--- In bbshop@yahoogroups.com, "ektenor" <ericandcheriking@...> wrote:
> As someone not in Nashville, I would really enjoy hearing more
about the things everyone liked... rather than the things you didn't
like.

Eric,

Thanks for the great comments and suggestion. We're sitting here
discussing our favorite moments from the last few days, and have a
few things to contribute.

Great Moments in Nashville (as of Friday morning) as seen by The
McAlexanders (or "them calexanders" as Joaner calls us):

THE NEW HEADQUARTERS BUILDING

Wow! You gotta sing a tag after you walk through the iron "lyre
logo" gate. This little space right in front of the main door is
designed to be "tag heaven," and it is. We even managed to grab
Lorin May away from his camera for a minute to sing a tag. (He sings
lead, but woodshedded a pretty good baritone with us!) The spiral
staircase, pictures, and murals are all really cool, and the layout
of the office areas has the shape of a barber pole. (The walls are
set at a diagonal, so if you looked at it from the air with an
infrared camera, you'd see the shape of a barber pole.) The picture
of Lunch Break on Drew Ellis' desk is nice, but much smaller than
expected considering the size of the one in the Harmonizer. (Private
joke -- Love ya', Drew! Brad, bass, The Edge. See Jan-Feb 2008
Harmonizer.) Boxes of music line the shelves in the Old Songs
library, as do rows of videos in the archives. In the conference
room, large portraits of O.C. and Rupert stare down from the wall to
keep everyone in line when making those important decisions that
influence the future of the Society. As you walk up to the building
from the north, the bigger-than-life painting of Norman Rockwell's
quartet on the outside wall provides a colorful greeting.

THE DIXIELAND BAND

While the kids and Ann's mom hung out at the hotel, Brad and Ann
actually had a night out "on the town" -- A great dinner at a West
End brew pub. (The Blackstone Brewery for those of you in Nashville
who might like to try it. Fish and chips are their specialty and are
really good.) After dinner we headed down to the Rennaissance (in
the courtesy shuttle provided by the Marriott Vanderbilt - a very
nice touch) to see friend Ev and his dixieland band play a few. We
arrived about halfway through their set, and, in our fourties, were
some of the youngest in the room, which made it even more fun, to
observe how our "barbershop elders" hang out and have fun at
internationals. The band was REALLY good. Check out the Tuesday
daily bulletin (link available on the BHS web site) for a list of
members, plus add Brad (Spencer?) on banjo. It was one big sing-
along, with all the old favorites. We just wished they'd played for
another hour.

AMERICAN HARMONY - THE MOVIE

We all assembled in the arena at 9:00am (see description of Lunch
Break's performance below ... We were slow, slow, slow, slow, very
slow, slow, slow ... after the night before). The movie is very
entertaining, and very well done. Lots of things that made the whole
crowd laugh. Great anthology of a quartet as we watch Max Q's
ongoing frustration through their contest journey, leading up to
their ultimate triumph. Great interviews of people well known to
many barbershoppers, along with those of people only a few will
recognize. It was interesting the way the emphasis at the beginning
was on the traditions of barbershop, featuring more of the older
members and the old songs, then subtlely shifts to the youth movement
and the up-and-coming stars. There were even a few "in their own
home" scenes which were fun to see, to give us a all glimpse of some
of our beloved barbershoppers' real lives. Oh, and for those who
stayed for the credits, the answer is Four Statesmen. (Yeah, he had
to look it up!)

THE QUARTER-FINALS ROUND

Hot Shots - The new FRED (uproarious humor, subtlely executed)

One of the funniest things we've ever seen in our barbershop lives
was Hot Shots' "We are not a quartet, we're just four chorus guys on
the risers" set. Picture a single section of chorus risers, with one
guy in the front row and one on each step, staggered. (That is,
until they "column up down the tiles" to do some of their moves.)
They were dressed in traditional black tuxes with shiny red vests and
bow ties. How many of you have sung in a chorus contest dressed like
that? How many of you haven't? (Probably not too many!) As they
sang (quite well, especially impressive considering how far spread
apart they were on the risers, and the fact that Andrew, the lead,
was up on the second riser step) they ARE four guys on the risers.
Their hands gestured in that well-practiced, "we're stiff, but by
gosh we're all doing it at the same time" choreo style. They did
ripples from one side to another, and even up the risers from the
front. When one guy missed a move, he just kind of tried to slip it
in a little late, and we all noticed. (Exactly the effect they were
going for.) The front row guy ran forward in the dramatic, overdone
longing-yearning-body-angle-and-style we all used to think worked so
well. Every little nuance of their performance screamed, "My chorus
has done that! Oh, my gosh, how did they know? Did we really look
that silly?" I (Ann) laughed so hard I cried, and I felt so sorry
for the lady ahead of me who had to listen to my guffaws! I noticed
a couple songs later she'd moved over a seat ... I wonder why?

Lunch Break - The New Freestyle (madcap, in-your-face humor)

Four guys sitting around the breakfast table after too much partying
the night before. (Sunday morning at district convention?) Lots of
funny, funny lines and sight gags. Finally Drew plummets off his
chair to the floor at the end of the song. For song two, they pep up
and pull out their boxes of Lucky Charms ("Magically Delicious!"),
and cereal bowls, one by one. Drew's, Mike's, and Eddie's boxes and
bowls are standard sized. Shane's were super-sized. (I kept
thinking of Goldilocks looking at that bowl, saying, "This one's
TOOOO big!") They pour the cereal into the bowl, and Shane keeps
pouring, and pouring, and pouring, and it overflows, and pouring, and
pouring ... Finally they get him to stop. Then he starts shoveling
food toward (sometimes actually in) his mouth. A little, "ewww,
gross!" but very, very funny.

OC Times - They have the whole package

Wow, wow, and wow. This group is the best overall unit we see all
day. They look, act, and sing like one well-orchestrated wave of
energy. They're smooth yet bitey, powerful, rolling and driving with
loads of forward momentum, and full of ringing chords. They seem to
be on the top of the pack after the first day, although several other
excellent performances ensure that the door's still being kept open.

Old School - Honoring the past with a twinkle in their eyes

The whole package was great, but especially the first song. There
wasn't a detail missed here. They sang the old songs, complete with
the old interp, in a chord-worshipping, hall-ringing blast of power.
This was the barbershop we'd all grown up hearing and loving, with
proof that it still could bring a crowd to its feet, wildly cheering
and applauding. We hung on and strained forward on each milked
chord. We threw our heads back as the chords rang into the rafters.
We chuckled as Jack executed the very familiar and musically lovely
baritone tiddly. It was just an absolutely stunning performance, and
an interesting contrast to the style of OC Times, powerful proof that
there are many ways to "do" great barbershop, and they all can be
equally moving and respectful of the craft.

Redline - Wow, we've missed that lead voice on competition stage!

The new sound of the former Flipside with Chris Vaughn on lead is, in
a word, unbelievable. What a difference one voice can make. They
were really, really good before, and now their sound is absolutely
stratospheric. They'll be near the top if they keep singing like
this through all three rounds, or maybe even higher.

Ringmasters (SNOBS) - The Swedish Invasion

These four young guys are competing in both the regular and college
contests, one of three quartets doing so this week. Placement-wise,
they're the best affiliate quartet in 17 years. Performance-wise,
thanks to the raising of the bar over the years, they're probably the
best affiliate quartet ever. Loved their clean, exciting, almost
giddy sound. They tried and succeeded on two (and later two more)
really difficult songs. And they were absolutely adorable to look
at, kind of like the Beatles when they first broke onto the British
music scene. (Ann added that one!) They reminded us of The Growing
Girls when they first hit the international Sweet Adelines scene --
young, attractive, very energetic, and extremely skillful and musical.

Men In Black - We all had so much fun with Honey Bun

Honey Bun is a song we never expected to hear on the contest stage,
but we did, and it was really, really fun (and done very well). How
Oliver could become Hunny Bun, giving us the essence of her curly
hair and twirly and whirly hips without being too girly-man about it,
was a clear indication of his talent as an entertainer. And the unit
sound these guys produced was remarkable. They've truly come of
age. We're just disappointed they didn't make the ten, although at
least we get to hear them one more time as mic testers for the finals.

Storm Front - That front keeps rollin' rollin' rollin'

They opened with a repeat of last year's performance of "Don't Fence
Me In," but with some fun new twists. Their parody of "Ballin' the
Jack," about the champs all coming back into competition, was clever
and all-out fun.

We're off to the chorus contest ... More later tonight about round
two.

Brad, Ann, and Patrick McAlexander
The Edge Quartet (CAR)
Timeless Quartet (CAR)
Circle City Sound (CAR)
Capital City Chorus (SAI R4)