I completely forgot to post my thoughts on this (thanks for reminding me swingsdad23)
I was there for finals for all groups so those are the ones I'm posting on
My predictions were:
GC: Waubonsie Valley (Sweep)
1RU: Mt. Zion
2RU: Eisenhower
3RU: Glenwood
4RU: Sullivan
5RU: Girls in Heels
Funny thing is, what I felt it SHOULD be ended up being the correct result with Eisenhower in 2nd and Mt. Zion in 3rd. I just thought the judges would score Swingsations higher.
Girls in Heels- I was thoroughly impressed with your guys show and I can see why you made finals. The vocals were very good for what level group you have. I don't remember a whole lot about your show but there's nothing in there that sticks out that I was scratching my head at so kudos. Very nice performance.
Sullivan- The last time I had seen Sullivan was back at FAME Chicago 2010 and it was honestly not a very good show on any accounts so I when I heard that Sullivan was "back" I wasn't really expecting much but you guys definitely exceeded my expectations. The choreography was full of high energy and I could really tell you were putting your all into the movements. From what I remember the costuming was very good and very aesthetically pleasing to me. My only problem were some spots in the vocals. I think for your ballad it would be more musical to carry over for the chorus but have little accents. I thought it was just a little bit too choppy. I also think you could benefit from a slightly darker sound because it felt kind of shouty at some points which is really weird considering that my next point is that I think the band was wayyyyy too loud and was overpowering the choir. Other than those things it was a very nice show.
Glenwood- I've never seen you guys live before and I thought it was a nice show. The choreography was very clean and the song selections were pretty good. I feel as though you guys started to get really tired towards the end of the show though and it was showing in the vocals. I don't really remember a whole lot other than that.
Mt. Zion- I'm just going to preface this by saying I've never read the Hunger Games and I've never watched the movie the whole way through (although I did like what I saw and I'll have to finish it someday) so I'm not really sure what was happening towards the end. I think that's my main problem with the show design itself is that it will only make sense to someone who's seen the Hunger Games or read the book. I kind of picked up on what was going on but from what I've seen of the movie it kinda fit and kinda didn't? I don't know. As for technical stuff it's the same thing I usually talk about with Mt. Zion: choreography is impeccable and I am not a fan of the sound at all. It's usually very very very bright and very very very shouty. There was also some pitch issues all throughout the show. I thought your guys show design would play to the judges favor and put you in 2nd.
Eisenhower (I will not call it Decatur on here because nobody deserves the punishment as being known by that lol)- Now this was a choir I was happy to see do so well (Dirty D represent!). I really enjoyed the show a lot. This is the first time I can remember seeing Eisenhower since I was a middle schooler watching at Great River 2005 that I really got into the show 100%. The past few times I've seen Elite Energy I haven't thought much of the shows. I thought this show was overall fantastic. The guys sound is just phenomenal, I was oozing about it on the way home with my friends. The choreography was so energetic and so clean. I just really loved this show and I'm so happy to see a choir from Decatur put on such a fantastic show and I'll definitely have to check out more stuff from Elite Energy while I'm still in school. Very nice job!
Waubonsie Valley- I mean really, do I even need to say anything about Sound Check at this point? I've been in love with the choir since my freshman year of high school and have never had hardly anything negative to ever say about the shows. I think this year's show was the most perfectly rounded one out of all the shows I've seen. There's no show-stopper song like the Tye Tribbett Medley but it didn't need one. I usually groan when the WV novelty comes around and I was laughing my butt off all the way through! The only two problems I found was that there were a lot of personal mistakes that were noticeable but I heard it's Sound Check's first time out so that's not a big deal. I do think you guys should dump the canes. I'm a believer that canes in show choir = death of a number. They're just too hard to clean and with all the twirling stuff the guys were doing they tend to get dropped on the floor or won't match up right and I think in order to beat Clinton the canes have to go. But what do I know, I'm just some snotty college kid. Fantastic show.
They call it Decatur Elite Energy now because it draws from both Eisenhower and MacArthur schools in Decatur.
Just got back from this one. Might post thoughts tomorrow but I'm super tired so I won't right now.
Interesting that Elite Energy is now comprised of both high schools. So the "EEE" tagline no longer really applies? Bummer. I'm not really sure if this is an easy fix in the SCC system- it might stay as Eisenhower HS. I guess I will look into it.
It would be great if you do have the free time in the upcoming days to type up some thoughts- would love to hear how these Illinois groups are doing!
They call it Decatur Elite Energy now because it draws from both Eisenhower and MacArthur schools in Decatur.
Just got back from this one. Might post thoughts tomorrow but I'm super tired so I won't right now.
Decatur is the city and Eisenhower is the school. Decatur Elite Energy and Eisenhower Elite Energy are the same thing. Unless you're being sarcastic, Patrick, that smiley face is a curve ball.
Decatur got 1RU, not Eisenhower
Decatur is the city and Eisenhower is the school. Decatur Elite Energy and Eisenhower Elite Energy are the same thing. Unless you're being sarcastic, Patrick, that smiley face is a curve ball.
Danville Midwest Classic (Day Two) 2013
