Weather or Not

The weather was beautiful this weekend, especially if you had an afternoon rehearsal and/or show. But at the contest, it seems that when the sun goes down, all kinds of things go awry. Like pitch. Tone. Dress. Cover. And the occasional flag trying to be its own show, "Gone with the Wind".

MP's band's score inexplicably went down a few points, although it was clearly an improved product. As I texted him from home, "shows what I know." (I was home because in that stadium I apparently also forgot to dress and cover. Brrr.)

I saw a lot of kids in several bands who were not ready for what happens when the sun goes down on a clear, mid-Atlantic October night. Sixty degrees become cold! I hope band directors are now reminding the kids that the shorts-and-tee-shirts in the afternoon may need to become something warmer on the legs and arms at night.

I also saw what I now feel are too many small bands last night. Group 3 bands come from schools capable of fielding larger units, Group 1 bands are really pulling on the talents of their kids and directors, and I admire what some of the Group 2 bands are attempting to do despite limited bodies and instrumentation. I suspect that all of this is a result of music programs being scaled back, starting at the lowest grades.

This week I tip the shako to the Group 2 Lake Forest HS Band (Fenton, DE). The have a big guy who looks like a linebacker leading the line as drum major, then picking up a marching tuba, and then a mellophone (or baritone, I could not tell at that moment, and you think I could!). I know bands have switched kids around in instrumentation to get things more in balance, and occasionally you find woodwinds playing brass. But you don't see it often in midshow. No, they didn't win. Or place. But I am glad that they at least showed.