So I watched the livestream all day yesterday. I saw every group but I would just like to say:
Oak Mountain: y'all did not travel all the way from Alabama to play around! Absolutely KILLED it! I mean the show was so well put together and that ballad was fantastic. congrats to Brandon(my homeboy) and Caroline. you both, as well as some others (i'm talking to you Mo <3) definitely deserved the solo awards. #GOOM you set the bar pretty high
Carmel: I knew who you were, but until this morning (1:00 AM) I was such a fan. your show made me your #1 fan. amazing show! Elton would be extremely proud. your vocal sound was incredible! Had it been up to me your musicianship score would have be rather close to Clinton. My favorite thing about your show was how continuously fast paced it was ! very entertaining and wonderful job!
Clinton: I was worried after watching the first two amazing groups until about 20-30 measures in. I mean the sheer power and control in choreography was very impressive-- and I know if I was reading the choreo well from the livestream I can't "Imagine" (get it> Imagine? because Beatles? Okay I got 4 hours of sleep give me a break) anyways I couldn't imagine how it was in person. The girls went nuts when the Beatles came out it reminded me of my olden days (Im 18 I wasn't alive) The ballad was spectacular and also there was a slight sound problem with the livestream the closer was phenomenal.great job! You were on another level and The South is proud of you and OM for showing them how we do it down here.
Also I just want to mention the guys group from I think Hart? that did the old man show-- one of the funniest show choir shows i've ever seen. guys groups typically cross the line when they try to be funny and it comes off really cringe to me, but you guys delivered everything near perfectly when it came to characterizing your show. wonderful job and . congrats I didn't check, but I'd have you out on top.
was a great night and a great reason for me to procrastinate my spring break work until the very last minute. Congratulations to all who competed!
-Brad
Los Al is a great destination trip opportunity for out of state choirs, but can you imagine making a big trip like this across the country as an IN, MS, or AL kid and not even competing against a single CA choir at one of the largest show choir events in the nation? It’s bizarre and kind of a missed opportunity. This isn't really the fault of Los Al Xtravaganza, but I do think it's a shame that the "advanced” Mixed Tier II choirs put themselves in this artificially lower tier especially when these are huge schools with lots of talent and are tradition-rich programs.
This is obviously speaking to a larger conversation surrounding CA divisions, resources, equity, etc. Tier I only consisting of Burbank, Burroughs, and Los Al (and Brea) sometimes makes for an incredibly boring circuit when Tier I is non-competitive, depleted with one of them hosting, they choose not to attend a comp, or a combination of the above. And I don’t blame those “big 3” for this - they have their own set of priorities. The system in California is puzzling. Many of these Tier II choirs have competed nationally and/or in other regions and been in Tier I at those events and they usually place at those events, yet keep themselves down in Tier II within CA. Like I get “the big 3” are incredible, among the best in the nation, and it may be difficult to compete against them. But don’t you also think Southern choirs may feel that way about Clinton? Or Indiana choirs constantly in bloodbaths week-to-week placing first one week and maybe fourth the next as the density and level of competition in Indiana is literally off the charts? Sure, 100%, there’s more to life and show choir than competition and divisions. Ultimately, it’s really not that big of a deal. I personally find more merit and pride in competing among the best and maybe getting a 4th or 5th placement than taking 1st or 2nd in a lower division.
As I said, I just find the system puzzling. Using skill level (advanced, intermediate, and novice) is good! It’s a wonderful metric. But how in the heck did it spiral into SEVEN different mixed divisions?! There’s no good reason to have that many tiers. I mean I know the Midwest and other places do things weird sometimes, but at least at the end of the day those tiers are mostly an illusion for prelims only and everyone’s competing against one another anyways for the finalist spots. And I get California doesn’t do finals. The Northeast along with many Southern and Midwest events also don’t hold finals and still don’t have 7 (!!!) mixed divisions. Seriously y’all I feel like I’m having a brain aneurysm bc I cannot comprehend 7 mixed divisions. That’s just crazy town and I’m internally screaming. In summary, I’m really not trying to talk down on the Bonita Vistas and Harts of Tier II, because clearly I think the duplicate intermediate and triple novice divisions are equally nonsensical. Again, it seems like the intent is good in having advanced, intermediate, and novice divisions but that somehow it spiraled out of control. By all means, if someone is super passionate about why 7 (!!!!!!!) mixed divisions or the current state of the CA circuit is superior, feel free to make your case. I don’t claim to be right or all knowing and I’m certainly not a CA show choir historian. Just as someone who keeps up with show choir on a national scale this is wild, my brain cannot compute, and it's a lot more simple everywhere else.
TL;DR: It’d be nice if the CA Tier II choirs bumped up to compete against the out of state choirs. 7 divisions is crazy town. I might be having a stroke.
The Clinton analogy is spot on. I've thought the split into two tiers at the top level was a huge mistake from the beginning (it's all current students are used to, but it's actually been this way less than a decade), and I'm also of the school of thought that the second tier really should be for prep groups (i.e., when you have more than one mixed choir at your school). I know there are some schools that actually have three show choirs of the same type in their program (Los Al is actually one of them - they have three women's groups), but those are pretty rare. I really wish SoCal would re-examine the way they are doing things.
Personally it seems absurd to me that there are so many different tiers in California when there are no finals. Both Bonita Vista and Hart would be the 3rd biggest high school in the state of Alabama and the biggest in the state of Mississippi. I think using skill levels is a good idea for competitions, but when 2 groups routinely win in a tier that isn't the highest available, it might be time to move up to the next.
FYI - There's an updated schedule for this on their website (some significant changes) and in case anyone's curious they have their 2018 judges listed as well:
Tony Atienza
John Burlace
Allen Chapman
Alex Hall
Heather Hoppus-Werner
Linda McEachran Southard
Looks to be a fantastic Xtravaganza 2018! (As always...!)
Thanks for the update as to the schedule. There were also, it appears, some changes in the Intermediate Mixed groups that are performing and their times. I appreciate you staying on top of this !! =)
Cool thanks for pointing that out. Everything should be updated above! (Also I recognize it says PM instead of 12:05 AM and 12:30 AM for Mixed Tier III, but that's just a glitch for some reason... probably because performing that late is ridiculous and the site rejects that notion. I'm sure Haakon can fix it though.
Los Alamitos Xtravaganza 2018
This is obviously speaking to a larger conversation surrounding CA divisions, resources, equity, etc. Tier I only consisting of Burbank, Burroughs, and Los Al (and Brea) sometimes makes for an incredibly boring circuit when Tier I is non-competitive, depleted with one of them hosting, they choose not to attend a comp, or a combination of the above. And I don’t blame those “big 3” for this - they have their own set of priorities. The system in California is puzzling. Many of these Tier II choirs have competed nationally and/or in other regions and been in Tier I at those events and they usually place at those events, yet keep themselves down in Tier II within CA. Like I get “the big 3” are incredible, among the best in the nation, and it may be difficult to compete against them. But don’t you also think Southern choirs may feel that way about Clinton? Or Indiana choirs constantly in bloodbaths week-to-week placing first one week and maybe fourth the next as the density and level of competition in Indiana is literally off the charts? Sure, 100%, there’s more to life and show choir than competition and divisions. Ultimately, it’s really not that big of a deal. I personally find more merit and pride in competing among the best and maybe getting a 4th or 5th placement than taking 1st or 2nd in a lower division.
In summary, I’m really not trying to talk down on the Bonita Vistas and Harts of Tier II, because clearly I think the duplicate intermediate and triple novice divisions are equally nonsensical. Again, it seems like the intent is good in having advanced, intermediate, and novice divisions but that somehow it spiraled out of control. By all means, if someone is super passionate about why 7 (!!!!!!!) mixed divisions or the current state of the CA circuit is superior, feel free to make your case. I don’t claim to be right or all knowing and I’m certainly not a CA show choir historian. Just as someone who keeps up with show choir on a national scale this is wild, my brain cannot compute, and it's a lot more simple everywhere else. 
