OH! and THANKS for the welcome back Jorge! However sarcastic it might have been...
I know what you're saying about this site and losing your post before you've finished typing though...
Usually after the second time i take it as a hint i'm being too long winded, but that's exactly what i've always admired about you! perseverance!
I didn't welcome you back. I said, in your new Carmel topic- "Long time, no see, Scott". That is hardly a welcome back. It simply is the truth, therefore, it was not sarcastic. I'm not sure to why you are acting poorly already, I thought we had stopped having petty squabbles. I don't agree with you, and you don't agree with me... but, I'm didn't attack you in your Carmel topic for it.
"(Franklin Central 2005 and Southmont 2008 being the two others)"
I really can't believe that you can in good conscience write an Omniscient post like that and at the same time state that you haven't ever been to a decent competition in Indiana?
You're so iowacentric
MIC 2003 2004 2005, Indy state 2005 2006, Ben Davis 2004 2005 2006, Pike 2004 2005 2006, Huntington North 2005 2006.
COME ON, Those all had better lineups and more interesting results than this, yet you drove 7 hours to go to dekalb...
Iowacentric? I've traveled to more states in show choir than you. I have not said a word about anything Iowa show choir related in this topic. I don't even compare groups to Iowa schools. If anything, someone could call you "Indiana-centric" or "Carmel-centric"... but has anyone? No.
I haven't been to Indiana a lot. The majority of those years you posted quality Indiana competitions was when I was still in high school, so to travel to them, meant I would need to NOT be in my high school's show choir and would mean that I could afford to travel to them, while balancing all my activities and schoolwork. I live in Iowa, and like to go to WI, IA, MN, IL competitions. Indiana is a stretch. Most Iowa schools have never been to an Indiana school. The only reason we attended Franklin Central, was because I brought in the information about the competition after finding out you were starting one. The reason I chose to attend Dekalb 2009 was pretty much 100% on my friends being there. Old SCA friends and old high school show choir friends coming together, hanging out the day before and then seeing a decent competition. Some people actually like to be around people. I'm one of them.
I'm not sure why you feel the need to get back on here again, start praising Carmel out of the blue, berate other people's thoughts, and make a complete fool of yourself again. You never change, Scott. It really must suck to be so unhappy all of the time. I wish the best for you. But, I refuse to have these exchanges anymore.
East Noble Premiere Edition's show was hit hard by mic issues - four of their five solos used the same mic, and it didn't work for any of them. It wasn't good.
But they altogether weren't really "on" for their performance, so I don't think they would have placed in the top three regardless of mic issues. I don't think that it made it any worse, though - the judges know that technical issues aren't (usually) the choir's fault.
hey have a little faith in your girls group they are better than you are giving them credit for and yeah there was some good girls groups there but dont be hating on them... not trying to be mean just saying. and judges dont usualy take off for sound problems. but sound problems can lead to problems in the group sometimes thats when people get counted off.... good luck at belmount next weekend peace out
If you don't care for my posts feel free to ignore them or respond with your own thoughts. In either case, your rudeness and lack of tact is not necessary.
Also, though Adam and I are friends we are completely different people. Anyone that has met both of us would attest to that. I think we both believe in the importance of constructive, critical dialogue to the show choir community, so we post accordingly. Again, feel free to add your own thoughts, but personal attacks will not be necessary.
I attended DeKalb finals in hopes of seeing some great show choir, and thankfully many of the groups did not disappoint. This was the first contest I've been to this season when I felt that there were several deserving winners. The top three groups all gave a wonderful performance and truly stood out in one way or another.
Buffalo Grove:
Having already seen the show online, I wasn't expecting to be as impressed with Buffalo Grove as I was. They gave the most consistent vocal performance in finals and performed a clean, energetic show. The one complaint I do have about Buffalo Grove's show is that the pacing is a bit off. The third and fourth numbers are both jazzy mens/womens' features that are performed at a moderate tempo. I felt the show dragged during those numbers, and also felt that every song was about 30 seconds too long. Otherwise, I agreed with Buffalo Grove's win and look forward to what they put onstage in the next couple years.
Waubonsie Valley:
The best dancers in finals, I felt Waubonsie Valley earned the choreography caption over the other choirs. Everything about their show was hard hitting, for better and for worse, though their enthusiasm was always engaging. The biggest issue with Waubonsie's showing that I noticed is that everything is designed for maximum impact, and because of that the choir can not sustain their sound for the full set. By the last two numbers, I sensed that the singing was sounding tired. Also, I didn't take to lyrical content of certain songs. The ballad is a cliche, though well sung, and "Green Light" just doesn't take to being sung by an ensemble.
Marysville:
After two low impact finals performances at previous competitions, I was hoping Marysville could ramp up the energy at their toughest competition yet. Fortunately, they did. This was the best showing from the group yet this season, and I felt they gave a very well-rounded finals performance. The singing especially was beautiful and artful - the kind of singing I heard from the group in 2007. The choreography was clean, and theirs remains one of the most diverse and interesting shows I've seen this year. I was definitely proud to call myself a Marysville alum on Saturday.
Franklin Central:
Considering how unimpressed I was with performances at Churubusco's daytime competition, I was pleased to see that Franklin Central gave a very strong showing at DeKalb. Vocally, they pulled away from the other bottom three choirs in finals, and visually their choreography was very clean. The show lacks something to make it stand out in a field as talented as that at DeKalb finals, but their performance was solid on Saturday.
Eisenhower:
If possible, I was less impressed with Eisenhower's vocals at DeKalb than at Onalaska. I'm not sure what took place in the month since I last saw the group, but I felt that there wasn't enough breath support behind the singing. Notes were being pinched out during the entire show and it wasn't pleasing to listen to. Fortunately, the group is also host to talented dancers and they gave a very energetic visual performance. I was also impressed with the combo's level of projection given their small size.
Edgewood:
Having seen Medina and Carroll previously, it's hard for me to believe that Edgewood was in seventh place after daytime competition. Visually the show was clean and there was some pop to the choreography, but vocally this group did not belong in finals and was often hard to even hear. I did think the Pink Panther transition was a fun idea, but the second half was pretty silly conceptually. I hope this group can rebound from a couple disappointing seasons, but I'm not a fan of this year's show.
Jorge v 2.0? omg, i'm leaving this site... Don't worry about sending me hate mail folks. this place has gotten ridiculous.
"(Franklin Central 2005 and Southmont 2008 being the two others)"
I really can't believe that you can in good conscience write an Omniscient post like that and at the same time state that you haven't ever been to a decent competition in Indiana?
You're so iowacentric
MIC 2003 2004 2005, Indy state 2005 2006 2007 2008, Ben Davis 2004 2005 2006, Pike 2004 2005 2006, Huntington North 2005 2006.
COME ON, Those all had better lineups and more interesting results than this, yet you drove 7 hours to go to dekalb...
After twice trying to post my thoughts in this topic, I have been referred to the “LOG IN” page of SCC, losing all of what I typed. This, the third time, hopefully will be “the charm”. I always find it hard to follow Mr. Fancey’s most eloquently written reviews, but I will try my hardest to provide something that sounds at least half as intelligent.
Dekalb’s Show Choir Invitational is the third Indiana show choir competition I have ever attended (Franklin Central 2005 and Southmont 2008 being the two others). This competition was the by far the best of the Indiana competitions I have attended.
After preliminary performances, these were my results-
1st- Buffalo Grove (Best Vocals)
2nd- Waubonsie Valley (Best Choreography)
3rd- Marysville
4th- Eisenhower (Best Band)
5th- Franklin Central
6th- Carroll
7th- Northrop
8th- Edgewood
9th- Bishop Luers
10th- Churubusco
I did not get to see Bishop Luers or Medina.
After prelims, it was quite clear that Buffalo Grove had come to win. But after finals, I agree whole heartedly with Aaron Fancey, the top three groups each gave something different making it capable for each to win. I could have seen the Grand Champion trophy going to WV, BG, or Marysville. That is a testament to the caliber of groups at this competition.
I had Carroll in finals over Northrop. They sang and danced much better than Northrop. Their show actually had a nice flow to it. Overall, in every aspect, it was better than Northrop... So I was very surprised to hear Northrop’s name called out for finals.
This brings me to my only true beef with the day. And it isn’t on the host schools part. It solely is on Northrop. As many of you know, Northrop entered two competitions on February 14th; Dekalb and Norwell. They made finals at both. But, Northrop made the decision to forfeit their spot in finals at Dekalb to compete at Norwell finals.
This upset me because, being a person that didn’t think they should have made finals, I was not given the chance to see if improvement could be made. I feel that they weighed their options, picked the competition they thought they could do better at, and competed there. I know competing at two schools in one day happens in Indiana a lot more than it does in other states, but I’m firm in my position- If you are going to do it, and actually make finals at both, you have an obligation to the audience to perform at both. Northrop making finals at Dekalb was a true honor. They were lucky to have made it (and VERY lucky to win at Norwell), and they threw it all away. I’m not so sure I would have had Edgewood in finals (as my prelims results state), but at least Edgewood came in, and took the finals spot and used it for all it was worth. They improved ten fold in finals, and I believe maybe could have outranked Northrop from the day. I’m sure I’ll hear excuses like “It was not logistically possible for them to compete at both” or “The kids would have been so tired.”- The directors should think about these issues before they foolishly decide to compete at two schools. I wanted to see Northrop in finals. But, they didn’t want to perform for me.
Moving on to finals thoughts-
Buffalo Grove- You had the entire package. The vocals were the best sounding Expression’s vocals I have ever heard (I’ve seen every BG show live since 2004). The sound is so supported and full. The opener and ballad (the first two songs) were VERY solid. The girls number was soooo meaty, it actually kind of scared me. The choreography was energetic and clean. I agree with Aaron, I feel the pace of the show was slow in some parts and some songs felt a little long. I did not feel this way during the day… so I don’t know if a judge said something, but whatever it did, it made the show seem lethargic. The male song was effective, but then there was a second mini-male song where the girls went offstage and didn’t change that I felt was unnecessary. The closer was a lot of fun. Overall, I felt that more individual mistakes were made during the day round, but it was much more a powerful and energized performance. At night, everything was together, but lacked something. It still was a GC performance, though. I’m happy once again to be on the “BG bandwagon” (two years in a row now!) after historically being one of the biggest skeptics of your show choir. You guys deserved this win! I can’t wait to see how you finish out your season and what next year brings.
Waubonsie Valley- I too was very surprised to see you not take home the Best Choreography trophy. I’m not saying BG’s was bad or not-worthy… theirs was quite clean and good… but your choreography was nothing short of amazing. Dwight gave you some wicked fresh stuff that catapulted off the stage. I was soooo impressed. It simply was on a completely different level than any of the other show choirs. It was the same “WOW” factor, choreographically; I received when watching the 2008 show. Anyone who has only seen your show on YouTube for this season needs to get to a competition ASAP and see it live. The show online is no comparison to what I saw live. The opener is really mysterious and fun. Its not a “concept” like everyone is portraying it to be. It is simply an amazing song filled with stylistically correct vocals and outstanding choreography. I really enjoyed the novelty. Sadly, the vocals were just not up to par with what they were last year, throughout the show. I really missed those “HOLY CRAP” goosepimples that I received when I heard you all sing last year. I’m not sure if its just because of the insanely demanding choreography or if its just the dynamics of different kids… but it is noticeably different. By the end of the finals show, the toll and tiredness on the kid’s voices was quite audible. I’m also not a fan of the guys in those tan pants and black shirts / purple shirts. All in all, this is a great show that still has room to improve upon. This is your third year of amazingness out of your five in existence. What a verification of a wonderful show choir and music program at Waubonsie Valley High School.
Marysville- This was my first Marysville show I have ever seen live, and I’m really glad it was this 2009 show. Your show has left the deepest impression in my mind. Out of all the shows I saw on Saturday, yours is the one I most want to see live again. The effect of your show was not realized by me until I was on my seven hour drive home on Sunday. I kept thinking about your show, and now I find myself re-watching it on YouTube. Your song selection was my favorite of the day. The only song I was not sold on was “Greyhound”. I don’t know if it was because I felt the boys weren’t performing it or selling it enough, I just felt that the entire song was flat, and needed resuscitation. Vocally, I confidently believe that you had some of the most beautiful and musical moments of all the show choirs I have seen this year. Right from the beginning, “Today is the greatest day of everyone.”, the level of awareness and subtleness was palpable, I LOVED IT! At the same time, I felt other parts of your show were just vocally mediocre. I think you guys could sing a bit louder without sacrificing healthy singing. I know it will aid in giving more energy, and will make your show seem to go even further. I’m really impressed with how sophisticated this group is; its right up there with the likes of Totino Grace and Ankeny (two super classy groups whose kids are the definition of “Class”) I know you have had a season of results that may seem to be like a “fall from grace”, but show choir results say nothing, in the end. Congrats on a fantastic show!
Franklin Central- I’ll be short and honest. I miss the novelty. I really think you guys do them well, and I wish you would have done one. The show, didn’t go anywhere for me. It was just, “Eh”. “Bye Bye Blackbird” was Fosse-esque, but really makes your show dry. It would have been neat to see the more modern take that Jarad Voss had originally planned on for the song, but I can understand that you wanted to make the change to please some judges who commented on it not being authentic. I’d rather please an audience than score better with points, but that’s just my philosophy. The best song was the 4th song, where Lawson Heimach blew away the audience with his phenomenal solo. I really had no hope for the show until he turned things around with his spirited performance. I had thought he would snag the Best Male Soloist award, but apparently that will have to wait for another day. All in all, it seemed like a very “safe” show with safe choreography and vocals. I’m hoping next year will provide me with some FC spice that I once remembered under Bill Griffel.
Eisenhower- I feel that your vocals HAVE become more solid and uniformed since Onalaska. So many individuals sang out at the Classic creating non-unification, but at Dekalb, everyone seemed to be blending quite well. The choreography was fantastic and very energetic. I love the show… and that band really can wail! I had you above FC in finals, but I wasn’t a judge sadly.
Edgewood- Although, I didn’t have you in finals, or 7th… I commend you for taking control of your unique situation and using Northrop’s finals spot as a launching pad for showing the audience that you CAN make improvements. Kudos to you! I enjoyed the ending set very much, especially the “Stray Cats Only” sign. I also liked the closing costumes.
Overall, Dekalb was made to be a perfect competition with the low stress levels, the amazing friends I was with, and the great show choirs.
I really enjoyed the “BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE” idea, I’ll probably steal that for my future competition. I also enjoyed how the girl who won it, also won the diamond necklace. What a lucky girl!
I also must comment on Marysville students. After final awards were announced, and everyone fled from the gym, Marysville kids stuck around and folded chairs on the gym floor and picked up trash in the bleachers for the host school. I thought that this was the coolest thing I had seen all day. It means so much to me to see that people will take the time to help out. Like I said, you all are some of the classiest show choir people ever! Keep it up!
P.S. I think $48 for the finals DVD is highway robbery.
Here are links to two of the four videos I shot at Dekalb-
LAWSON'S AMAZING SOLO
Buffalo Grove Wins! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/JorgeJorge/HPIM1882-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/JorgeJorge/HPIM1884-1.jpg
I attended DeKalb finals in hopes of seeing some great show choir, and thankfully many of the groups did not disappoint. This was the first contest I've been to this season when I felt that there were several deserving winners. The top three groups all gave a wonderful performance and truly stood out in one way or another.
Buffalo Grove:
Having already seen the show online, I wasn't expecting to be as impressed with Buffalo Grove as I was. They gave the most consistent vocal performance in finals and performed a clean, energetic show. The one complaint I do have about Buffalo Grove's show is that the pacing is a bit off. The third and fourth numbers are both jazzy mens/womens' features that are performed at a moderate tempo. I felt the show dragged during those numbers, and also felt that every song was about 30 seconds too long. Otherwise, I agreed with Buffalo Grove's win and look forward to what they put onstage in the next couple years.
Waubonsie Valley:
The best dancers in finals, I felt Waubonsie Valley earned the choreography caption over the other choirs. Everything about their show was hard hitting, for better and for worse, though their enthusiasm was always engaging. The biggest issue with Waubonsie's showing that I noticed is that everything is designed for maximum impact, and because of that the choir can not sustain their sound for the full set. By the last two numbers, I sensed that the singing was sounding tired. Also, I didn't take to lyrical content of certain songs. The ballad is a cliche, though well sung, and "Green Light" just doesn't take to being sung by an ensemble.
Marysville:
After two low impact finals performances at previous competitions, I was hoping Marysville could ramp up the energy at their toughest competition yet. Fortunately, they did. This was the best showing from the group yet this season, and I felt they gave a very well-rounded finals performance. The singing especially was beautiful and artful - the kind of singing I heard from the group in 2007. The choreography was clean, and theirs remains one of the most diverse and interesting shows I've seen this year. I was definitely proud to call myself a Marysville alum on Saturday.
Franklin Central:
Considering how unimpressed I was with performances at Churubusco's daytime competition, I was pleased to see that Franklin Central gave a very strong showing at DeKalb. Vocally, they pulled away from the other bottom three choirs in finals, and visually their choreography was very clean. The show lacks something to make it stand out in a field as talented as that at DeKalb finals, but their performance was solid on Saturday.
Eisenhower:
If possible, I was less impressed with Eisenhower's vocals at DeKalb than at Onalaska. I'm not sure what took place in the month since I last saw the group, but I felt that there wasn't enough breath support behind the singing. Notes were being pinched out during the entire show and it wasn't pleasing to listen to. Fortunately, the group is also host to talented dancers and they gave a very energetic visual performance. I was also impressed with the combo's level of projection given their small size.
Edgewood:
Having seen Medina and Carroll previously, it's hard for me to believe that Edgewood was in seventh place after daytime competition. Visually the show was clean and there was some pop to the choreography, but vocally this group did not belong in finals and was often hard to even hear. I did think the Pink Panther transition was a fun idea, but the second half was pretty silly conceptually. I hope this group can rebound from a couple disappointing seasons, but I'm not a fan of this year's show.
Northrop actually got disqualified because they got drawn for finals first and they couldnt make the time because they were still in Norwell... so then Edgewood got to take their place with busco less than 2 points behind and then carrol after busco... this was a really close competetion! Buscos show was really fun to watch and so was Waubansie they always put so mch energy into it!
Whoever said that the scoring in Indiana was objective was on crack or something. The scoring for each category, vocals, choreo, band, had to captions: technique and artistry. That makes me mad. Sure, there are small sub-sections. but they mean very little. I guess there's really nothing wrong with subjective scoring, I just prefer the Ohio competitions because it gives judges more of a direction when they score.
Welcome to Indiana, and the dreaded ISSMA sheet. No one is particularly fond of it.
Whoever said that the scoring in Indiana was objective was on crack or something. The scoring for each category, vocals, choreo, band, had to captions: technique and artistry. That makes me mad. Sure, there are small sub-sections. but they mean very little. I guess there's really nothing wrong with subjective scoring, I just prefer the Ohio competitions because it gives judges more of a direction when they score.
I would like to say that this was definitely my favorite competition I've been to. There were so many great shows, in terms of performance and song choice. It was truly great.
By the way, I was wondering if any of the like 9 people that saw Medina had any input?
DeKalb Show Choir Invitational 2009
