Thank to Monona Grove show choirs for an amazing competition. We loved the setup and everything...
Okay...My comments or stuff that I heard:
This is what I heard about top three after prelims:
Eau Claire was 1.5 points ahead of Hastings and Hastings was 10 ahead of GCS.
Milton: Love the opener and second number...very fun to watch.
GCS: Cool set. Lifts were awesome...good soloists...A very clean show.
CR Jefferson: First time I've gotten to see a group with the same choreographer as us! I personally loved the West Side Story songs.
Hastings: Amazing as usual. Vocals were absolutely mindblowing during ballad.
Ft. Atkinson: BALLAD= Massive thumbs up. Absolute best ballad of the day. Soloist-Awesome. You guys shut the whole place down! Great job.
Mayville: You guys were the ones with the waves right? Very cool visuals. I only saw your choreo but it was very cool.
Hersey- Clean choreo. Great transitions! Cool opener!
Monona Girls- COOL SHOW! I love the pirate theme goin' on and your soloists were very good for a prep group. You should be proud...you were great.
Monona Silver Connection: Like the show but it's a lot like Bloomington Kennedy's show last year (same theme) and so that kind of distracted me. You put on a vocally clean show nevertheless and the choreo was pretty good too.
Great job all. Comments on Old Abe would be greatly appreciated.
This competition was a blast. I had so much fun. What a way to start my senior season!! Thanks to all the Monona Grove kids and parents who made this experience as amazing as it was. WOOOOO I'm excited.
Wow..I think this will probably be one of the best competitions of the year!!! Everyone there seem very poised and prepared, and the level of competition was outstanding! From the show's I got to watch this is what I thought....
GCS- Everything I expected to see and much more! You guys were amazing and some of the lifts you did in the opener blew my mind..lol.....vocally I thought your sound was very rich and deep and I felt like I was listening to a concert choir rather than a show choir..great job! Your band was also amazing and I thought you were gonna win best combo but I didn't see Cedar Rapids Jefferson. I can't wait to see you later this season!
Brodhead- Favorite opener of the day!! It was very dark and mysterious, and the vocal were strong. I also I have to say that I was extremely suprised that Bohemian Rhapsody was as good as it was...I was very skeptical because I didn't think that song would translate well as a show choir piece but you proved me wrong. I think that your show will do well the rest of the season.
Old Abes- Most Improved Show Choir over the last few years!!! Just as anticipated your band was amazing, and your vocals were tight!! I didn't hear the over diction that some have critized you for in the past, it sounded just right to me. the show flowed smoothly, and your on-stage constume change was pretty amazing. You definitely were one of the top groups yesterday. Congrats and best of luck throughout the rest of the season.
Hastings- Without a doubt the most entertaining group of the day!! Everyone in the choir was completely commited to the character and story your presented throughout the show, which is definitely crucial when performing the type of show you perform. I could have listened to the ballad the entire day, the vocals were amazing!! I also have to commend you for your professionalism throughout the whole fire-alarm thing...you kept right on going with the same energy and intensity even as hundreds of people were getting up and leaving..lol..excellent job! Also another amazing band! The only thing that bothered me about your show was Bring me to life because it didn't seem to fit with the theme, however it was performed excellent! Great Job and I hope to see you later this season.
After Day Round I thought it would go like this:
LaCrosse Central
Hastings
Eau Claire
Cedar Rapids Jefferson
Hersey
Fort Atkinson
Again congrats to everyone performing at this competition, and thanks to the people at Monona Grove for running an excellent invitational. Oh, and if anyone happened to be at Mayville's show at 10:40 any comments would be greatly appreciated!
Milton, I heard the show had cleaned up some and went a good deal better this weekend, so good job! The line-up was very, very tough, but Mr Schrank was really proud of your showing. If he's proud, then so am I! Great job and now get ready for a great week heading into your workshop with Bret and competition next weekend. God Bless, Damon
I'm pretty sure there are no points in finals at Monona Grove. If I remember correctly, judges only place groups. They don't turn points into placings. Is that right?
I think the fact that GCS was earlier in the day, along with some of the other great groups that made finals, might have thrown the prelim scores off a little. All the groups that made finals were pretty spot on though. Along with the finals scores... They turned the judges scores into placings... and that went like this...
Other Awards
Best Female Soloist = CR Jeff
Best Male Soloist = Fort
Spirit Award = OASC
Best Crew = Hastings
(Correct me if any of that is wrong, I think it's right though)
The day round did go like that, Eau Claire was ahead of Hastings by a couple points (maybe two or three) and then GCS was 12 points off of first. At night, GCS received 1st place votes from every judge, I am not sure about the other scores at night. It was an interesting competition to say the least, but congratulations to all the groups. This was my first competition watching my old group compete, it was a great time!
Grand Champion- La Crosse Central
1st Runner Up- Eau Claire
2nd Runner Up- Hastings
3rd Runner Up- Cedar Rapids Jefferson
4th Runner Up- Hersey
5th Runner Up- Fort Atkinson
Best Choreography- La Crosse Central
Best Vocals- Eau Claire
Best Band- Cedar Rapids Jefferson
those are not in any order and i think ...think the other might have been cedar rapids jefferson i know parkview, milton, and mayville DIDN"T make finals
When GCS competed there in 2005 it was in a gym. In fact, to get backstage we had to go through one of the locker rooms. Assuming nothing's changed, then yes, it is a gym and not an auditorium.
Monona Grove Silver Stage Invitational 2007
I saw your show twice before comp season had even started, and it was amazing! I'm sure you're beyond amazing now. Go you!
