Thursday night band fail

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craw0092

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I was at the game last night and I couldn't help but notice how terrible the band was. In years past I always was impressed by our band and their performance, but things sure have changed! Their formations were off, sound was off, timing was off, just about everything! I am truly embarrassed.

I was wondering if anyone knows why our band has taken so many steps back from just a few years ago?

Has the university started looking to replace Diem yet? Is anyone connected to the program who can update us concerned supporters?
 

craw0092 said:
I was at the game last night and I couldn't help but notice how terrible the band was. In years past I always was impressed by our band and their performance, but things sure have changed! Their formations were off, sound was off, timing was off, just about everything! I am truly embarrassed.

I was wondering if anyone knows why our band has taken so many steps back from just a few years ago?

Has the university started looking to replace Diem yet? Is anyone connected to the program who can update us concerned supporters?
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Fellow Season Ticket Holder who sits next to us was in the band for a few years. She says the opening performance in always the toughest. That's because they not only have to learn the half time performance but all the "newbies" also need to learn the pre-game stuff as well. She said something about how the first game halftime stuff usually consists of "standing" pieces. Ones without a lot of movement for those very reasons.

Last night there were moving pieces for sure and those were a little ragged, but you were embarrassed? Hardly embarrassing.

Hopefully a band member can straighten this out. All this was second hand and coming for a poster who doesn't pay much attention to band. :eek:
 

A lady whose grand daughter is a member of the band sat right next to us. I didn't know this, but the Marching Band is not part of the Athletics Department like they are at Wiscy. The Spirit Squad is. The band is part of the Music Department. That is the reason why they don't travel very much unless it is to a bowl.

IMHO, they should be funded in part by the athletics program.
 

I can't confirm or deny any of this. I didn't hear the band all night in section 103. At halftime all I heard was the bass drum.

Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk
 

craw0092 said:
I was at the game last night and I couldn't help but notice how terrible the band was. In years past I always was impressed by our band and their performance, but things sure have changed! Their formations were off, sound was off, timing was off, just about everything! I am truly embarrassed.

I was wondering if anyone knows why our band has taken so many steps back from just a few years ago?

Has the university started looking to replace Diem yet? Is anyone connected to the program who can update us concerned supporters?
Click to expand...

Real classy.

Considering the band had 9 days to teach new members how to march chair step, play school songs, learn all the formations in the longest pre-game show in college football, learn a half time show, perform everything from memory, and come together as a single unit, I think they did great. Just like the football team, formations could look rough in the first game. But who cares? Yes, Ohio State has a well executed program week in and week out. Ohio State also gives their band members iPads while learning formations and has a larger talent pool in Ohio demanding to be part of the band. The Pride of Minnesota just starting auditioning every member because demand to be part of it has finally reached that point.

If you definition of a success is crisp formations and nice sounding music, unless it is a song or formation you don't like, then the band may not always meet your expectations. I am sure the band family would define a success as being passionate about every performance and giving it your all while representing the U and the State of Minnesota. I would say they are meeting that standard. There are only 325 people on campus who can do what the Pride of Minnesota does. There are only a handful of people who can do the job that Dr. Diem and his staff do (with not much recognition for it, by the way).

So sure, criticize Diem, his staff, and the students for putting together a group of 325 ambassadors of the U in 9 days that are probably some of the most passionate fans you will ever meet. Yep, totally embarrassing.
 


I've sat all over the stadium over the years and it's almost always difficult to hear during halftime, instrumentation hurts the band on the field unfortunately when compared against all brass bands like Ohio State. Like others have said, first game is usually a little rough. Pregame was good, halftime was whatever, but I will give them props for the music selection nice to hear some pop stuff from the last 10 years.
 

Gopherdrummer said:
Real classy.

Considering the band had 9 days to teach new members how to march chair step, play school songs, learn all the formations in the longest pre-game show in college football, learn a half time show, perform everything from memory, and come together as a single unit, I think they did great. Just like the football team, formations could look rough in the first game. But who cares? Yes, Ohio State has a well executed program week in and week out. Ohio State also gives their band members iPads while learning formations and has a larger talent pool in Ohio demanding to be part of the band. The Pride of Minnesota just starting auditioning every member because demand to be part of it has finally reached that point.

If you definition of a success is crisp formations and nice sounding music, unless it is a song or formation you don't like, then the band may not always meet your expectations. I am sure the band family would define a success as being passionate about every performance and giving it your all while representing the U and the State of Minnesota. I would say they are meeting that standard. There are only 325 people on campus who can do what the Pride of Minnesota does. There are only a handful of people who can do the job that Dr. Diem and his staff do (with not much recognition for it, by the way).

So sure, criticize Diem, his staff, and the students for putting together a group of 325 ambassadors of the U in 9 days that are probably some of the most passionate fans you will ever meet. Yep, totally embarrassing.
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Drummerboy -
Well, if our gauge of success is passion, we are all in trouble. Pardon me for expecting more from our band performance. As an alumni of the U, I done accept excuses on why we don't aim for excellence in everything we do.

Being one of the largest universities in the country, we should easily be having tryouts for the band. I am assuming Tim's lack of leadership is catching up to the program after all these years.
 

I don't know about the quality of the band, but the girl who threw the batons (not sure what the exact title is for that member of the band) - she was amazing. Bounced the freakin baton off the ground and back up into her hands!
 

I should also note that I believe the drum major didn't catch the baton he threw over the goalpost, so we could blame the loss on that... :p
 



Gopherdrummer said:
Real classy... So sure, criticize Diem, his staff, and the students for putting together a group of 325 ambassadors of the U in 9 days that are probably some of the most passionate fans you will ever meet. Yep, totally embarrassing.
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My mistake. Should have looked at his posts before responding. We are feeding a troll.
 

I agree. I just read some previous posts of his. Very little value.
 

Nax91 said:
I don't know about the quality of the band, but the girl who threw the batons (not sure what the exact title is for that member of the band) - she was amazing. Bounced the freakin baton off the ground and back up into her hands!
Click to expand...

Both twirlers were amazing - during the pregame show on block g they were juggling twirling batons. I mean they had three batons that were spinning or twirling WHILE they were being juggled. About every third or fourth time they would throw one of the three VERY high while still juggling the other two waiting for the high one to come back down. When the high one did come back down they would smoothly integrate it with the other two without missing a beat. No drops from either one.
 

The good news is we are bitching about something other than the loss less than 24-hours after the game was completed. The bad news is we are bitching about nothing as usual. Gotta love GH.
 



diefirma said:
Both twirlers were amazing - during the pregame show on block g they were juggling twirling batons. I mean they had three batons that were spinning or twirling WHILE they were being juggled. About every third or fourth time they would throw one of the three VERY high while still juggling the other two waiting for the high one to come back down. When the high one did come back down they would smoothly integrate it with the other two without missing a beat. No drops from either one.[/QUOTE
I was out there as well. The director or someone was explaining how they had practice for like only 10 days> 10 hour days. The twirlers were sweating up a storm so can't even imagine how hot the band uniforms were. Grat job band members keep up the good work.

Go Gohers
Click to expand...
 

We hung in and lost by 6 against one of the top programs in the country. Place was sold out. The crowd was into it. No complaining from me. At this point there are no moral victories. we lost and I wanted to win. But no complaining from me. Kill has us going in the right direction. no problems with the band
 

craw0092 said:
Drummerboy -
Well, if our gauge of success is passion, we are all in trouble. Pardon me for expecting more from our band performance. As an alumni of the U, I done accept excuses on why we don't aim for excellence in everything we do.

Being one of the largest universities in the country, we should easily be having tryouts for the band. I am assuming Tim's lack of leadership is catching up to the program after all these years.
Click to expand...

Now what do you mean by tryouts? We have music auditions to get into the band. But a lot of those students have never marched, why? Because college marching band is something a lot high school marchers don't want to do, because they consider it worse than going and marching DCI.

This band strives for as much excellence as we can get, but we had nine days to teach over 100 rookies everything we do, and for how quickly they had to learn, our performance was pretty good.

It was the rookies first game, the croud was loud and we couldn't hear the drum taps starting us off, so please lets us show you a performance that we actually have a decent amount of time to work on before you pass judgement on us or the staff.
 

Gopherdrummer said:
Real classy.

Considering the band had 9 days to teach new members how to march chair step, play school songs, learn all the formations in the longest pre-game show in college football, learn a half time show, perform everything from memory, and come together as a single unit, I think they did great. Just like the football team, formations could look rough in the first game. But who cares? Yes, Ohio State has a well executed program week in and week out. Ohio State also gives their band members iPads while learning formations and has a larger talent pool in Ohio demanding to be part of the band. The Pride of Minnesota just starting auditioning every member because demand to be part of it has finally reached that point.

If you definition of a success is crisp formations and nice sounding music, unless it is a song or formation you don't like, then the band may not always meet your expectations. I am sure the band family would define a success as being passionate about every performance and giving it your all while representing the U and the State of Minnesota. I would say they are meeting that standard. There are only 325 people on campus who can do what the Pride of Minnesota does. There are only a handful of people who can do the job that Dr. Diem and his staff do (with not much recognition for it, by the way).

So sure, criticize Diem, his staff, and the students for putting together a group of 325 ambassadors of the U in 9 days that are probably some of the most passionate fans you will ever meet. Yep, totally embarrassing.
Click to expand...
Badger band carries sheet music, our band memorizes ALL the music. Wouldn't have it any other way.
 

jonnyganas said:
Badger band carries sheet music, our band memorizes ALL the music. Wouldn't have it any other way.
Click to expand...

Preparation, proficiency, passion aside, the Badger band during football games treats it like a spectacle. The Gopher band appears to treat it as a band concert. IMO
 

Maximus said:
Preparation, proficiency, passion aside, the Badger band during football games treats it like a spectacle. The Gopher band appears to treat it as a band concert. IMO
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Consider the funding source. Badger band is funded by athletics. We are not.
 

Maximus said:
Preparation, proficiency, passion aside, the Badger band during football games treats it like a spectacle. The Gopher band appears to treat it as a band concert. IMO
Click to expand...

What do you mean by that?
 

Taji34 said:
Now what do you mean by tryouts? We have music auditions to get into the band. But a lot of those students have never marched, why? Because college marching band is something a lot high school marchers don't want to do, because they consider it worse than going and marching DCI.

This band strives for as much excellence as we can get, but we had nine days to teach over 100 rookies everything we do, and for how quickly they had to learn, our performance was pretty good.

It was the rookies first game, the croud was loud and we couldn't hear the drum taps starting us off, so please lets us show you a performance that we actually have a decent amount of time to work on before you pass judgement on us or the staff.
Click to expand...

Thanks to all of you students. Most of us on GH appreciate your efforts. Try not to let the critics get to you, as hard as it might be. Unfortunately, there's a bunch on GH that bitch about college kids out their busting their ass, who you know damn well never were capable of doing it themselves. They can do it anonymously which makes them very brave. When called on it, they hide behind the, "Well, I expect excellence," or, "I won't settle for mediocrity," or, "Well, they're not in high school any more," BS to excuse their basic nastiness and lack of understanding.
 

Taji34 said:
What do you mean by that?
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Their band is mostly brass (aside from clarinets) which creates a more bombastic sound, they high step or whatever they call it for both pregame AND halftime, their formations and style for halftime are often more visually fun to watch than the Gopher band. I wouldn't trade our pregame performance for anyone, but halftime is often a bore usually due to the arrangements, the formations, and the low step style. The indoor concert is really the only time the halftime music translates well to the audience, which is too bad because it is a damn good sounding band, much moreso than Wisconsin in a purely musical sense. For instance the Walk off the Moon song on Thursday, when the saxophones had the melody, it might as well have been silent. No brass carrying the tune = no projection into the crowd sadly. None of this is unique to this edition of the band, this has been the case for a long time.

Love the band though, appreciate the commitment and I still watch every pregame and halftime show when I'm at the games. Keep up the hard work!
 

Ski U Master said:
Their band is mostly brass (aside from clarinets) which creates a more bombastic sound, they high step or whatever they call it for both pregame AND halftime

I think our band matches up relatively well with the rest of the Big Ten bands, and is way better than bands in most of the other conferences. The TCU folks certainly know our band is better than what they are used to seeing in the Big 12.

I have mixed feelings about the Wisconsin band. They put on an unusual show on the field and certainly make an impression, especially at Bowl games with fans that have never seen anything like them.

On the other hand their sound is sort of bad, even if loud, and unlike our band they have almost no presence during the game. Our band is always playing in the stands between plays and during dead spots. The Badger band is rarely heard on a TV broadcast, even after a TD, at least "On Wisconsin".

There are some bands in the Big Ten that are in the lower tier (of three) due to size or general mediocrity (Northwestern, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, Rutgers), and 2 of 3 that are considered elite, but the Penn State, MSU, Minnesota, Michigan and Purdue bands are all very solid. The Iowa band used to be in this group, but is no longer.

Ohio State does have a very loud sound with small numbers, and Wisconsin is what it is. Illinois probably has the other elite band but get no credit. They are a very large band with a lot of brass that makes a good impression in person, and a very good sound. Penn State is somewhat similar.

The fact that our band has several good, school songs to play during pregame and in the stands helps relative to others that are lucky if they have two. (Iowa, Illinois, , Indiana Ohio State, Penn State (3). I know the other 8 schools have more than one school song, but most of them are very obscure.
Click to expand...
 

craw0092 said:
I was at the game last night and I couldn't help but notice how terrible the band was. In years past I always was impressed by our band and their performance, but things sure have changed! Their formations were off, sound was off, timing was off, just about everything! I am truly embarrassed.

I was wondering if anyone knows why our band has taken so many steps back from just a few years ago?

Has the university started looking to replace Diem yet? Is anyone connected to the program who can update us concerned supporters?
Click to expand...

Twirlers were solid. Band was mediocre at best. Embarrassing is probably a bit strong but the performance was far from impressive. The halftime performances seem to be going downhill from what they once were.
 

oak_street1981 said:
I think our band matches up relatively well with the rest of the Big Ten bands, and is way better than bands in most of the other conferences. The TCU folks certainly know our band is better than what they are used to seeing in the Big 12.

I have mixed feelings about the Wisconsin band. They put on an unusual show on the field and certainly make an impression, especially at Bowl games with fans that have never seen anything like them.

On the other hand their sound is sort of bad, even if loud, and unlike our band they have almost no presence during the game. Our band is always playing in the stands between plays and during dead spots. The Badger band is rarely heard on a TV broadcast, even after a TD, at least "On Wisconsin".

There are some bands in the Big Ten that are in the lower tier (of three) due to size or general mediocrity (Northwestern, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, Rutgers), and 2 of 3 that are considered elite, but the Penn State, MSU, Minnesota, Michigan and Purdue bands are all very solid. The Iowa band used to be in this group, but is no longer.

Ohio State does have a very loud sound with small numbers, and Wisconsin is what it is. Illinois probably has the other elite band but get no credit. They are a very large band with a lot of brass that makes a good impression in person, and a very good sound. Penn State is somewhat similar.

The fact that our band has several good, school songs to play during pregame and in the stands helps relative to others that are lucky if they have two. (Iowa, Illinois, , Indiana Ohio State, Penn State (3). I know the other 8 schools have more than one school song, but most of them are very obscure.
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Agree pretty much across the board, our band is much more musically sound than the majority of B1G bands, however that is a sacrifice to power and volume on gameday in the stadium. Wisconsin's band is loud but does sound like trash usually partly due to the herky jerky marching style. They are a spectacle though.
 

Sadly, I have to agree with craw0092 on this one. I heard several disparaging comments in my section about the poor quality of the band performance. If our band had not been wearing the maroon and gold, they could have been mistaken for Edina or Eden Prairie or several of the larger marching bands in the metro.

We can make all the excuses about an abundance of freshmen, lack of time for preparation, etc., but in the end the U of MN is a part of the B1G. Having big, loud, crisp marching band performances is one of the things that sets the college football tradition of the B1G apart from other conferences. Not only was this a big stage for the football team and the U in general, it was a big stage for the band as well.

As a U of M alum and a MN resident, I expect more out of the "Pride" of Minnesota.

On a more positive note: I, too, was mesmerized by the baton twirlers.
 

Like someone else pointed out, new members have had less than 10 days to learn how to march as the U band does, learn the formations, and memorize the music for a very demanding pregame show. That is a LOT to cram in during a short time, so at least give them a chance before choosing to be embarrassed.

Unlike many other bands, ours values woodwinds. While this sounds great on a CD, it provides less of an impact in the stands & field. So it is what it is.
 

Band...

Guess I'm a poor band critic, because I thought they did just fine. Always amazed at their half time formations, and am surprised to hear that they did as well as they did on 9 days of practice + 100 new members. Wow! I was particularly impressed by the small female tuba players who wore warm, long sleeved uniforms in the extreme heat and marched as well as the rest of them! The people near me in my section were impressed with the band's performance.
 

Ok...I'll chime in now. Our good friends from TCU traveled up here to attend the game on Thursday night. They had seats next to us and were in awe of our stadium and the electric feel of the crowd. Now for their comments on our band: One of them was a former band member at TCU...so they knew what goes into preparation. They both said our band was fabulous and lived up to their expectations of a large(huge) traditional Big Ten Band. Thought the pre-game was great. But it seemed like the band did not play much between plays...or at least we could not hear them. Half-time show was 'nice'. The Band was great...but needs more energy. They also mentioned that they saw wisc band at the Rose Bowl and said that you really can't compare the bands because they have different sounds and styles.

Keep up the good work UM Band.
 

I think they have to get rid of Leidner as Drum Major..............oops, never mind.

Seriously, when I was in HS, the U used to have "Band Day" during a non-conf game every year. They would invite HS bands to sit in the end-zone bleachers at Memorial Stadium, and the HS kids got to play along with the Gopher marching band for a couple of numbers during the halftime show. It was always a lot of fun. (and, as a member of my HS band, I got to attend the Gopher-USC game in '68 and watch OJ Simpson play.)
 

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