Anyone who spends any time attending high school marching band competitions quickly becomes aware of the West Side Story Rule: at every competition at least one band will feature music from West Side Story. I've been a loyal band parent for seven years now and I have seen many bands take a stab at the music, with results ranging from outrageous to charming to spectacular. Now I love West Side Story; before I was 12 years old I knew all the words to all the songs and I can still sing most of them, albeit off-key--but that doesn't necessarily mean I want to hear a marching band play the music every Saturday from now until November.
It started yesterday at the first competition of the season when a band opened its show with "Something's Coming," long a fixture in the Unsingable Song Hall of Fame--and if its odd intervals and unsettling rhythms make it virtually unsingable, I don't know why anyone would try to march to it. Nevertheless those band members in bulky polyester uniforms with bits of braid and plumed hats obediently charged about the field playing tubas and clarinets and bass drums to "Something's Coming," and then they went on from there. Instead of focusing on songs of conflict, this band selected the more tender love songs from West Side Story; they get points for originality, but I'm not sure how a band is supposed to march to the delicate "I Feel Pretty" without looking like a troupe of dancing hippos.
This band performs in many of the same competitions as my son's band, so I expect to see their show several more times before November--and at some larger competitions, there may be even more bands playing music from West Side Story. After November, I don't care how many bands decide to play music from West Side Story because this season marks the end of my career as a Band Parent. The air is hummin' and something great is comin'--but meanwhile, I've got one more season of West Side Story.
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