SU Entrance
Southern University played their first song. In front of the crowd, but not quite in the stands yet.
Even though some of the band was facing the director away from the audience SU’s power was amazing. It wasn’t just powerful though, the band had an incredible well-balanced sound.
I don’t remember the first of 2 songs that they played, but the second was “Rolling In The Deep” by Adele.
Once again great balance from all of the amazingly powerful sections of the band. The brass bells on the sousaphones make all the difference in the world.
SU’s trumpet were screaming! This is best I’ve heard SU’s trumpets in years. Usually the large section is swallow whole by the lowed brass sections.
Grambling Entrance
Bright Lights, Bigger City
Grambling played their selection still in parade formation. With the direction that they were facing, all of the sound went completely past the audience, it was actually hard to hear them.
Grambling’s drumline got plenty of attention with a funktrain they performed before going into the stands. One cymbal player got plenty of attention on tape.
The Prunester...More to come.
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Southern University - "Love"
When the band started, I was amazed by how luscious the band sounded as they played so powerfully.
There were a few mistakes in the tuba lines, but for the most part, the performance was pretty good.
What ruined the performance was the singer that Southern used. As he sang wrong note after wrong note, SU actually began to get booed. This arrangement did not seem to be meant to be played with a singer. Instead, the band was going full blast, and someone just happened to grab a mic.
This was definite a low for SU.
Grambling - Gospel Mix
Grambling started their performance with a tribute to Robert Champion, FAMU bands, and all of HBCUs. This was a very classy move, and well received by all that knew what was going on.
"I Need You Now"
At the beginning, the trombones played slightly too loud on their counter-melody parts. They sounded good, but made it very difficult to hear the melody.
Other than that, Grambling showed an extremely controlled sound; far, far different than anything I had ever heard from them before.
After the band completely the first gospel song, they moved immediately into "Kirk Franklin's" smile. A moved which seemd to break the rules a litttle bit (the announcers made it clear that the band were to play one song a piece initially). Still this got incredible response from the audience.
With this song, Grambling showcased a based guitar which to my annoyance over-powered the tubas for much of their performance for the day. Why spends 10’s of thousands of dollors of a set of sousaphones, and then drown them out with 1 bass guitar?
Grambling’s most impressive section was their trumpet section. Whenever these guys had the melody their sound was clear and intense.
Overall this was an outstanding performance from Grambling’s band.
I have heard Grambling’s band for several years, and I will tell you, this was something completely different!
The Prunester…Telling it like it is.
SU - is this called Who Like to Party?
The melodies in the trumpets, and baritones were not clean started out. Particularly in the trumpets.
SU has a powerful trombone section.
Towards the end of this song the baritones and mellophones play chords on a single note. At this time, SU's trumpet section (of about 40 players) could have just stopped playing all together as their sound was completely swallowed by the rest of the band.
This sound was the beginning of a problem that affected throughout the days performance. Their were many times where it was hard to determine the melody because the whole band was going for broke. Each section fighting for superiority.
SU turned around a played "Smile" as well.
This move gained tremendous applause from the audience as it was more powerful than Grambling's. Closer inspection after a few seconds of hearing the song showed that it was stronger but not better than Grambling's version. Grambling performed their version with more musical subtlety's throughout and better balance. There seemed to be song wrong notes in the arrangement in the low brass melody parts.
SU saved face by adding in a modulation, and concluded the song, with a very tutti, 16th note run.
Grambling - "Lotus Flower Bomb"
This was an amazing performance of this song. Grambling’s sound was well-balanced (except for the bass guitar). Grambling’s trumpets were actually much stronger than SU’s trumpets!
I loved what was happening in the tuba section.
With this song, and the song before, Grambling actually started doing the unthinkable.
Grambling was beating SU in the Bayou Classic Battle of the Bands!
The Prunester…I almost can’t believe what I’m saying, but I am compelled to “tell it like it is.”
SU - "Marvin Gaye and Chardonnay"
SU's balance problems continued in this piece. It was like trying to ram a very large battleship into a very small hole. It just wasn't working very well, and it was often hard to determine exactly what you were listening to.
SU - Lift-Off
It was with this song, that SU started to make a comeback. This rhythmic passages in the piece requires a high degree of articulation and SU performed superbly.
Grambling - I think this song is called "Unsual"
The only notes that I have on this song is that these guys are playing!
The Prunester...More to come.
SU - "Talking Out the Side of Your Neck"
Southern stayed in the game with this crowd favorite. Although this song, is not meant to display a high-degree of technique it certainly kept SU's fans excited.
Every time that I have heard SU play this, I have never heard their mellophones play their ascending steps accurately. This was no exception.
SU - “Turn Off The Lights”
This song featured another singer. Sigh. He at least was much better than the first.
Unlike “Love” played before this arrangement seemed like it was meant to be played with someone singing on top of it.
This created a conundrum since this piece was much more crowd appealing since the singing seemed to fit, but on the other hand, the arrangement did very little to showcase SU musical abilities.
Grambling - “After The Morning After”
This was the first time, that Grambling began to play with poor balance. Their the mellophone, woodwind melody it was quite difficult to determine exactly who had the melody due to the other instruments playing so loud.
GSU’s trumpets really seemed to be getting tired. They were unable to play the counter-melody parts that they had.
GSU inserted a nice modulation into the piece, but this only high-lighted the tiredness of Gramblings’s trumpets.
Before this song the announcer kept saying that this was something for the Q’s. After the song ended, the announcer said basically “Ok now, here is something for the “Q’s.”
GSU - “Knee Deep”
The performance of this arrangement was ok. It was only lackluster in terms of intensity from the band. The piece was further hurt by the announcer occasionally singing with the band.
Pretty good performance from GSU’s baritones at the end. It was the first time that I could remember where the baritones were featured. Many of the features before had been given to the trombones.
It’s nice to see though that Grambling does a good job of using both their baritones & trombones melodically.
After the song was complete Southern’s announcer called GSU on the fact that “Knee Deep” was not the “Que” song. “Atomic Dog” is.
I wonder how this mistake happened. GSU definitely lost some points with the crowd here.
All in all, these two pieces were musical lows for Grambling.
I have a hypothesis. All of the music that Grambling played up until this point was hot off of the charts. It makes me think that all of the previous music was done by a different arranger than the older music that Grambling was paying now.
Perhaps these arrangements no longer fit GSU’s band.
The Prunester…More to come.
SU - "Something In My Heart"
The woodwinds and the mellophones hav the melody at the beginning, but the sousaphones were drowining them out.
Nice twirling from SU's cymbal players.
Throughout this arrangement, the parts of the song that were not important kept drowning out the parts of the song that were important. There were many times that the trumpet melodies were hard to hear. The trumpets were also not as clean here as they had been on other pieces.
SU - "Don't What You Wanna"
A strong performance. SU's tubas never seem to nail the nail the high notes in this.
GSU-"12 Play"
Clean playing from Grambling's band. The playing on this song was good but not as intense as GSU’s performance at the beginning of the show.
During the song, 4 big guys got on stage and danced. The band really didn't get any response from this. The drum majors later danced on stage as well. The drum majors also really didn't get any applause.
I wonder if it would better if any special dance acts stand in front of the band. I recall seeing bthe dance squads of both bands as well as SU's male group of male dancers dance in front of the band. It really makes the dance group seem more in-tune with what’s going on.
GSU - “Man Down”
GSU’s trumpets were obviously tired by now. They no longer dominated GSU’s band whenever they had the melody and struggled with some of the higher parts of the arrangements.
SU - “I Need A Doctor”
After a ton of junk talking by GSU’s announcer about them winning the battle, SU returned to the stands, and played this song.
SU’s band turned on GSU and literally let them have it with an intense amount of sound.
Both bands were made to leave after this.
Unfortunately, they didn’t deliver. In the end though the victory went to GSU, but it wasn’t the clear victory that it could have been.
Ok…Next Up in Another Post…Prunalysis. The Bayou Classic!
The Prunester...Telling it Like it is!
D. Rashad Watters
Co-Founder, CEO
Block Band Music & Publishing
(919)-698-2560
blockbandmusic@gmail.com
Great analysis pretty much spot on, I would like to add a couple things...
SU- entrance the drummers in the front drowned out the band while marching in, the sound was muffled and there were phasing problem from calling off the song to early IMO, getting to concert formation seemed a bit unorganized.
GSU entrance was ok but not facing the crowd most def hurt the performance as Prune said, getting into the stands was entertaining and drummers gave the crowd some thing to look at during this usually boring time.
Gram was most def working with Fire...
SU was as powerful as ever...
but the difference is that GSU did GSU and didn't try to go toe to toe with Southern, it didn't even seem like it at ANY point.
Su got stronger and louder as the battle wore on...
Gram was cleaner from the onset and it continued throughout...
The only complaints that I heard about gram is that they weren't loud/ intense/ powerful enough
Gram wins this one. IMO slightly but a win is a win
FYI...
Southern left the stands while Grambling was playing...
Grambling did their tuba solo and GSU chant after they were finished as they have for years...
Southern ran back to the stands and played I need a doctor...
IMO once you leave...you leave Battle Over...but it's disrespectful to leave when another band is playing
Can respect these statements.
Bias Bias Bias cause I don't see this, but I will give props Gram good job you guys sound the best since 2006!
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