These will be super short and sweet… well, all but one-
Fun story time-
I always seem to sit next to a parent (at Great River, its always been Happiness moms) then begin chatting it up with, and then fall in love with because they are so sweet. 2009 was no disappointment... this years super nice show choir parent award goes to Joyce, of Happiess, Inc. She's a peach!
Do you know her last name by chance or if it she had a daughter in Happiness? I might know who you are talking about.
These will be super short and sweet… well, all but one-
Cedar Rapids Washington- The improvement I see from Linn Mar is drastic! Congrats! I was told you had tons of people missing today- You guys still did a great job. I had some issues with your vocals mainly. There was lots of pushing and it didn’t sound very mature at times. Other than that, you brought your “A” game to Great River, as always!
Iowa City High- I’m still not a huge fan of the show. But you performed it with much gusto and I really enjoyed “Morning Glow”. I wish it was the opener though.
Iowa City West- HUGE improvement since Linn Mar! WOW! Congrats!
Sauk Prairie- You deserved this placing! Such an entertaining show… but I do NOT agree on the Best Male Soloist being the little boy… “They Call Him Dandy” soloist deserved it. He was simply outstanding! WHAT A VOICE! The small boy was good, but we were all really confused when he got it. Maybe there was a mistake with the names?
Linn Mar- Your ballad is what got you the “Best Vocals” caption. At night, it was gorgeous. That last note and the head jerk up at the end just screamed “Yeah… Best Vocals is OURS.” The opener is so classy and beautiful and the closer is so much fun. Great work 10th Street!
Cedar Rapids Kennedy- What can I say that I haven’t said already?! It is now official. Nashville “Nationals” will have its first Iowa Grand Champion!!! I’ve seen all the top groups that are going there (Eisenhower, Mt. Zion, Buffalo Grove)… and I just can’t see them beating you. You are a force of nature. You have the entire package down. You never disappoint your audience and are ALWAYS the crowd pleaser. You ooze energy. The day round opener about gave me a stroke I was so blown away by your powerhouse vocals. At some points in your show, your vocals are pretty much indescribable. The only thing that could come close is “PEE YOUR PANTS CRAZY AMAZING”. When you guys unleash (especially in the opener), it sounds like a thousand amazing singers are on stage. Its wild! I’m not going to go on and on about how amazing you are, because I said everything in the Linn Mar topic… and it still holds true. You are a magical group. I would equal you to something like a unicorn, sasquatch, or lochness monster. Everyone knows that they are out there (beyond words show choirs, in this case)… but they hardly ever come out or surface. But when they do, everyone goes crazy with excitement, takes lots of pictures (or make SCC comments), and tells everyone about it. This is you. I’ll bet you never have been compared to these mythical creatures, but its true! I believe 2009 is the best Happiness, Inc. show ever. Now that you all think I’m crazy, I’ll wrap it up- Congrats on your much deserved win at “Great River”. It was always a pleasure and honor while in high school to have you come to our competition and know that you enjoyed it so much. I hope you continue to grace Davenport with your presence in the upcoming years. I think the mayor is actually announcing today that the entire city is now actually a territory/province of your high school. So, I’m sure we’ll be seeing eachother around. As your biggest; or maybe just “most vocal”, fan… you’ve done it again. It was an honor to be a “Happy-head” yesterday. (I’ll coin that turn, kind of like “Rent-heads”.)
Fun story time-
I always seem to sit next to a parent (at Great River, its always been Happiness moms) then begin chatting it up with, and then fall in love with because they are so sweet. 2009 was no disappointment... this years super nice show choir parent award goes to Joyce, of Happiness, Inc. She's a peach!
What Adam, you couldn't get them to do it in a Denny's or a Cracker Barrel? Actually, I love that song and they do it so well, thanks for posting.
Ha... No.
But upon hearing Crete Monee didn't make finals... I actually made a joke how we should find wherever they were going to eat to tape their last half of the show.
Don't have too much to say (OK, maybe) except the consensus opinion of the Xavier group for finals:
1) C.R. Kennedy (BV, BC)
2) Linn-Mar
3) I.C. West
4) I.C. High
5) C.R. Washington
6) Sauk Prairie
We saw each of the finalists (except Sauk Prairie, who we only saw in finals) twice, and we had them in the same order for both the day round and finals.
Every show had something different about it that I personally liked a lot...
Sauk does what they do so well, and it's a great change of pace. C.R. Wash's performance was extremely impressive considering the amount of time that they had to put in their new closer. I.C. High showed the most class on stage out of all the groups and looked like they had the most fun performing out of anyone. I.C. West's show was the only one I could point to and say that it got better and better as it went on - plus they sang it lights-out. Linn-Mar had the most innovative show I seen, and I really, really liked the ballad.
And then there is Happiness, Inc. By far and away, the best group I have seen all year at any competition. The opener is easily my favorite of the year... probably of more than just this year, actually... and I love the novelty. Your version and Sioux City East's version are different enough that I can enjoy them both for what they are without directly comparing them. And they are both awesome!
Your ballad has come SUCH a long way since the first time I heard it at your preview show before Supernova. I love that you tried something out of the box there - plus I love that song. My favorite part of the show, though, is easily the "Abracadabra / Magic Man" medley. I don't have anything to say about it because it is so awesome. And then your closer is ridiculous as well! In my opinion, there was not another group at this competition that approached your level, and I was shocked when you did not sweep the caption awards. But you did receive a much-deserved Grand Championship. Can't wait to be hosted by you guys next week!
I got some great photos from the day round today and will be posting them by sometime Sunday night (got alot to sift through!). You guys were all amazing! I'll be posting them on my site (www.htimages.com) and will send another post when they're ready to view.
Great comp! congrats to kennedy and everyone else on some amazing performances! as to the hype about crete.. i was one of their hosts and on top of completely blowing me away, and apparently other people, theyre some of the nicest people ive met in show choir, and their directors are awesome! great job today and i hope to see you back next year!
1st- Cedar Rapids Washington "Celebration"
2nd- Iowa City West "Showtime"
3rd- Cedar Rapids Kennedy "Protege"
4th- Cedar Rapids Washington "Vivace"
5th- Cedar Rapids Kennedy "Chanteurs"
okay my friend in protege told me this and i couldnt believe him...
Can we get some point totals for this please? that would be GREATLY appreatied
1st- Cedar Rapids Washington "Celebration"
2nd- Iowa City West "Showtime"
3rd- Cedar Rapids Kennedy "Protege"
4th- Cedar Rapids Washington "Vivace"
5th- Cedar Rapids Kennedy "Chanteurs"
Happiness, you guys have to love this contest!!! Fantastic job, and thanks for the amazingly loud and distorted phone call of celebratory screams,....I really DID love it! You've been doing remarkable work this year,...KEEP IT UP!!!
City High, 2 finals in your last 2 contests, so you should feel very good about coming back from a little bit of a bumpy start this season. Good job!
Bettendorf, thanks for a remarkable first year in competition. You've got the bug now, so don't let it go!
Finally, to Crete Monee, HOORAY!!! I'm VERY VERY VERY proud that you've rallied and come together through all your adversity to put on a show that, by all accounts, was loved by the audience. Franklin Central's contest is next week, so set your sights HIGH!!! Clean and plish hard this week, and I can't wait to see you at FC in a few days.
What a fantastic day of show choir!
From what I hear... the top six after preliminaries were-
1st- Cedar Rapids Kennedy (+30)
2nd- Linn Mar
3rd- Iowa City High
4th- Sauk Prairie
5th- Iowa City West
6th- Cedar Rapids Washington
This is what I had for my personal PRELIMINARY results-
OVERALL-
1st- Cedar Rapids Kennedy (by a mile)
2nd- Linn Mar
3rd- Iowa City West
4th- Sauk Prairie
5th- Iowa City High
6th- Cedar Rapids Washington
7th- Crete Monee
8th- Davenport North
9th- Bettendorf
10th- Sioux Falls Washington
11th- Reedsburg
VOCALS-
1st- Cedar Rapids Kennedy
2nd- Linn Mar
3rd- Crete Monee
4th- Iowa City West
5th- Sauk Prairie
6th- Iowa City High
7th- Cedar Rapids Washington
8th- Bettendorf
9th- Sioux Falls Washington
10th- Davenport North
11th- Reedsburg
CHOREOGRAPHY-
1st- Cedar Rapids Kennedy
2nd- Linn Mar
3rd- Iowa City West
4th- Iowa City High
5th- Sauk Prairie
6th- Cedar Rapids Washington
7th- Bettendorf
8th- Davenport North
9th- Crete Monee
10th- Sioux Falls Washington
11th- Reedsburg
I’m tired, so I will post reviews of the finals shows tomorrow- but before I turn in, I want to say this…
The surprise of the day was Crete Monee. They’re group was the smallest of the 4A varsity show choirs. Their show is kind of rough around the edges currently. The choreography was sloppy and the blocking was constantly off. The band sounded good, but covered the group in the first two songs. But, they provided vocal sounds that just left me speechless. Their first two songs were just mediocre, but from the ballad on (“I’m Here” from The Color Purple), they literally set the auditorium into hysterics. It reminded me of moments like Waubonsie Valley’s opener or North Central’s ballad from last year. I, and others gave them a standing ovation after the ballad… and it just got better from there. It’s like I saw a light bulb go on in the performer’s heads that said, “Oh wait… we CAN sing!” I was sooooo impressed, for as few people you had, to produce that sound with so much soul and conviction it was fantastic. The soloists in the last half of the show were phenomenal. I didn’t see the Best Female Soloist from Cedar Rapids Washington “Vivace”… but I hope she was worthy of it, because two of the Crete girls blew everyone out of the water. There was no page for Crete Monee in the program, so I don’t have all the songs. The last half was religious songs. “Amazing Grace”, “Awesome God”, etc. It was amazing! Sadly, the other aspects of the show just couldn’t be rewarded as much. The groups in finals all had a complete package working… and I think with more work, you too could have something amazing. Crete Monee is making a return!
Davenport Great River Show Choir Invitational 2009
