UIL Marching Band Contest

Saturday, I went to the UIL Marching Band Competition for Region 16.  Evidently this occurs in multiple parts, and I went in the evening when the 4A,5A and 6A schools were competing. A friend of mine has a son in the Lubbock High School band, and she volunteered all day.  It was a long day for her, but she was in good spirits.  It was cool but we were dressed for the weather, and it was a good evening.  Some of the bands performed really well.  The band I liked the best had a bright, airy, colorful performance with well done music.  The Lubbock High School band  performed well.  But they had a dark theme, and it came after the bright and light performance.  All and all, it was a pleasant evening. 

Marching Contest

The son of my friend and co-worker is in the Lubbock High School Marching Band. We went today to see the Region XVI North Zone Marching Contest http://www.abernathyband.com/uploads/3/8/0/9/3809659/schedule_nz_marching_2015.pdf at Lowery Field.  I could not find an online results page.

The bands were good. It was a lot of fun.  It was interesting to me that the 5A schools relied heavily on props, but the 6A schools had few props, and relied heavily on band performance. To be honest, that is probably as it should be.  

Lubbock High School Westerner Football and Band, Part 2

My friend and co-worker and I again went to the Lubbock High Westerner Football game to watch and support her son, who is in the band:

 
Actually her son is, in her words, the shortest one in the band:

 

 

I last heard the band two weeks ago.  I was impressed at how much better they sounded tonight than they did two weeks ago. They pretty much seem to have the marching down, but their first performance was pretty weak.  We stayed after the game and listened to the band director's comments. I thought she was spot on:  encouraging but corrective; acknowledging the much improved performance; reminding about procedures.

 

The Lubbock Westerners Football team wore uniforms meant to commemorate the survivors and victims of 9/11/2001

 

http://www.kcbd.com/clip/11838371/lubbock-high-wearing-special-uniforms-for-911

 

You cannot see the uniforms very well in my picture, but you can in the clip.

 

Before the game, I had the chance to go to the Lifestyle Center. One of the regulars was at the pool, and he is a long time teacher and former coach for the Lubbock Independent School District http://www.lubbockisd.org/pages/Lubbock_ISD__TX.  His take on the new uniforms was that the school district purchased them, including with donations from him and many other people, for the schools in the district to use them this year and in the future, rotating between the schools in the district, depending upon who had a game on or close to 9/11.  That is a really good idea, I think. 

 

 

 

Drum Line

I love a marching band.  I love a college or high school marching band. I love a brass band. I love a Drum Corp International band.  I love a drum line.  This drum line is phenomenal https://www.facebook.com/disturbreality/videos/1036266483084095/?fref=nf. 

Lubbock High School Westerners Band

So, on August 27, 2015, I went to the Lubbock High School Westerners home opening football game against the Sweetwater Mustangs https://www.facebook.com/groups/220993337932514/.

I went because a friend's son is in the marching band http://lhs.lubbockisd.org/pages/LUBBOCKHS/School_Info/Lubbock_High_Videos/LHS_Band, and I wanted to support her and her son.  I love watching marching bands.  I was impressed at the size and performance of the Lubbock High School Westerners marching band.

The football game was not so good, and the Westerners were soundly beaten by the Mustangs 56 to 7  http://www.kcbd.com/clip/11800952/end-zone-week-1-Thursday.

It was a beautiful night.  There was a full moon. The night air was mild and refreshing.

The football was not good. The band performance was.