“Who are those girls in our photos??”

January 26: “Battle of the Bands”


On January 26, I attended the “Honda Historically Black College and University Battle of the Bands” marching band competition with my good friend Kathy. Kathy and I were both new to the “marching band scene” so we really had no idea what to expect. I’m from the Midwest, which aside from being a very boring place to live, it does not have a whole lot to offer in terms of marching bands. Although anyone who went to either high school or college with me could counter that point, arguing that I wouldn’t know where to find an organized sporting event if it were held in my own backyard. Anyway, this was my second trip to the GA Dome and I was still amazed at the sheer size, scale and beer options available at that fine venue.

Kathy and I had pretty good seats for this event. They were even better because I sat next to a woman who had clearly attended her fair share of these events, a veritable wealth of information on marching band style and technique—and totally annoyed by my total ignorance of the sport. Anyway, before she reached her saturation point, I learned that each group has 10-15 minutes to perform, there’s no limit to the size of the band and no compulsory requirements (unlike figure skating). The dome was packed, as usual (except when the Falcons play?) and in between each performance some obviously well-known hip hop artist would come out to the cheers and screams of everyone in the stadium (including the very hyper 15 year old girls in front of us), except Kathy and I because we each live under rocks and watch PBS.

We were amazed! It was just like Drumline (fine film shown regularly on TBS, another Atlanta institution). Each band performed routines that generally consisted of about 5 minutes of big band, Sousa-style marching, 5 minutes of a slow bridge where the fly girl troupe would perform an interpretative style dance and then another 5 minutes of Sousa-esque renditions of modern classics by artists such as Michael Jackson and Nelly. North Carolina Central (my informer’s favorite) performed a very strange interpretative dance in honor of Janet Jackson (kimonos were implicated in this tragedy of performance art). I still haven’t figured it out.

Drum majors dressed up like Superman and baton girls and flag twirlers—oh my! Kathy and I were amazed. We both admitted that neither of us had the self-confidence it takes to wear gold hot pants and pull off hip-hop moves on the jumbo-tron at the dome. If you can do that, I am certain you can do anything! I am also pretty sure that there is a family out in Atlanta somewhere wondering who the two confused white girls are in the background of all their Battle of the Bands photos.

Of the ten bands that competed, I was most impressed with Virginia State University, Norfolk State and my favorite, Texas Southern. It was incredible—I’ve never seen anything like it! I am inspired to let out my inner majorette although I somehow doubt I’ll get away with the hot pants….

http://www.hondabattleofthebands.com/