For the halftime show, the West Branch band has created a new show called ‘Blackout’, which includes five different and diverse songs, all with the word ‘Black’ in the title. These selections are My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome to the Black Parade”, AC/DC’s “Back In Black”, “Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse, the “Black Pearl” theme from Disney’s’ Pirates of the Caribbean, and the classic “Black Water” by The Doobie Brothers. With these selections, the show aims to blend various genres of music so that there’s something for everyone, while mixing extremely technical songs in as well.
The show features electric guitar parts in both “Welcome to the Black Parade” and “Back In Black”, a ‘singalong’ section in “Black Water”, as well as more classical/military style marching. Bringing back the missed military tightness of parade season this year to the field. This show has been played in full before each West Branch home game and during halftime at away games. While five songs are on the field, a sixth may join the show as a ‘March-On Song’, John Philip Sousa’s ‘The Black Horse Troop’.This song has not been added yet, and it is unknown if it will become part of the repertoire for the football season or not.
When asked about the show and how it was created, Mr. Jones, the band director, stated, ‘When exploring themes last year, we began to worry that a full ‘rock’ or ‘movie’ themed show might be too one-dimensional. So we set out to find songs that complemented and balanced each other- but were not thought of as a “set.”‘
This show is exceptionally daring for a band show, as most shows are only roughly 3 songs long, having a five- or potentially six-song long halftime show is unheard of in this area. The show also has a drum major switch in between a song, something not usually done by bands due to not being able to keep time when there is no drum major on the podium, displaying the skill of the marchers on the field.
If you haven’t yet, be sure to catch the Warrior Marching Band as they take the field tonight before the game and prepare for the Blackout!
