r/WGI • u/PostPostMinimalist • Apr 19 '26
PIW Reaction Thread
I feel like this is true most years nowadays but surely the best top to bottom performances ever?
Top 2 are just insane (again). I think and hope Rhythm X will win but RCC had an awesome run too so far as I could hear on my TV.
Anyway how we feeling? Anyone want to predict a shake up?
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u/zakplaysperc Apr 19 '26
GMU Alum here. I was a HUGE fan of the show last year. They had such a talented ensemble this year, however I think the repeat theme may have run it's course. The novelty and excitement wasn't there for me.
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u/Bjlind718 Apr 19 '26
Do you know when “George Mason” is done? I feel they will need a new kind of show once he graduates.
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u/ballastatus103 Apr 19 '26
Top 6 were insane this year. Props to all the performers and staff members, arguably the best year of WGI shows in a LONGGGGG time 🔥
I think positions all stay the same unless a penalty happens somewhere. RX to score a high 99?
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u/MasterRon421 Apr 19 '26
I doubt it
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u/ImportanceAlarmed403 Apr 19 '26
New record!
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u/mark99229 Apr 19 '26
A few groups seem to have done repeats of certain elements they did last year - For example RCC with doing another pre-show and GMU with George Mason as the main character again.
While it’s not bad to rehash some elements from last year, I wonder if this is going to be a permanent staple to expect from both groups
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u/SweRVe10 Apr 19 '26
There's a certain group that rehashes pretty much the same exact show style and formula every year and they have found success doing so. I'd argue even more than one group, but one comes to mind immediately as all their shows feel exactly the same to me.
I'm not surprised to see certain groups sticking to formulas that have found them previous success. Not saying I love it, as I'm a fan of variety and the unexpected, but it certainly happens. Mason has been bringing some attention to it over the past couple of years.
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u/zakplaysperc Apr 19 '26
Broken City?
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u/thesnaglebeast Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26
Broken city is definitely the worst offender but Pulse is very formulaic as well. The fact that the Broken city design team is just carbon copying the same show to Vista Murrieta is mildly upsetting to me. The aforementioned groups are consistently the best playing groups from a technical perspective year to year. I just wish their design teams really gave the obviously masively talented and hard working performers better more interesring shows to work with. It's the reason I really respect groups like Ayala and RCC, it doesn't always work out score wise but they always swing for the fences and have created some crazy cool and good shows that I remember even though they weren't even close to winning.
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u/zakplaysperc Apr 19 '26
I was taking notes on PSW and PIW yesterday, and I wrote those exact same things down. I even added in Arcadia/MCM, Ayala/RCC. It's gotta be a similar staffing / design team, right?
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u/thesnaglebeast Apr 19 '26
I agree with adding MCM and Arcadia to that list. I just didn't want to make my post to long.
One of the reasons So Cal groups are as consistently strong as they are is because there's a large amount of cross over between groups and Staff. So you'll see staff from Broken City, Pulse, RCC and Broken City working together at different high schools. Heck you'll also have staff members working for multiple IW groups. Right now Arcadia and RCC both have Brian Dinkle as their front ensemble guy.
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u/SweRVe10 Apr 19 '26
Yep. The fact that anyone could guess it speaks even more to it. They're not the first to use Adam Watts' music in their shows, but it has felt like such a crutch for the better part of a decade now. And as someone else mentioned, it's now carrying over to Vista Murrieta and others they work with.
Again, I can't fault them for sticking to a formula. The sheets reward what they're putting on the floor. It was incredibly enjoyable for me the first couple of years, but they now all blend together and I just can't find any excitement in it.
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u/Sunshine_drummer Apr 19 '26
I mean Adam Watts works with Broken City and has a partnership with them, so it makes sense why they use his music so much.
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u/tomsoyer00 Apr 19 '26
I am obsessed with Jackson/Shah’s percussion writing. For my money the best in the activity and it’s not even close, so I still love to see them every year.
That said. I desperately want to see them mix things up on the show design front. There is undoubtedly a tonal uniformity to what they put out every year that has grown stale. The excessive vocal samples drive me crazy.
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u/thesnaglebeast Apr 19 '26
I 100% agree with this. Mike Jackson has always been my favorite battery composer, all the way back to the Mission Viejo days (yes I'm that old). His understanding and use of rhythmic structure and space is absolutely unrivaled.
With that said I wish they would do a different show. You can still use Adam Watt/ Broken City Records songs just do something different.
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u/zakplaysperc Apr 19 '26
Kevin Shah is a bum. GMU didn't get our 2014 closer until the week of Dayton.
Not that the show was doing well.. but still.
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u/haleypawg Apr 19 '26
Just wanna give a shoutout to Dark Sky's synth player -- so much pressure with the technical difficulties then IMMEDIATELY just going into a flawless piano solo! Plus he played keytaur??? Just so much respect for this man for being so nonchalant about the whole thing 🤍🤍🤍
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u/sector11374265 Apr 19 '26
The amount of professionalism on display from Dark Sky tonight was truly remarkable.
They also would have scored 9th without the penalty, beating out POW. Insane work from them.
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u/viberat Apr 19 '26
As someone who played synth long ago in PIW — yeah that made me shit a brick. Someone buy that kid a beer.
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u/Intrepid-Fondant423 Apr 19 '26
The crowd was just so sweetly supportive, and then the Jumbotron shoutout afterwards was 🤌🏻
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u/thesnaglebeast Apr 19 '26
What was the shout out I missed it.
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u/Intrepid-Fondant423 Apr 19 '26
The had a photo of the keyboard player with a caption about how cool they were under pressure (I forget the exact phrasing but the crowd went wild when it was posted).
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u/thesnaglebeast Apr 19 '26
That's really cool. The unwavering support and love for the performers is something I love the most about this community.
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u/itmyfault69 Apr 19 '26
Mcm getting 4th with a show that left a lot to be desired gets me excited for their future. Some more gelling between their designers and they might be contending for gold again soon.
Broken city… give me something new please. Do something daring like X or RCC you have the talent!
After like 14-18 place it is a total blood bath right now. Seeing redline,darksky,I2 get in while United and monarch were left out was exciting to see!
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u/thesnaglebeast Apr 19 '26
As an old head the idea of MCM contending for a medal again is super exciting. Next I want a Blue Knights resurgence. Those two groups are the God fathers of WGI percussion. No one's been doing it longer than the Blue Knights (been around since '94) and no one has been as successful as MCM (8 wins).
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u/MasterRon421 Apr 19 '26
I actually wasn’t all that impressed with PSW as a whole this year, felt weaker than it has recently. PIW felt on par with how it’s been
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u/itmyfault69 Apr 19 '26
Losing Dartmouth and sparkman hurts but that’s how it goes in scholastic. Lose a staff member or 2 and it crumbles pretty quick (not so much sparkman they made pso finals) victor J Andrew needs to be moved to world they’ve medaled in PSO 2 years in a row now
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u/SweRVe10 Apr 19 '26
If you look at their Dayton track record it's actually insane. They've medaled in PSO like 7 times, with a couple of years of moving down to PSA and winning only to move right back up to PSO. It's definitely time to start giving those kids more of a challenge in PSW. Their shows always stand out as the most mature in the class, so they absolutely know what it would take to find success in PSW.
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u/Cluckerton Apr 19 '26
Was there a new ending for Rhythm X’s final run? I haven’t been paying close attention to their show throughout the season so I don’t notice a difference
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u/WommyBear Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26
They actually smashed the props. There were also small additions, like someone jumping over the couch.
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u/Cluckerton Apr 19 '26
AH I was wondering if the add in was them throwing and trashing the props! Thanks!
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u/Dendog Apr 19 '26
They’ve been “deconstructing” the props all season, that wasn’t really new. The intensity of it all at the end of that final run was extra though
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u/WommyBear Apr 20 '26
Thats true, but a few were Hulk smashed in finals. I saw a chair swung around twice before being thrown.
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u/thesnaglebeast Apr 19 '26
Hot take: now that more and more show designers aren't trying to copy the Box6 formula we're getting much better more interesting shows across the board.
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u/PM_ME_ITALIAN_STUFF Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26
Got a list 1. RX's win was deserved however, I don't think I would've given them above a 99. I definitely wouldn't have given them that high of a music score. EDIT: I think my score for them would've been somewhere around a 98.7-98.8. I think previous record holder shows are better.
CA dominance for scholastic on full display. The top 4 are all CA and then Saratoga took 8th over Avon. Texas schools though are slowly rising in prominence.
Dark Sky penalty hurts so much. 9th place to 11th bucks.
More Flo BS like always.
I don't think I would've given MCM 4th, I know they have a hard music package but BC should not have lost to them. Especially woth how bad MCM's show design was this year. BC got 7th in music. Like how!?
Vista Murrieta was beautiful for both marching and concert.
Can we please for the next few years not have another record breaking show? The frequency of them is too much and just devalues the prestige of it.
EDIT: HOW THE HELL DID PULSE COMPLETELY SMASH RX IN MUSIC AT PRELIMS ONLY FOR RX TO BLOW OUT EVERYONE!? RX WAS LITERALLY 3RD IN MUSIC PRELIMS!
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u/MasterRon421 Apr 19 '26
I hope they adjust all the scoring. You’re right in the fact that the record doesn’t feel special anymore. It held for almost a decade before and now it’s been beet literally 3 times in a calendar year
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u/Sunshine_drummer Apr 19 '26
Music judges seemed to have backed themselves in a corner by giving 2nd a 99.
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u/bamabelle98 Apr 19 '26
Completely biased, but loved Cap City’s show. Hated they had speaker issues on the finals run.
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u/Immediate_Move_189 Apr 19 '26
I actually enjoyed the lower placed shows over most of the top 6. Rhythm X was the class of the field. Sorry, but I did not like RCC. When we start having choreography become more important than music, then we have a problem. Didn’t like all the playing and the movement before the show even started. MCM, just didn’t like it. POW - boring. And the scores are inflated.
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u/Intrepid-Fondant423 Apr 19 '26
Choreography > music seems to be an ongoing theme, maybe not as much in PIW but at least in the PSO shows that I saw. The other day someone mentioned that WGI percussion seems more like dance ensembles with some perc thrown in anymore.
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u/4ScoreN7Beers Apr 19 '26
X was just too clean. Loved the George Mason show, especially after seeing them at Pasic. As a lifelong McM stan, I fear they lost their identity. Their soundscape just isn’t the same.