RECAP: 2018 KBA Marching Championships

I had the pleasure of going to the KBA Marching Festival at Washburn University this weekend. Before BOA and Concert season start, I would like to share with you what I thought about the Bands that performed at the State competition.

Lawrence: This show got me all hyped up for the rest of the competition. It was very creative of LHS to have their drum major act as the host of a Radio Show, talking and giving "news" every now and then in the show. Overall, I thought that this show was very well thought out, well executed, and deserved a high placing in finals. Congratulations to the Marching Lions and good luck with Concert Band Season.

Emporia: This year was the year that Emporia began their transition from a Traditional Marching band into a corps-style marching band. Their show, "Ronin", was one I was skeptical about at first, but the Spartans did show strides for a positive outlook, especially their drumline, which I thought was the strong suit of their show. Congratulations, Spartan Marching Pride, on your first performance at KBA, and good luck with Concert Band.

Shawnee Mission North: I had very high hopes for SMN this year. They had a great show when I saw their performance at their host invitational. Their performance at KBA was rather disappointing comparatively. Still, it was a show that was skillful in a visual nature, but music-wise, it was SMN's worst show so far. The concept would be better if it was for a traditional marching band rather than a corps-style band. But still, great season. Best of luck to you and your band program for the rest of the year.

Goddard: 2017 was probably the worst year for GHS to take a hiatus from the KBA Marching competition. Their show, "Colors", fell hard. I believe that it would have not fallen out as much if they put more effort into the visual part of the show, but getting Last place in their division is a red flag for a band program that is striving to become an elite one. Continue to make forward strides in the coming years. Good luck in concert season, and congratulations on your season.

Liberal: To be fair, this is a band that had to travel 5 hours in order to get to WU to perform at 10:00 am. This show was destined to not make finals, even if done by a Topeka Band. Sure, it gives tribute to the city and state they live in, but it fails where ONW's 2017 show "The Raven" succeeds. Regardless, "That" Liberal Band is making good progress to becoming a corps-style marching band. Best of luck this concert season.

Derby: I'm just gonna leave them with this: This show did not deserve to make finals. I don't care if it was very strong in Music and field visual, its auxiliary was where it killed the feel. Derby's finals performance was definitely stronger than its preliminary performance, and "Rebel" was undisputably the most corps-style show of the first block of performances. Best of luck this concert season.

Shawnee Mission Northwest: This was a weird show. I couldn't quite grasp the "out of this world" feel the Marching Cougar Pride was going for. The Auxilliary was wonderful this show, but the GE was its weak suit. The Visual Impact had great potential, but it failed where BVW's "One World" succeeded. Wonderful performance overall, and I wish you well this concert season.

Lawrence Free State: As a Free State Student, I'm glad that my band is making Strides in trying to turn around the FS band program, but this show was just destined to fail from the start. It didn't help that the band was only scheduled to go to 2 competitions this year, and the former one being cancelled. But for a program in which KBA was the only competition they performed at this year, Free State actually did a great job, with a very strong music aspect and an unforgettable drum break. Keep going with the positive strides, and good luck with concert season.

Garden City: "Nevermore" followed the same formula as "DreamSpaces", and both failed to make an impact at KBA. If I was to give the band some advice, I would start with having students do more to be more creative. These students have put their hearts and souls into the past 3 shows at KBA, all of which have failed. Regardless, this was a visually pleasing show and one of my favorites from the morning. Good luck this upcoming concert band season.

Shawnee Mission East: Like I said for Liberal, a tribute to where the school is located does not usually make finals. But the reason this show succeeded is that is that it was more jazzy and upbeat than Liberal's more traditional show. I liked the setting that SME put the show in, which made it more of a fun show than the "Traditional" shows that took the field on Saturday (Liberal, Goddard, Emporia (sort of)). All I would improve is the percussion for next year. Best of luck for concert band season.

Dodge City: Broken Arrow (OK) should have taught a lesson to never do a sequel to a previous successful show. "Age of Discovery: Return to Xeno" was a fantastic show and deserved to take second in BOA Grand nationals, but Ridiculous^2 was a miserable failure for the Pride of Southwest Kansas. This show was generally liked much less than last year's "El Viaje del Muerte", and hopefully the PSWK changes their direction before they head into a mere shadow of the elite band they were before. Regardless, wonderful job, and good luck this next concert season.

Goddard Eisenhower: What a pleasant surprise. I was extremely skeptical about "Balance" before the season started, and even after they won Okmulgee 1-4A. Their performance did not do as well at Park Hill in Prelims, which made me feel even more skeptical. But I was proven wrong as GE became the most improved band at KBA this year. The visual effects were fun to look at, and the music was vastly improved. Best of luck to the Band of Tigers as they head into concert season.

Topeka Seaman: This was my favorite show by a non-finalist this year. "Uprising" made me answer Seaman's question with, "Yes, I will stand up!" and you better believe I did. It's hard to pick a favorite thing about this show. The choreography was well-executed, the props were used appropriately, and the music was catchy. It's too bad this band did not make finals, because I was really hoping that they would. Best of luck during concert season.

Maize South: Like Derby, this band did not deserve to make finals in my opinion. "Notorious" was my favorite show last year, and I had high hopes heading into this year. When I first saw "RED" at the SMN invitational, those hopes were shattered. The Visual that went into this show was good, but the show's concept and GE were really cheesy and did not deserve to make finals. Keep making strides and I wish you luck during concert season.

Washburn Rural: "Stained Glass", like last year's "War of the Worlds", was a traditional twist on a corps-style show. I loved the stained-glass creations the band used as props, the choreography the whole band was able to do, and the guard's costumes were excellent. If they would have picked up the tempo a bit, they would have made better placing in Prelims and Finals, but 11th is the highest WR has ever placed at KBA. Good Luck heading into concert season.

Valley Center: Another exciting show that was well choreographed, played, visualized, and generally executed. My only real complaint is that the color guard's eyeshadow and the show's warrior/warlord feel made it feel racist towards Africans. But racism aside, "War Dance" was one of my favorite VC shows yet. Best of luck to the Hornet Bands in concert season.

Olathe East: My favorite show of 2018. I was really excited about my prediction after preliminary results were announced, showing that the Orange and Blue Brigade got second place in Preliminaries. I thought that their BOA-ready show was going to end up winning state. But they ended up getting fourth in Finals. Oh well. This was a fantastic show, regardless of place. The Guard was well-trained and they had nice uniforms, the Music was well-chosen and well-rehearsed, and the show was overall well rounded. Best of luck to the O&B Brigade at BOA, and congratulations on an amazing marching season.

Olathe South: Like GE, I was skeptical about the Falcon Regiment with their show this year. When I first heard their theme and their musical repertoire, I flinched at the thought of how well they were going to do this year. "Gifts of Joy" sounded like an 8th or 9th place show at KBA when I had first heard of it, but when I got to see them in performance, I was, once again, surprised. The Guard was well-trained, the visuals were executed in a manner I could not imagine they could have done, and they put a new spin on a traditional show. Best of luck to OS as they enter concert band season.

Shawnee Mission West: We have come full circle, SMW. At the beginning of the season, I thought that SMW did not deserve to make finals last year and were going to fail miserably this year as well. Then, I went to the SMW home game on September 14th, and considering how show-ready they looked, I thought they were primed for another good run at State. Then, when the KBA preliminary performance started, my doubts began to decline like no other doubts of mine ever have before. The Visuals were too cheap, the guard costumes were worse than last year, and the musical repertoire was very shallow. The show, however, was another exciting performance. I wish the Vikings the best of luck in concert season.

Blue Valley: Incredible show. The Flute solo on Stairway to Heaven was one of the best solos in KBA this year, the visuals were basic but effective, the choreography was one of the best shows that I've seen from a BV Tiger Band show, and the use of props was effective. The guard's costumes were very apropos for this show as well. I think that BV's finals performance was the best show, performance-wise and the Band was well-deserving of second place. Congrats and good luck with concert band this year.

Buhler: Eric Stambaugh's Juggernaut of a band continues their dominance with their show, "The Grand Canyon". The double-sided middle visual was something that stood out to me, and the way they executed it made me think that they deserved extra GE points. A wonderful show for sure, with a creative way to put the pit in front with a tractor, a tribute both to Kansas and the Grand Canyon's explorers. Best of luck to Buhler as they enter concert band season.

Blue Valley North: A beautiful tribute to those whose lives were lost in World War 2 and a wonderful way to show BVN's "true colors" if you will. The visual drill design was outstanding, the choreography and repertoire were fitting to their show's theme, and they deserved the spot they got in finals. The poems written by the BVN students were emotionally touching and were well-placed in this well-paced show. I wish the best of luck to the BVN band as they enter concert band season.

Olathe North: Cute Idea, but not very well executed if wanting to be a BOA band. The Visuals were great, the choreography was well-executed as well, but the repertoire is a weak point. Make sure you keep improving your positive strides in the next week. Getting 8th in KBA Prelims and 7th in finals means that it is time for ON to press the panic button and get everything together and all of the pieces aligned in time for them to have a good performance at BOA. Best of luck there and in your upcoming concert season.

Topeka West: I got to see a video of their performance at the Capital city Marching festival, and by then, I could tell that this show would be really kooky and cheesy. I thought they would be borderline finals at KBA after watching that video, and I wasn't that far off. The GE of the show could have been better-executed, but the show was still very good regardless of results. Best of luck during concert band season to the TWCB.

Blue Valley West: Congratulations! You have won your second straight state title, and just in time. You were one place out of BOA STL Finals last year, and this might be your best opportunity to do it. You have the repertoire to do it, and the CG and uniforms for the whole band was SPECTACULAR. Go and give it your all at BOA. Good luck in concert season. And try your best to three-peat at KBA next year.