I went to spectate this one. My predection may have been way off.... but thats the fun of it!
I thought I would share some of my very disorganized thoughts , so here you go!
Wakeland: Holy crap wakeland!!!! What a show. (Fun fact, they got a 2 at UIL on the same day they swept and won their first regional) This show looks pretty damn hard, and the directors there are doing something right.
Westlake: This is a very fun show from the looks of it. I loved the mello and trumpet duet, such a cool moment.
Waxahachie: Very loud band, I love it. This show also got so much better from when I saw it at DFW. The quartet in their second movment was astonishing, and WOW that horn soloist is just fantastic!! Also the music from ratatouille was just so fun. The uniforms they were wearing also looked really comfortable.
Wylie east: Wow. This was one of my favorite brass books of the night. That low brass is just incredible, not to mention the bass trombone solo and the trombone 5tet. Overall their brass section is just too freaking good.
Prosper: One of the only shows I saw that seemingly did not have a closer on the field. But damn, this show looks HARD. Those chairs cannot be that light, and most of the time they are being hauled across the field. Also holy moly those bass trombones at prosper are not afraid to play their hearts out and I LOVE IT. Bass trombone is needed more in the marching art in my opinion. Once the closer is on this show and they start to clean it up, this band could definitely pull itself up to finals at nationals and maybe get out of the bubble. This band is serious.
Westwood: Westwood always seems to pump out awesome shows. The trumpet soloist in the opener is just absolutely amazing, and the brass section is really strong. These props also look pretty heavy, but I love how they can be turned over to reveal different colors, what a cool idea. I love how bands are starting to incorperate props that are moved by kids in marching spots. Also damn, this tuba section is freaking sick. Gotta love a strong tuba section.
Rock Hill: This band could be a serious threat. This is the bands 2nd competitive and they are already taking names at some serious competitions. This ensemble sounds really balanced, but not too loud compared to some other finalists yesterday. This is defenitly not one of my favorite shows, but I have to give them credit for how clean it is. Also congratulations to that tuba and guitar soloist, that was freaking fantastic. Im stoked to see what this program has in store for the coming years.
Southlake Carroll: This band has made a total comeback from BOA Dallas. They are gonna do some good things at Grand Nationals if they improve at the rate that they have in the past week. The contra section is pretty strong, and they have alot of hard moves drill wise that they seem to manage with fine. This show is freaking sick, but im really not too sure what to think about of the preshow being Shakira(this is a true Carroll ISD Moment). I expect to see some good things coming out of this program in the next few years.
Forney: Not much to say about their show other than how freaking amazing that brass section is. This band has made so much progress in the past few years and we love to see it.
Sachse: This band is pretty stinking good. They have a strange thing where they like to march pieces with whack time stamps, but they pull it off well, as seen in previous shows like forged in gold.
KCent: I saw this at the KISD Expo and I loved it. They have a pretty strong brass section, and I love strong brass sections hehe. This show definitely tops whatever their show was last year, by a long shot too.
Owasso: The only band not from texas in finals. They have a pretty cool show, though I dont know why they played firebird in the opener. Owasso is really good at dynamics, and their quiet sounds are as good as they are loud.