The Spirit of Phoenix!

Performance day. There are groups from all over the United States and a few from out of the country. Most of the groups are dressed in suits or tuxedos. Sometimes they have a bright pink shirt on with their tuxes, or a glittery vest. This group of Swedes were dressed as Vikings. Their performance was hilarious and when they were done performing, they jumped off the front of the stage, pushed past the judges and hollered through the audience with their swords and exited out the back. I ran into a group of them and I asked if I could take their picture. They took the camera out of my hand and wouldn't give it back to me unless I got in the picture with them. They are my new friends. There are groups ranging from about 20 men to 120 men. The larger groups have a distinct advantage for sound and volume. There are some pretty good groups and some absolutely fantastic performances. Dave's group, based on preliminary performances, could end up in the top ten. Here they are getting ready at the hotel. There is an adorable 9 year old that sings with the group and he is good. He can really hold his own against the other men. And here they are in the Sommet Center in downtown Nashville, singing their hearts out. As the evening ended, they finished in 11th place. A bit disappointing, but looking at the range of performance points, the top 5 or 6 groups were far and above everyone else. Then the next 10 or so groups were very, very close in point range (well, I don't remember all the numbers, but something like that). Still, I think they would have enjoyed a little higher rank. They've got a week to rest, then they'll start looking toward next year's competition in Anaheim.

Here is a fun YouTube video to watch. It is last year's championship chorus. It is a group from California and it is the one chorus that has an average age of 25 instead of 65. They seem to win every competition they enter.