In the middle of Houston, Texas lies NRG Stadium- home of the Houston Texans. It's also home to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and it will be the venue of Super Bowl LI in 2017.

Tonight, however, NRG Stadium is hosting the tenth Texas D&BC Showcase. 15 out of the 30 corps who performed in prelims earlier today are returning tonight for finals, and we'll be recapping all of the finalist performances.

About 17,290 people are attending this epic mid-season championship- the second highest turnout for this event so far. It's great to see all these fans out here supporting the activity, and we hope they enjoy the evening because these corps are some of the best the world has to offer.

It's evening in Houston right now, and as we speak, the first finalist corps is marching onto the field.

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CorpsMoar (MAoMA / 15th) - Hailing from Lasagnatia, CorpsMoar put out a good performance to start the night. CorpsMoar was the D2 silver medalist at prelims, and they're currently making their way through the FMA rankings. Their program "A Compliant Heart" has a lot of potential that could possibly bring them to D2 finals if they keep going at it. Most notable section; percussion. 60.290.

The Oily Flamingo's (UNSP-C / 14th) - From Florida comes The Oily Flamingo's. Their uniforms are an oddity in FMA- being quite pink and feathery, with skinny, tapered pant legs. They performed their show "sea," featuring "see" and "si." With a corps as wet as the The Oily Flamingo's, it's easy to see why "sea" was such a fitting program. This was a sight to see, and fans smiled in their seats. 63.395.

The Aviators (MAoMA / 13th) - From Dayton, OH comes The Aviators- our D2 gold medalists. They flew in with "Mount Olympus," a classical performance showcasing grand orchestral sounds. The Aviators' had executed fleeting musical passages and drill fit for their name. "Mount Olympus" is proof that The Aviators have potential to soar to great heights. 63.455.

The Pride (SEC-C / 12th) - The Pride, based in Knoxville, TN, came back after hiatus from S30-S41. They performed their show "Youngstown Funk" to great applause. Definitely one of the crowd pleasers of the night, The Pride kicked it off with Bruno Mars's "Uptown Funk." Then, they brought us back to the 70's with "I Want You Back," "Play That Funky Music," and "In The Stone." It was a great show to reboot The Pride with, and the fans loved it. 64.395.

Empire of the South Drum & Bugle Corps (GEDC / 11th) - From Atlanta, GA comes the Empire of the South. Their show "Meh..." upped the ante a little bit- especially in the music department. It was a solid offering which resulted in our first >70 score for the night. 70.350.

The Holy Regiment B (CLASS / 10th) - The Holy Regiment's feeder corps marched onto the field- coming in all the way from Charleston, SC. The South Carolina corps put out a unique program this year with "Innovations," mostly featuring pieces by Philip Glass- as well as a movement featuring Michael Nyman. The intricately designed drill, as well as the meticulously arranged brass book shined in this performance. Definitely a challenging and innovative performance by The Holy Regiment B. 70.390.

Nashville Sound (LOJ-DC / 9th) - From Nashville, TN, Nashville Sound marched onto the field with their show "Band." They did some great band-ing when they banded together, as ensemble performance scores were high. They banded hard, and returned with a 74.400. Good job, band.

Aftershock NZ (FAME / 8th) - Aftershock NZ comes all the way from Christchurch, New Zealand. Despite their distance from home, Aftershock NZ has become a fan favorite amongst audiences in the United States. Fans cheered loudly before the corps had even stepped on the field. As always, their rhythm section was top-of-the-line, getting 2nd in percussion. But they were good in every other aspect as well, from brass to drill and guard. Their show, "We Will Rock You," rocked the house and gave us a great ending before intermission. 76.275.

After Aftershock NZ's performance was a short intermission. The drumlines of North Shore HS and Pasadena Memorial HS came to duel, with Pasadena Memorial HS winning.

Red Hand (CLASS / 7th) - Red Hand, from Mason, marched on after intermission. Their program, "On GP," continued to raise the level of performance at the competition. The judges enjoyed the challenging high-tempo parts, and handed them a 78.565 accordingly. On GP was a thrill ride, worthy of a CLASS ensemble.

Midland Valley Redcoats (iMarch / 6th) - From Marathon, FL, the Midland Valley Redcoats presented "Outbound." Outbound was a uniquely designed show, based on the theme of transportation. The Midland Valley Redcoats ended up winning the captions for visual and wind performance. Their performance was an unexpected, but welcome surprise. 79.540.

The Holy Regiment (CLASS / 5th) - Excitement was in the air as The Holy Regiment from Charleston, SC stepped onto the field at NRG Stadium. They brought us one of the more contemporary shows of the night, featuring modern compositions in their program, "New Era Metropolis." It was a grand program, heavy with thematic and conceptual material. It was a spectacle to behold, and The Holy Regiment was the right corps to pull off such an expansive program. 79.980.

Arsenal Drum & Bugle Corps (FAME / 4th) - Coming up were the hometown heroes (Well, two/three hours away, but you know.) from San Antonio, Texas- the Arsenal Drum & Bugle Corps. They performed their show "X," featuring Shostakovich's 10th Symphony, as well as a bit of Edward Elgar's Nimrod, from Enigma Variations. Arsenal hit it good- most notably during the scherzo, which was played at blazing fast speed. The show ended with a big hit that roared throughout the stadium. They received our first >80 score of the night, nabbing an 82.420.

Corps IBEX (CLASS / Bronze) - Turn up for the next corps from Fairborn, OH- Corps IBEX, with their program "Hip Hop." As always, IBEX percussion was on point, winning the percussion caption. In fact, the beats were so hot that a fire erupted a few miles north in a forest near The Woodlands, Texas. Corps IBEX was the fan favorite for the night, and they received the bronze medal with an 85.240.

Leviathan (CLASS / Silver) - The next corps was the FMA powerhouse from Boston, Massachusetts, Leviathan. Their show, "The Big Apple," is named after Johan de Meij's 2nd Symphony, themed after the City of New York. It was an epic and celebrated show, and a great tribute to the city. I especially loved the brass arrangement for this program. Thrilling and challenging throughout. Leviathan got the silver medal, with a score of 87.920.

Nemesis (CLASS / Gold) - The final corps of the night was Nemesis, from Burlington, Vermont. Their program "Sheltering Sky" featured the works of John Mackey. Currently, they're in the running for the FMA championship this season, with Leviathan trailing close behind. It's absolutely amazing to be able to witness corps at this level of competition. Hosting the top two in FMA at the moment is an absolute honor for the Arsenal Drum & Bugle Corps. John Mackey's work shined through Nemesis, and they received the gold with an 89.625, winning the gold medal as well as the captions for Music Ensemble, Color Guard, Visual Ensemble, Music GE, and Visual GE.

After Nemesis's performance, The Arsenal D&BC came on for entertainment as people awaited the scores. The brass played their chord warmup, "Brass Cannon," then the drumline played a piece entitled "Rodeo." Finally, the corps came together to play the corps song: Burt Bacharach's "A House is Not A Home."

Thank you to all the performers at the tenth Texas D&BC Showcase, and good luck on the rest of tour! We hope to see you again next season.

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FINALISTS

1. Nemesis / CLASS - 89.625
2. Leviathan / CLASS - 87.920
3. Corps IBEX / CLASS - 85.240
4. Arsenal Drum & Bugle Corps / FAME - 82.420
5. The Holy Regiment / CLASS - 79.980
6. Midland Valley Redcoats / iMarch - 79.540
7. Red Hand / CLASS - 78.565
8. Aftershock NZ / FAME - 76.275
9. Nashville Sound / LOJ-DC - 74.400
10. The Holy Regiment B / CLASS - 70.390
11. Empire of the South Drum & Bugle Corps / GEDC - 70.350
12. The Pride / SEC-C - 64.395
13. The Aviators / MAoMA - 63.455*
14. The Oily Flamingo's / UNSP-C - 63.395
15. CorpsMoar / MAoMA - 60.290*

*denotes Division II groups, whose scores are adjusted
Full scores can be found here: http://www.fantasymarchingarts.com/event/29540

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ALL-LEAGUE AWARD

The All-League Award goes to the league with the most finalists. Ties are broken by combining the total score of all members.

Winner: CLASS - 6
FAME, MAoMA - 2
UNSP-C, SEC-C, GEDC, LOJ-DC, iMarch - 1

Nice write-up!

Thank you!