As for the bands - they were uniformly great across the field of finalists. What great playing! I loved the big grin on the Valley drummer's face after his cymbal lightening crash - I'm not sure anyone has ever had more fun making that much noise, haha!! Perhaps what lifted Johnston's band above the others was the addition of their first rate violin soloist, which they used to great effect.
A friend showed me this comment and I wanted to say thank you so much for your kind words! I am the violinist in inno and so I really appreciate that! I'm glad you enjoyed our show.
Any word on the judge's finals rankings? I'd be very interested to see how close everyone was
Finals rankings were as follows:
Nancy Allen
1. Ankeny Centennial
2. Johnston
3. Valley
4. Iowa City West
5. Urbandale
6. Sioux City East
Anne Chapman
1. Johnston
2. Urbandale
3. Ankeny Centennial
4. Valley
5. Iowa City West
6. Sioux City East
Tom Gerking
1. Johnston
2. Valley
3. Ankeny Centennial
4. Iowa City West
5. Urbandale
6. Sioux City East
Mark Mangold
1. Johnston
2. Ankeny Centennial
3. Valley
4. Urbandale
5. Iowa City West
6. Sioux City East
Heath Weber
1. Ankeny Centennial
2. Johnston
3. Valley
4. Urbandale
5. Iowa City West
6. Sioux City East
Steve Woodin
1. Johnston
2. Ankeny Centennial
3. Urbandale
4. Valley
5. Iowa City West
6. Sioux City East
Edit: Also should share that they use straight ordinals (sum of ranks) and not consensus rankings. I don't think the outcome would have changed either way in this instance.
It was a case of apples or oranges - it all depended on the preference of the panel, do you give credit for BIG voices and a forceful show, or for the more subtle finesse work
I like this question. There are some shows that make you lean very far back in your seat because the vocals and choreography come across so strong. Then there are the shows that pull you to the edge of your seat. It's the 2nd kind of shows that are truly special, IMO. I'm definitely going to need to find a way to Iowa this year to see all of these incredible groups!
Interestingly enough - the final placements were how I ranked the groups in prelims. I thought Innovation just performed lights out in the afternoon - I was just blown away (as were others, as someone even posted an all caps compliment earlier in this thread!) so I was bit surprised that Centennial led during the day. Through no fault of their own, Centennials show didn't quite have the same impact due to the daylight that was streaming in through a row of opaque windows near the roofline in the Waukee fieldhouse.
For finals though, I couldn't decide between the two. The shows couldn't be more different - and both have aspects that could have legitimately led to their placements and captions being flipped - if not an all out sweep by either group.
What I loved about Johnston's vocals was the clear attention to interpretation they paid to each and every measure of their music. Every phrase, every bar had some sort of vocal inflection, specific bit of precise diction, thought out uniform vowel, dynamic shift, or change of vocal tone quality. That kind of work takes HOURS of tedious practice in the rehearsal room. They may not have the giant full swell of block choral sound that Centennial or Waukee posses (though they're certainly close!) in many ways, they out finesse the competition - and to do so this early in January is impressive.
Centennial does indeed have a BIG sound, and the Whitacre sections prove they can also have some finesse - but there were other parts that it seemed they were pushing a bit too much, and it bordered on shouting. For my tastes, I'd prefer to have them pull back just a bit and focus on projection - they have the goods that they don't need to force the issue so much, the show has enough impact they don't need to sacrifice anything to try to add more to that.
As far as the choreography - Johnston was clean, clean, clean, and the show breezes by almost effortlessly - amazing considering the kaleidoscope of costume changes going on (how do those ladies change so fast?!?). Centennial is so forceful and athletic - but I feel like it's a show that I want to see 2 months from now after it has settled a bit more into a groove. Yesterday, while almost overwhelming - it kind of hit like a giant 'splat' as opposed to a really focused driven show that I bet you can see from them in March and later at nationals.
It was a case of apples or oranges - it all depended on the preference of the panel, do you give credit for BIG voices and a forceful show, or for the more subtle finesse work (though Innovation still has a ton of impact as well)? I could see it going either way.
As for the bands - they were uniformly great across the field of finalists. What great playing! I loved the big grin on the Valley drummer's face after his cymbal lightening crash - I'm not sure anyone has ever had more fun making that much noise, haha!! Perhaps what lifted Johnston's band above the others was the addition of their first rate violin soloist, which they used to great effect.
This was an amazing competition. I am so very happy to see Ramification preform very well they did such a good job. Also I have heard that this was a very close competition in the top four. All of those choirs were very talented and I gotta say Johnston was one of the best shows I
I have seen this year. Centennial created a darker show that definitely without a doubt stood out along with very amazing vocals with there costumes. Ok, but valley. Valley is just straight up show choir they came with class at the beginning then there is some humor mixed with just plain fun. Urbandale- had some great song choices and were very strong as always. Any of these could have won GC and will be fantastic this year.
I would love to hear your opinions.
Just thought I'd give my thoughts after watching finals here. First off I just have to say, this was the most stacked finals I've ever witnessed, everyone was just absolutely fantastic. I have no doubt that each of these groups will do great things this season.
Sioux City East: Really fun show! Lots of energy right off the bat, everyone seemed to be truly enjoying it and seemed really sincere. They had my favorite ballad of the night, it was done so well and just hit everything perfectly. Congrats to Mr. Frasuer on a good start to the year.
Urbandale: Their show design was outstanding. I really enjoyed how they were able to convey their story without props or anything special after the first song. When the villain was controlling the people, that was just awesome and really well done, it kinda reminded me of Fantasia. The only thing I noticed that it was hard to grasp what was going on right off the bat, but after the first song I understood it and just enjoyed it. Radioactive was great. Really well done.
Iowa City West: It was kinda cool to see everyone in just normal clothes at the start, it definitely made the show stand out. Such clean choreo and vocals, everything was crisp and pointed. Really cool message they were telling about standing up to bullying, very enjoyable show.
Johnston: It's really hard to explain how near perfect they were throughout their show. The entire show was just very complete, full, and lacked no boring or iffy spots. One of the best most complete shows I've seen.
Ankeny Centennial: Wow. Simply amazing. Everything, the black lights, designing the show around the song sleep, it was all just fantastic. One of the three best live shows I have ever seen, hands down. I know how hard it is to sing sleep in the first place, but to do it throughout the show after that choreo is just amazing. I'll definitely try to see you guys again, I really hope I can.
Valley: Given the impossible task of following Centennial, I wasn't sure how it would go. But they killed it. That second song had me laughing, it was such a well disguised show. They were easily the classiest there, so much energy in every song, I have nothing but praise. I'm happy to see how well they're doing, considering I know the director's sister.
I would be very interested to see the finals scoring. Personally, the results shocked me. To me and the people I was with, there were really three pairs that were close. Iowa City West and Sioux City East, Urbandale and Valley, and Johnston and Ankeny Centennial. Personally, I thought Sioux City East was better than West, I thought Urbandale definitely had the advantage over Valley, and that Ankeny Centennial was just other-worldly and should have won easily over Johnston. I had it from last to first West, East, Valley, Urbandale, Johnston, Centennial. I believe Centennial should have definitely won. While Johnston was amazing, Centennial was just on another level from everyone else there.
I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts!
It's black lights so yes like Burbank 2012. Except the black lights are on for the entirety of enter sandman. You must see it live.
I seem to recall a time when that kind of thing would get you DQ'd in the Midwest... glad to hear things are continuing to evolve.
GC: Johnston
1RU: Ankeny Centennial
Best Vocals: Johnston
Best Choreography: Ankeny Centennial
2RU: West Des Moines Valley
3RU: Urbandale
4RU: Iowa City West
5RU: Sioux City East
From watching finals, I would PREDICT:
1st Centennial (BV, BC)
2nd Johnston
3rd Urbandale
4th Valley
5th Sioux City East
6th Iowa City West
this is the most stacked competition I've ever been too, just amazing. Everyone was just absolutely fantastic
It's black lights so yes like Burbank 2012. Except the black lights are on for the entirety of enter sandman. You must see it live.
That was amazing. Wow. SO AMAZING
Glow in the dark? Sort of like this or similar to Burbank in 2012? Sounds cool either way.
It's black lights so yes like Burbank 2012. Except the black lights are on for the entirety of enter sandman. You must see it live.
Ankeny Centennial looks awesome and I predict they will get best vocals, however I feel I may have a hard time watching choreo on a glow in the dark show choir...
Glow in the dark? Sort of like this or similar to Burbank in 2012? Sounds cool either way.