and, still on bemidji, me and my small mob saw those little kids running around wearing small bemidji closer costumes (those orange metallic shirts!) it was the coolest thing i've ever seen!!!!! we fondly named them "bemidji babies!" (hmmm, kinda like BEANIE BABIES!!!!!!!) IT WAS SO AWESOME!!!!
anyway, i gotta get to bed, cuz i gotta go back 2 school in like 8 hours.....
yeah, those kids are Fettig's (the choir director and head guru behind VM) kids, and his kids have a few different years of show choir clothes now. it's pretty awesome.
This competition was so fun!!! - aside from the numerous breaks throughout the day - during which time i sampled many fine edibles...
dude, i thought everyone was AWESOME!!! it was all SO close for me, i had no idea what results would be like (even though i had 10 groups to choose from!!!) i CALLED Urbandale Vitality making finals!! you guys ruled! it was very clean both vocally and choreographically.
congrats to Hastings!!! I still think your ballad might be the best this year, and i was so happy you guys came this year!! it just felt so wierd not having you come last year!!!
urbandale - Oh my LORD!!!!!! You guys were SO FRIGGIN' AWESOME!!! I was rooting for you guys to win!!! i really REALLY loved it this year, and everything was just so precise! congrats on the soloist awards, cuz they were friggin sweet (congratulate them!!!) overall, you were excellently spectacular!!!!!! good job!!!!! you guys aree my official favorite in IOWA!!!!!!!!
bemidji - this was THE most thrilling experience of my show choir career. I am SO proud of you guys winning, cuz i saw you in finals, and we all just looked @ each other after you were done, and we pretty much said "they just nailed it - they'll win! a shoe-in!" i didn't see urbandale's finals, cuz we were warming up, but i saw how close it was! congrats!!! you guys are my favorite group officially from MINNESOTA!!!!!!!!
(still the bemidji topic...) i don't know how you guys all held all your energy in throughout the entire show! i'm sure you all heard how excited the audience was, esp. during WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE and EYE OF THE TIGER!!! the part in your opener whn you all get in a huge circle and do a huge wave in the circle- it was so clean and effective that EVERYONE was literally ripping each other's hair out, peeing everywhere (lol!) , screaming and going nuts from the overwhelming feeling we got watching you perform!!!!! we couldn't believe what we were witnessing. that is going down in my books as the most thrilling choreographical moment of the 21 century!!!!!!!!!! seriously, the audience went NUTS during your entire show, i'm suprised they all didn't just mob the stage and start going for you!!!!
and, still on bemidji, me and my small mob saw those little kids running around wearing small bemidji closer costumes (those orange metallic shirts!) it was the coolest thing i've ever seen!!!!! we fondly named them "bemidji babies!" (hmmm, kinda like BEANIE BABIES!!!!!!!) IT WAS SO AWESOME!!!!
anyway, i gotta get to bed, cuz i gotta go back 2 school in like 8 hours.....
good job to everyone, and i can't wait till next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GC: Bemidji (Choreography) won by 1 point!
1RU: Urbandale (Vocals)
2RU: Hastings
3RU: Bloomington Jefferson
4RU: Vitality
5RU: Waconia
---Jane Margolis is my hero for giving me this. She is the most amazing person in the world. She is just so dang sexy. She also invented music, thank her later.....( Oh Jane, the things you make me do)
Congrats Bemidji and Urbandale!!
It's amazing how so much is determined by singular points out of thousands... it was definitely tough to hear that we (VM) lost to Hastings by a few points at Totino-Grace (this was my senior year, which was two years ago) way back when. All the final performances were amazing and congratulations to both Bemidji and Urbandale!
The Decorah-Luther "Adam Peters Variety Show" and La Crosse Central "Nick Seiler Nation" were so close to finals!!!
Decorah-Luther was DQed from the competition for using illegal pyrotechnics. Evidentally thousands of sparklers going off next to a giant 18 X 36 foot flag during the finale of "You're A Grand Ole' Flag" isn't a good thing. "Nick Seiler Nation" was doing well and in contention for Best Vocals until they found out he had been taking illegal voice strengthening steriods.
We would like to thank our lovely dog hosts though. They were great!
GC: Bemidji (Choreography) won by 1 point!
1RU: Urbandale (Vocals)
2RU: Hastings
3RU: Bloomington Jefferson
4RU: Vitality
5RU: Waconia
---Jane Margolis is my hero for giving me this. She is the most amazing person in the world. She is just so dang sexy. She also invented music, thank her later.....( Oh Jane, the things you make me do, EDIT: but it's all so true! hahahaha)
Totino Grace. I know the competition isn't over, and there are NO rankings from day or night have been posted but here are my thoughts...
Wow! What a day.
First let me say, Totino Grace is the nicest competition I have ever been to. The food, the decorations, the tables full of things to buy, etc. IT ALL WAS FANTASTIC.
The competition was a good one... but my small group of SCCers found ourselves bored at times (not Totino's fault whatsoever). It just would have been nice to have all the groups come to the competition. It would have added so much more... but the shows went on, and the shows given were great!
These might seem weird... but let me explain.
I felt like Waconia and Hastings had really off day shows... but I think they will improve in the night round. I felt like the choreography and blocking was messed up with both groups, and the vocals I heard from Hastings was a disapointment... I know you sing much better than that! I think Bloomington Jefferson had a clean show that sounded okay. I'm not a big fan of the show, but I think they will place higher in day round because of the solid show they performed. I put Urbandale's prep above Bloomington, Hastings, and Waconia because they were the cleanest out of the 4 groups. They were also the only group where I understood each word being sung. The vocals were not as mature as all the varsity groups, but it was mostly just in the opener. After the opener, I completely forgot they were a prep group. I think if none of the other groups improve in night round, and Vitality puts on another great show... they will place high.
Bemidji is awesome! I feel like the vocals go downhill as the show goes on though. The choreography is amazing! Congrats on the band award... but it comes as a surprise to me. I felt like the band sometimes overplayed, and the brass sound was very shrill.
Urbandale had it all... interesting songs, great vocals, fun choreography, a great band. Your ballad is WONDERFUL! Great choice Mr. Woodin. The closer was so much fun. Nice job Damon!
Gas to get to Totino. $25.00
Gas to get back. $23.00
Entrance fee. $8.00
Wonderful program. $5.00
A delicious slice of pizza. $2.50
A beautiful ribbon for a wonderful cause (Enterprise). $1.00
Dinner at McDonalds. $3.50
Speeding ticket for doing 17 mph. over the speed limit. $137.00
Okay, so I'm sitting here eating my Cinnamon Toast Crunch thinking "gosh, this is going to be such a wonderful day." Adam and Chris are on their way to La Crosse to pick me up and I can't stop thinking about all the great times we're going to have!!! Hahahaha. Oh gosh, I just can't wait.
The Decorah-Luther "Adam Peters Variety Show" will be performing in Milton's time slot and La Crosse Central "Nick Seiler Nation" will be performing in Lincoln Southwest's time slot. We are both hoping to make it into finals!
The school is all set up and ready for all of our guests tomorrow. We are very sad that the weather has taken away a weekend of show choir for some of our competing groups, but we are also happy to know that you will all be safe in this silly winter weather!
I hope everyone who is able to attend gets here safely, and has a great time at Spectacular! We have some new menu items, new merchandise for sale, and a brand new set of decorations in the commons! Which I fully intend to sneak into my apartment after the competition is over, because it's so lovely!
Lastly, on a very serious note, I want to encourage all of you to purchase an Enterprise Memorial ribbon tomorrow.
They are nothing special or fancy, but we made them in the Enterprise school colors, and think they are a nice way for us all to show that we have the community of Enterprise, Alabama in our thoughts and prayers. They will be sold the entire competition, in the sales area in the commons and by the people walking around selling bottled water in the performance area. They only cost $1.00, and all of the proceeds will go to Enterprise High School. A small gesture from everyone who attends tomorrow could help lift the spirits of our family members in Alabama as they begin to heal... let's make it happen.
The Totino-Grace show choir staff dogs will be hosting our new additions to the competition.
The three chihuahuas, Bailey Binkie Binkerson-Kraemer, and Stuart and Bambi Voss, will be hosting Adam. Rufus Douglas, the english bulldog will be hosting Nick.
You should both be warned. You will have to take your hosts outside to relieve themselves. Though Binkie is puppypad-trained, he will need to be snuggled quite often.
Oh and also, in lieu of decorating for you, the dogs have decided to play with their toys and bark a lot.
Hey good luck to everyone tomorrow and have a safe trip!! Hopefully i will see some of you!! oh and check out the Vocal WARMUP room i think its pretty good seeya all there!!
Well, we're a few hours away and i'm sad to say that we've lost groups to this hellish weather. Bemidji, you're room is amazing (I'm not biased or anything)...i'll see everyone in a few hours
Donations for the further success of our two up and coming powerhouse show choirs would be greatly appreciated. Proceeds will go towards new costuming and stage make-up. I would like to thank all members of the Totino-Grace Family for allowing us to participate in this event.
anyway, i gotta get to bed, cuz i gotta go back 2 school in like 8 hours.....
yeah, those kids are Fettig's (the choir director and head guru behind VM) kids, and his kids have a few different years of show choir clothes now. it's pretty awesome.