This week is going by too slowly. I feel like it'll be worth my long drive though! Can't wait to see Clinton, South Jones, and Oak Grove again. They all put on great shows at Homewood! I also can't wait to see Albertville. Clinton had pretty solid choreo and their band was kickin'. I loved the backdrops too. Their vocals do lack a tad, yes. But they're still great consdidering the choreo they do to such precision and perfection. They also had quite a few solos. I absoluty LOVED Oak Grove's riser set up. Does anyone know how they lift it up like that? I also love their ballad. It was my favorite at Homewood! What's it called and who's it by?
Predictions (for GC-3RU only):
GC- Clinton (choreography, show design, band, possibly vocals)
1RU- Albertville (costumes, possibly vocals)
2RU- South Jones
3RU- Oak Grove
4RU- I couldn't tell you what's going to happen here. I'd say West Jones if I had my guess.
Is Clinton eligable for best band? I didn't think they were but they won it at Homewood. I just figured they'd have more than 1 adult because of how good their band is. I can't wait!!
I did however sit and watch Clinton Saturday and will say this. The band is a machine. A well oiled, polished, ticking machine. They all wear in-ears which is GREAT advantage for them and from talking to a few band members they (the band) have class with the choir which allows them to a lot of practice throughout the week and the year, whereas a lot of bands I know may only practice once a week. Even then it can be hard given as most have adults and things like children, jobs, etc and it can hinder there attendance. So, I would expect and hope nothing less then best band for Clinton.
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Our drummer and synth players have the option of using headphones during performance to hear the piano better. However, our guitar, bass, and horn players do NOT.
No, you are correct. They have featured Within Temptation for the past three sets. 2011 was Our Solemn Hour, 2012 was Stand My Ground and 2013 is In The Middle Of The Night. I don't personally mind, they do well with them. The format of the set also reminded me a lot of their 2011 one.
I understand what some of you are saying about Attache's set sort of dragging. I've only watched it on YouTube and the quality wasn't the best but I wasn't really pulled in like I was with their 2012 set, which is one of my favourites. Still, it's early on and they have some great choreography already so my opinion will probably change by the end of the season.
This week is going by too slowly. I feel like it'll be worth my long drive though! Can't wait to see Clinton, South Jones, and Oak Grove again. They all put on great shows at Homewood! I also can't wait to see Albertville. Clinton had pretty solid choreo and their band was kickin'. I loved the backdrops too. Their vocals do lack a tad, yes. But they're still great consdidering the choreo they do to such precision and perfection. They also had quite a few solos. I absoluty LOVED Oak Grove's riser set up. Does anyone know how they lift it up like that? I also love their ballad. It was my favorite at Homewood! What's it called and who's it by?
Predictions (for GC-3RU only):
GC- Clinton (choreography, show design, band, possibly vocals)
1RU- Albertville (costumes, possibly vocals)
2RU- South Jones
3RU- Oak Grove
4RU- I couldn't tell you what's going to happen here. I'd say West Jones if I had my guess.
Is Clinton eligable for best band? I didn't think they were but they won it at Homewood. I just figured they'd have more than 1 adult because of how good their band is. I can't wait!!
I think they are eligible for best band. I've seen most if not all students in there at least. I have noticed they do a lot of things that are different about them. They are a smaller band then some and they use a lot of keyboards for various things and have a couple of different people doing percussion things at different times. One thing I do find odd is there is a guy who sits in the audience that I believe talks to someone back stage throughout the show for things like volumes and such. Nothing illegal about it I don't believe but its a first for me. They are good no doubt. I bet a lot of bands wish they could have that much practice time throughout a year. Either way..tough to beat them. But I do know this..sometimes bands beat other bands but can't be given the award because of the adult rule which sucks sometimes lol.
Idk if it's me but Clinton's show looks the same for me the past 3 years. They're all great, they just all kind of remind me of each other. ESPECIALLY the closers. I think their closer has featured a Within Temptation song the past 3 years. Somebody else go watch all the closers and check me. Obviously that won't factor into points or placements but just for conversations sake..
Having watched both Clinton and Albertville on YouTube, I feel a little more (not by much) qualified to speak on predictions for this weekend. I haven't had the chance to see South Jones or Oak Grove, so I will reserve opinion on them. I think that it will be close between the two of them, but I have to be honest, neither shows really blew my mind... on YouTube
I'm sure that everything is MUCH more mind-blowing live, but both shows seemed to drag a little bit. Having followed Clinton since 2004, this is by far the slowest pacing I have seen out of them. Granted, that's a very relative term since they are typically pretty amped up in the choreography and pacing department. This is also the most story-driven show I have seen them put on. So, I attribute some of the feelings that the show gives off on the brand new style of the show. That said, it just didn't feel like a typical Clinton show. However, I will say that the band and choreography are still (as always) top-notch. The group seems very young, so there is always a dramatic improvement between week 1 and week 2 when that is taken into consideration.
Albertville was very theatrical and they sang really well, but the show kind of gave me the same feeling as Clinton. The show seemed to kind of drag along a little and just wasn't exactly the most interesting show I have ever seen. As with Clinton, Albertville last year was very fun and amped up, and this year just doesn't feel like it has the same fun factor that I saw last year. I do love the emergence of Nightwish tunes in the show choir world (by the way), and give Albertville SUPER kudos for trying one that seems to be one of the more difficult ones to pull off.
When it gets down to it, the complaints I have are really for both shows. They both just feel very slow-paced and not really bursting with excitement. But, that isn't the only thing that wins a competition, so I suppose the things that will be deciding should be taken into account. I think Clinton will win choreography and band, with Albertville possibly taking show design and vocals. It will be a very close competition, but I'm going to have to go with Clinton on this one.
Best of luck to all that are competing though! I'd love to be able to hit up a Southern competition someday soon. They seem bursting with awesomely nice people, and great, unique groups!
This week is going by too slowly. I feel like it'll be worth my long drive though! Can't wait to see Clinton, South Jones, and Oak Grove again. They all put on great shows at Homewood! I also can't wait to see Albertville. Clinton had pretty solid choreo and their band was kickin'. I loved the backdrops too. Their vocals do lack a tad, yes. But they're still great consdidering the choreo they do to such precision and perfection. They also had quite a few solos. I absoluty LOVED Oak Grove's riser set up. Does anyone know how they lift it up like that? I also love their ballad. It was my favorite at Homewood! What's it called and who's it by?
Predictions (for GC-3RU only):
GC- Clinton (choreography, show design, band, possibly vocals)
1RU- Albertville (costumes, possibly vocals)
2RU- South Jones
3RU- Oak Grove
4RU- I couldn't tell you what's going to happen here. I'd say West Jones if I had my guess.
Is Clinton eligable for best band? I didn't think they were but they won it at Homewood. I just figured they'd have more than 1 adult because of how good their band is. I can't wait!!
I chose the wrong words when i said lacking ..... i meant that i did not get my usual reaction when watching clinton is all that i meant to say. I mean they are different and i respect that. I do agree with the post saying that some put them up on a higher pedastal, and we must all remember that all show choirs are giving the same amount of effort and are wanting to obtain the same goal at some point.
As for all the southern show choirs ..... Clinton, Homewood, Oak Grove, South , Prep ,and Opelika of course i am going to generally be the most opinionated about these groups cause i have a more intimate relationship with them.
All i do on this site is give my opinion i am simply an observer and ive been taking time off from college due to illness so i occupy my time with going to show choir competitions.
Although my post sometimes might be controversial they are simply my opinion but they have started many great topics that are entertaining to read.
Good Luck to all the groups! and fellow posters remember that its your opinion and we are all entitled to have our voice and to respect others.
In response to messages i have received that have asked me questions or have sent me words of praise or such....... I have just now updated my profile because i just learned out how !!!
so i am an alumnist of opelika high school and have attended SCA and worked under many choreographers and directors. The reason i am not revealing my name is simply because i want to be able to comment on groups that i have helped and not helped and be able to criticize without the possibility of the groups being associated with my sometimes controversial or unfavorable post. So its out of respect for their directors and students.
Also i joined this page very recently and part of the fun is of course shaking things up a bit!
But i truly try not to post malicious things and simply and ill repeat my opinion.
It truly does make me smile knowing that people are so passionate about the thing that they love to do and that is displayed through many of the users of this site.
Sorry for the rambling message but a few things i wanted to get off of my chest and to answer direct questions to me on one post !
With Love,
You're an alumnist from Opelika, but you're birth date is in 1991? Creating false accounts is a pretty serious deal and reflects very poorly on you. Also, I find it very curious that all of your posts are about Jackson Prep and you never mention Opelika ever. If you were a part of the Opelika program, I would imagine you would take greater pride in where you're from and not in a school that is several hours away. Since you are not willing to share your name, I'm sure you could share who your director was and what your competition show included. I've never known a person from Opelika to hide their identity, but if you are in fact from Opelika, I would request that you not post anymore false information on the forums as you did on the Homewood thread. It reflects poorly on Opelika High School and is not at all what we represent. I'm sure you were taught that if you are in fact an alumni of Opelika's choir department.
Does anybody find it interesting that several people always on the Southern show choir boards have random far away associated show choirs? All it takes is a quick skim through their post history to realize what Southern schools they are really associated with.
I've noticed that too. If you aren't afraid to share your opinion, you shouldn't hide where you are actually from.
Clintons vocals Saturday were different I will just say that. Good bit of solo use throughout which could be a reason why you might say they "are not up to par". I'm not saying that myself, just by what other posts have said. But one thing you must be careful with is that you can not get a full understanding of someones vocals unless you sit in there in the room. Audio quality does not always do it justice.
I did however sit and watch Clinton Saturday and will say this. The band is a machine. A well oiled, polished, ticking machine. They all wear in-ears which is GREAT advantage for them and from talking to a few band members they (the band) have class with the choir which allows them to a lot of practice throughout the week and the year, whereas a lot of bands I know may only practice once a week. Even then it can be hard given as most have adults and things like children, jobs, etc and it can hinder there attendance. So, I would expect and hope nothing less then best band for Clinton.
As far as choreography, it can't be touched really. I haven't seen a well danced show and execution like that in a long time. Wheaton was the last choir to really wow me like that.
Vocals...well..they are good. Their not lacking in quantity of it that is for sure. They can be loud and be soft and do it well, pitch did come into a play a few times but still is very good overall. I'm not saying they can't be beat, because anyone can be beat no matter who you are. We're all humans, and we have our days good or bad. However in order to beat someone with a large talent level and a long existing reputation, you yourself have to be on the very tippy top of your A game lol. It's not going to be handed to you ya know.
Overall, their good. Not my favorite show they have done in the past few years but they are still good. They could probably sing Christmas carols and still make it interesting and good I'm sure lol. I am very excited to see how Saturday goes
Does anybody find it interesting that several people always on the Southern show choir boards have random far away associated show choirs? All it takes is a quick skim through their post history to realize what Southern schools they are really associated with.
Just watched Clinton's show on YouTube....and well it wasn't great quality video, but that doesn't change the fct that it wasn't normal Clinton. I found myself skipping thru several parts because it lost my attention.
Sorry I meant to thumbs up not thumbs down. But I agree. It may just seem like this to me but it seems like their show is SO LONG and draggy. I feel like there's some unneccary parts in there that could possibly cut down on the boringness of it. Boring really isn't the word though.
Just watched Clinton's show on YouTube....and well it wasn't great quality video, but that doesn't change the fct that it wasn't normal Clinton. I found myself skipping thru several parts because it lost my attention.
Agreed Clinton's vocals are extremely lacking .... There choreo is always great but at homewood vocals as a group were not up to par.
I believe they will get beaten at wheaten if they don't do some serious fixing up and tweaking
Not that I was there or anything, but just from a logical point of view, I have a difficult time believing that "Clinton's vocals are extremely lacking" especially considering, you know, they won Best Vocals at Homewood this past weekend. Saying their vocals are "extremely lacking" is, by extension, also saying that Jackson Prep, South Jones, etc. were all also "lacking" since they lost to Clinton in the vocal category. So I would be careful to see how your statements could be perceived when you're being critical.
In general, I think sometimes people put Clinton on this super-human pedestal with such monumental expectations that aren't always realistic to achieve, especially considering it was their first competition of the season. And Clinton isn't super-human, they are high school students just like every one else.
I do, though in part, agree with your final statement, but for a different reason. It is possible that Clinton could "get beaten" at Wheaton, but not because of their flaws, rather because the quality of show choirs attending Wheaton are just that good.
Agreed Clinton's vocals are extremely lacking .... There choreo is always great but at homewood vocals as a group were not up to par.
I believe they will get beaten at wheaten if they don't do some serious fixing up and tweaking
I didn't realize Albertville was on youtube yet, so I had to go watch it and..... WOW. There's no other word to describe that than WOW. I'v heard many comments about how it's more musical theater than show choir and I can agree with that in some aspects. However, in what rules does it say that show choir can't be like what Albertville does? Anyways, you guys have a flat out AMAZING show and I hope you continue to do what you do. I'm super excited to see it live!!
I think it's definitely do-able. The only critique I ever hear about Clinton is that their vocals could use work, which is sometimes understandable given it being early in the season and they have intense choreography throughout. I saw the YouTube video of CenterStage! and noticed it seemed to be solo-heavy, in my opinion, but Clinton tends to have various soloists, duets, etc. as well. So it will be interesting to see how it all turns out. So like I said, it's a realistic possibility, so hopefully you don't get a "gazillion dislikes" ... after all that's a lot.
That has always been so strange to me. I remember back in '04 and '05, their choreography was intense and they could sing like nobody's business. Ever since 2007, their vocals have been subject heavy criticism. I would assume that this is to the evolving nature of show choir choreography, which has gotten gradually more high-impact, but it is a little sad to not see the same vocal intensity out of them.
Petal Show Choir Invitational (Day Two) 2013
