Thanks to a few emails over the years from me, the band did put the HIGH STEP back in for a portion of the pregame in the early 2000's. Ironman, I Want You Back, and a few more things like playing to the crowd in the stands, were my suggestions, but the rest is all Michigan. They have great directors now, and great kids marching, and they have once again made this band GREAT. I still wish for a full HIGH STEP pregame, but they everything else is okay with me. GO BLUE!
Actually the audio differences between that era and now are due to the following: 1) That old turf with concrete underneath reflected a great deal of sound 2) The field was lowered by over three feet when that turf was ripped out after the 1990 season to make way for grass. The walls between the stands in the field during the Astroturf era were only about 3 feet tall. 3) The old press box of that era is much shorter than the current one - this affects microphone placement for band recordings. Long story short is that all of those changes place current microphones much farther away from the band, and a lot of the sound gets swallowed up by the lowered field and the current turf as compared to these old recordings.
Lots of memories from my childhood and growing up in Ann Arbor...Saturday was a special day...nothing like game day in Ann Arbor. Those who didn't go to school or grow up there couldn't possibly understand...always have a special place in my heart for Ann Arbor! GO BLUE!
I love how their formation scans the field. It's really quite a sight to behold on video. I am absolutely certain that if I were to witness this in person I would be shedding Maize and Blue tears. What a sight indeed.
At 3:00 minutes, exactly, you can see that a program fell from a clarinetist's pants. He bought the program right before the game and shoved it in his pants. It fell onto the field at the 3:00 mark and was captured on camera. LEGENDARY.
To this day, THIS IS THE GREATEST VERSION of the Pregame Victors EVER CAPTURED on film. I know, because from 1988 to 2001, I took my camera into the Big House and tried to film it, but never got it that good! And not even the tons of video from today or it's cellphones, or even from the MMB itself, has captured it THAT GOOD! This version is from what all people filming this great band and song, STRIVE TO MATCH or even surpass! And by the way, when they got to the CIRCLE M formation, they turn it and march down the field, to the VICTORS. And High Stepping it, STILL MAKES IT LOOK BETTER, than the march style of today!
Jakob Baker - Believe me, trained eyes and ears can tell the difference. The high step in this video is higher and crisper (the slower tempo helps). Energy level and overall esprit d’corp is better here than today’s MMB. The sound is even more powerful, bold and majestic (fewer members) than today’s MMBs. Current MMBs band tend to be more refined and polished, with more of an emphasis on technique and synchronization. Some of the marching in this video was all over the place. Some people were flat-footed with an incorrect angle of the feet; others were bouncing. Still quite exciting, though.
I saw this Michigan Band in 1986 vs. OSU in Columbus. The tempo back then is noticeably slower (even the fanfare) which allowed the band to march with a considerably higher leg lift than more recent UM bands. Today's UM bands have better marching technique (people were boucing all over the place with bent backs in the day). More recent bands, while better technically, and incorporating more varied marching styles, lack the passion and fervor of UM bands of the past decades.
@blondinblu I can guarantee you that the cadence is not faster in this clip. We are slightly more muted as we have drifted slowly toward Drum Corps influence. Maybe it's the fans that aren't loud enough anymore....
Responding to "21middleman" post from a couple of years ago... I was in the trumpet section in this video. We played through the holds because we were fired up and blowing our guts out and didn't come for air until the downfield Victors. Go Blue!
Around 3:00 looks like some music on the field? I was in this band in the early 90's, and I like hearing the deep-sounding drums of the mid 80's- ours were a lot crisper. This is from the time when Michigan-Iowa was *the* game. I also like the slower tempo during the sweeplines.
Drum Corps style sucks. This is a MARCHING band, not a walking band. It's so much more visually appealing and it just sounds so much more POWERFUL than what you see now. It's like the band tries to race through the songs as fast as possible while power walking down the field.
The MMB went away from the high step back in the late 90's, and yes the band did drop off in style. But they make up for it with their in the stands, game performance, with the variety of songs, and different styles. If you don't believe me, check out the videos of the Michigan Hockey Band. They are not as great as they used to be say back in the early 70's, but they still kick ass. Check out the band intro for Notre Dame 2011, Band Take the field from 86, & the basketball band clips from 2011.
Can someone from this era tell me if the trumpets playing through the holds in the last few measures of M Fanfare is someone being selfish, or was it sanctioned by Becher? Nice Fanfare M.
NO, youre thinking of ohio state. Did you know that michigan wrote Script Ohio for ohio state. Bet you didn't. Michigan also taught Notre Dame the game of football... Hail to the Victors!!! Go BLUE!!!
And you have only beat Ohio State twice in the last 16 seasons!!! Enough Said!! But I do LOOVVVEE the MMB...the original version. To me, this version of MMB..is soft. They need to get back to who they are.
Thanks to a few emails over the years from me, the band did put the HIGH STEP back in for a portion of the pregame in the early 2000's. Ironman, I Want You Back, and a few more things like playing to the crowd in the stands, were my suggestions, but the rest is all Michigan. They have great directors now, and great kids marching, and they have once again made this band GREAT. I still wish for a full HIGH STEP pregame, but they everything else is okay with me. GO BLUE!
I still love this video. Look at how pure their B1G high step was. Absolutely class.
Damn if audio capture devices were better back then omggggg. This feels like a different time in the big house.
Actually the audio differences between that era and now are due to the following:
1) That old turf with concrete underneath reflected a great deal of sound
2) The field was lowered by over three feet when that turf was ripped out after the 1990 season to make way for grass. The walls between the stands in the field during the Astroturf era were only about 3 feet tall.
3) The old press box of that era is much shorter than the current one - this affects microphone placement for band recordings.
Long story short is that all of those changes place current microphones much farther away from the band, and a lot of the sound gets swallowed up by the lowered field and the current turf as compared to these old recordings.
Lots of memories from my childhood and growing up in Ann Arbor...Saturday was a special day...nothing like game day in Ann Arbor. Those who didn't go to school or grow up there couldn't possibly understand...always have a special place in my heart for Ann Arbor! GO BLUE!
That is amazing! Now, that is what a band should be. This makes me proud to be an American!
I love how their formation scans the field. It's really quite a sight to behold on video. I am absolutely certain that if I were to witness this in person I would be shedding Maize and Blue tears. What a sight indeed.
At 3:00 minutes, exactly, you can see that a program fell from a clarinetist's pants. He bought the program right before the game and shoved it in his pants. It fell onto the field at the 3:00 mark and was captured on camera. LEGENDARY.
very cool to watch as a current member of the mmb, lots of things have changed in the pregame!!!
To this day, THIS IS THE GREATEST VERSION of the Pregame Victors EVER CAPTURED on film. I know, because from 1988 to 2001, I took my camera into the Big House and tried to film it, but never got it that good! And not even the tons of video from today or it's cellphones, or even from the MMB itself, has captured it THAT GOOD! This version is from what all people filming this great band and song, STRIVE TO MATCH or even surpass! And by the way, when they got to the CIRCLE M formation, they turn it and march down the field, to the VICTORS. And High Stepping it, STILL MAKES IT LOOK BETTER, than the march style of today!
I am an OSU band member and this 1986 Michigan band is so much better than what I have seen the past few years from the U of M.
JDStucks idk buddy seems all the same to me
JDStucks be happy tht michigan crested the script ohio for u
Jakob Baker - Believe me, trained eyes and ears can tell the difference. The high step in this video is higher and crisper (the slower tempo helps). Energy level and overall esprit d’corp is better here than today’s MMB. The sound is even more powerful, bold and majestic (fewer members) than today’s MMBs. Current MMBs band tend to be more refined and polished, with more of an emphasis on technique and synchronization. Some of the marching in this video was all over the place. Some people were flat-footed with an incorrect angle of the feet; others were bouncing. Still quite exciting, though.
I saw this Michigan Band in 1986 vs. OSU in Columbus. The tempo back then is noticeably slower (even the fanfare) which allowed the band to march with a considerably higher leg lift than more recent UM bands. Today's UM bands have better marching technique (people were boucing all over the place with bent backs in the day). More recent bands, while better technically, and incorporating more varied marching styles, lack the passion and fervor of UM bands of the past decades.
That is amazing! You almost turned me into a Michigan fan :-)
The guy's lyre falls off at 3:00 right before it cuts lol
@blondinblu I can guarantee you that the cadence is not faster in this clip. We are slightly more muted as we have drifted slowly toward Drum Corps influence. Maybe it's the fans that aren't loud enough anymore....
it'd be awesome to see a current version of the pregame.
Responding to "21middleman" post from a couple of years ago... I was in the trumpet section in this video. We played through the holds because we were fired up and blowing our guts out and didn't come for air until the downfield Victors. Go Blue!
Around 3:00 looks like some music on the field? I was in this band in the early 90's, and I like hearing the deep-sounding drums of the mid 80's- ours were a lot crisper. This is from the time when Michigan-Iowa was *the* game. I also like the slower tempo during the sweeplines.
always stirring. great video
They used to put a lot more air through the horns back then.
Drum Corps style sucks. This is a MARCHING band, not a walking band. It's so much more visually appealing and it just sounds so much more POWERFUL than what you see now. It's like the band tries to race through the songs as fast as possible while power walking down the field.
Totally agree
and louder...it's so much softer now...I think M Fanfare should blow people in the last row away
AWESOME CONCEPT marching and the sound is the truth
Well, you're pretty much looking at it :)
I am living for the day when you come to the University of Maryland!!
The MMB went away from the high step back in the late 90's, and yes the band did drop off in style. But they make up for it with their in the stands, game performance, with the variety of songs, and different styles. If you don't believe me, check out the videos of the Michigan Hockey Band. They are not as great as they used to be say back in the early 70's, but they still kick ass. Check out the band intro for Notre Dame 2011, Band Take the field from 86, & the basketball band clips from 2011.
The Victors was played slower back then.
This from the band that has to spell their name on the field for their fans to remember it.
You can sense this was a time period of Michigan Dominance. That time is coming soon again.
Nah with the recent losses to MSU and Indiana, I highly doubt that lol
Can someone from this era tell me if the trumpets playing through the holds in the last few measures of M Fanfare is someone being selfish, or was it sanctioned by Becher? Nice Fanfare M.
MICHIGAN has the MOST WINS, MOST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS, MOST FAMOUS FIGHT SONG, MOST ICONIC HELMETS; NO WONDER PEOPLE HATE MICHIGAN!😀
G Money go blue
+Jakob Baker Go Blue
The helmets came courtesy of Princeton!
By most famous fight song, I think you mean Notre Dame's Victory March.
3:36 look its a M&M
lol this video is hilarious if you compare it to the band of today
one of the best schools in the country 1:15 trombone flip folder....
They don't do high knees like this during the VIctors anymore; they look like they're loafing compared to this band
NO, youre thinking of ohio state. Did you know that michigan wrote Script Ohio for ohio state. Bet you didn't.
Michigan also taught Notre Dame the game of football...
Hail to the Victors!!! Go BLUE!!!
i know, true, but a current video
My old rank leader Tony Boden at 3:45
My appologies I thought you meant that statement in a derogatory manner.
flip folder oops 3:00
Bet I did. Try to troll elsewhere. Agreed GO BLUE.
go blue
And you have only beat Ohio State twice in the last 16 seasons!!! Enough Said!! But I do LOOVVVEE the MMB...the original version. To me, this version of MMB..is soft. They need to get back to who they are.
Kind of like those soviet unions marching parade they used to have in russia.
Rockmangoes Yes, the May Day Parade in Moscow. If you went to Michigan, you'd know that...