the field one minute into their performance to never be seen again. There is more to come... I think Marian Catholic, Lincoln-Way, and Lockport Township will be the top three at ISU. I agree with others; Lockport Township has to overcome both Marian Catholic and Lincoln-Way, and they probably do not have enough time to perfect their performance for ISU. My picks for ISU: 1. Marian Catholic 2. Lincoln-Way 3. Lockport Township It is unfortunate O'Fallon Township will not be there.