Making Plans

My wife and daughter'll be out of town next weekend, and I'm trying to figure out what I'll do with myself in their absence. After entertaining the stereotypical offerings of sleep, steak, beer, and football, I also looked at what is going on in the area as well. Turns out there are a couple of band competitions within reach--a battle of the bands down in Climax, and Carolina Crown's BandBEAT down at Gardner-Webb.  Boiling Springs is a bit far, but I'm still considering the show in Archdale. But as I sit and think about attending either contest,  I realize: By and large, high school competitions aren't my thing.

Maybe that comes as a surprise, maybe it doesn't. After all, one doesn't necessarily expect a fan of the NFL or college football to show up at the local high school game. That speaks, of course, to level of competition, and that's certainly part of it, but moreso, it's that I'm a bit of a transplant to the competitive marching world. 2004 was when I started following DCI regularly, and it wasn't until after that that I ventured into competitive marching band. Sure enough, my high school band could compete with anyone, but we typically did one music festival competition each year, not a competitive circuit like TOB or BOA. As a traditional style native who has always been far more concerned with a band that thrills an audience than one who aims to please the judges. And while I don't know the competing bands in either of these contests, I think it's a safe bet that a critical mass of those participating will be of the latter variety. As a musician and former band member myself, I can most certainly appreciate what these bands put on the field, but by and large, unless I've got a tie to one of the bands on the field, I'm likely to sit it out.