Friday night. Aug. 20. Parents seated in the bleachers tasting football season as it creeps around the corner. No, these are not the athlete’s parents. These folks are the band parents. The people who cheer the loudest during halftime. The ones who are forced to carry around bulking instrument cases and keep track of music. On Aug. 20, despite the impending rain and the scorching temps, parents, family and friends gathered at Marquette High School for the Rockwood Review. At this event, the four Rockwood high schools present their shows for the upcoming marching band season. Here’s how the night’s events played out.

First up was the host Marquette Mustang Marching Band. Their show consisted of songs from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Haunted Carnival and Side Show.

From the beginning, the Mustangs were quiet even as the band was a pretty good size. As the show continued , the instruments sounded strained and still very quiet. Abrupt and off key trumpets spurted out here and there drawing attention to more and more mistakes. As the band huddled in a half-circle formation around their drum major, the songs seemed to drag on until the recognizable tune from Pee Wee came from the xylophones.

That was the most enjoyable part of the set and the percussion section performed quite well. Then the rest of the band joined them and it was downhill from there.

Overall, I give MHS 2 fist pumps. I could have used more cowbell.

Next was the Lafayette Lancer Regiment with their show, Nemesis.

 The band started strong with a delicate mellophone solo. Then the drums erupted into a brisk, drum roll and set the rest of the instruments off. It was powerfully precise. The drums set the tone early in the performance and kept a steady hum throughout. The music itself was original and memorable. Every instrument was well represented and mistakes, if any, were well hidden.

I give LHS 4.5 fist pumps.

Third up was the Wildcat Pride Marching Band from Eureka with songs from West Side Story including Dance at the Gym, Mambo and I Have a Love.

The enormous band walked onto the track and organized themselves. Then, whistling from every band member started off their show. A swirling of noise reached the stands and a quirky intro began. The drum line from Eureka was just as good as Lafayette’s.

The entire band managed sound perfectly and kept an even, steady loudness the entire set. The pauses and starts were quick and on count. However, sometimes an off beat trumpet would sound but would sound blend right back in. The xylophones were a bit sketchy at times and the players seemed distracted and lost.

From start to finish, I give EHS 4.3 fist pumps.

Last, but not least, was the Rockwood Summit Silver Falcon Marching Band with their show Sleep. Songs included, Sleep, Insomnia,  Lucidity, Nightmare and Stay Awake.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what to expect with parents walking in with T-shirts that had bloodshot eyes on them that read, “Stay awake. We are your worst nightmare.” But when the band trooped onto the track, it was go-time.

Summit was another huge band as they doubled the rows for the half-circle formation. The drummers began the beginning beat and everyone else followed. Then, a creepy male voice began to say, “Staaaaay awaaaaake. Staaaay awaaaaake.” Yeah, I’m totally freaked out at this point, but the band continued on and doesn’t miss one beat.

The pieces were well organized and well played and their color guard was right on target. The girls were twirling those flags and rifles like they were chopsticks.

I can say that I will always remember the Summit show due to the overwhelming feeling of Freddy Krueger lurking about. I give RSHS 4.7 fist pumps.

The shows, for the most part, were well done for so early in the season. The playing field is quite level at this point. Watch out, Lancers, these guys are going to give you a run for your money.