Portland, Oregon hosted this year's 2015 US Air Guitar Nationals weekend, which, by tradition, kicked off with the Dark Horse competition. This gathering of the "best of the rest" - people who didn't qualify through to the National Finals but still impressed on their journey there - is always really family-reunion night, a secret show that isn't publicized (so as not to take away attendance from the big show), where we can do the in-jokey things we might opt not to do on the more public stage since it's really for each other. Most years, it's the most fun night of the weekend. But while that happens, the serious contenders (and the less-likely-to-succeed crowd who are still committed to doing as well as they can) are doing their best and fighting for the last few spots in the Finals. Or, rather, the first few spots; dark horses always go first on the national stage. Either way, it's a lot of talent on a small stage, interspersed with untalented fools like yours truly to whom someone charitably gave another shot.
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recaps,
dark horse,
2015 season
The last semifinal/Conference Final of the 2015 US Air Guitar season was the Eastern Conference Final, in New York. I had the immense good fortune of competing in it, so a few of my memories are a blur due to being immediately before or after my turn. But we'll do what we can.
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Tags:
recaps,
dark horse,
2015 season
I know this post is super late. There's been a LOT going on, you guys. But let's start at the beginning: Thursday night in Kansas City, the US Air Guitar Dark Horse competition went down, with the largest number of competitors in history - 31! We took over Missie B's, Kansas City's premier gay club, and I do say "we"... I got a last-minute invitation while sitting in a barbecue restaurant earlier that day. So that was a little nuts. In fact the entire evening was a little nuts. Nuts were perhaps the only foodstuff that didn't end up all over the stage. I'm getting ahead of myself.
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Tags:
recaps,
dark horse,
2014 season
I know this post is super late. There's been a LOT going on, you guys. But let's start at the beginning: Thursday night in Kansas City, the US Air Guitar Dark Horse competition went down, with the largest number of competitors in history - 31! We took over Missie B's, Kansas City's premier gay club, and I do say "we"... I got a last-minute invitation while sitting in a barbecue restaurant earlier that day. So that was a little nuts. In fact the entire evening was a little nuts. Nuts were perhaps the only foodstuff that didn't end up all over the stage. I'm getting ahead of myself.
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Tags:
kansas city,
dark horse,
2014 season
Brace yourself, Kansas City. In one week's time, the lunacy begins.
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Tags:
dark horse,
nationals,
2014 season
Brace yourself, Kansas City. In one week's time, the lunacy begins.
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Tags:
dark horse,
nationals,
2014 season
It's what you might call "Dark Horse season" - the season where we're bearing down on the big US Air Guitar Nationals weekend, and everyone who hasn't already qualified for the national finals is itching to know whether they were invited to the Dark Horse invitational competition. For the uninitiated, this is a "best of the rest" type thing, where people who didn't already win their way into the finals to get another shot - the top 3 or 5 air guitarists at the Dark Horse then get into the finals. The competitors are selected by the USAG brass, based on their performances this year.
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Tags:
analysis,
dark horse
It's what you might call "Dark Horse season" - the season where we're bearing down on the big US Air Guitar Nationals weekend, and everyone who hasn't already qualified for the national finals is itching to know whether they were invited to the Dark Horse invitational competition. For the uninitiated, this is a "best of the rest" type thing, where people who didn't already win their way into the finals to get another shot - the top 3 or 5 air guitarists at the Dark Horse then get into the finals. The competitors are selected by the USAG brass, based on their performances this year.
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Tags:
analysis,
dark horse
Last time, I talked about this year's big format changes to US Air Guitar competitions and what that might mean for next year. This time, I'd like to talk about... everything else. What to look for in competition, trends I saw emerging, and of course, the future.
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Tags:
semi-finals,
qualifiers,
2013 season,,
analysis,
dark horse,
nationals
The 2013 Air Guitar season has ended, and we are all (mostly) recovered. What better time, then, to reflect on the season that was? There were some big changes this year, and they affected the way the competitions shook out. Some of those changes are even going to affect next year's competitions. What is next year going to be like? And how did this year's performances set the tone for next time around?
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Tags:
semi-finals,
qualifiers,
analysis,
dark horse,
nationals
