Tuesday, July 3, 2012

AGT: 7/2 Quarterfinal #1


And we’re kind of unexpectedly back!  I thought we may have had the week off, due to the holiday, but nope!  We had twelve acts perform, and only one was absolutely terrible, so that’s a plus, though it does make it difficult to choose who is going through.  We get four acts moving on, and I will have my predictions at the end of the recap.

The Distinguished Men of Brass had an energetic performance, but the song choice was rather bland, and seemed almost too easy.  It also seemed like they had too much non-playing time, where they were shouting in unison, which was not terribly impressive on the TV.

Edon sang his little heart out, but the production values on this show are not very good once it hits the live shows.  The background music drowned him out for a decent chunk of the song, and it wasn’t a very good rendition of Bulletproof anyway, so there’s that. 

Jarret and Raja had a fun performance from my perspective, but apparently, the live audience didn’t think so, as they booed them pretty hardcore.   It was slightly campy, but they’re magicians.  If they can’t have camp, the whole act dies in a flaming ball of fire.  The illusion was a bit small for where we are in the completion, but I hope they get to move on.

Lil Starr stomped her way through another routine.  She really is too young to be performing right now.  She needs to hone her craft, and get a bit more light on her feet if she wants to improve as a dancer.  I really think she would do well to have a story in her dance, as well.

Todd Oliver was hilarious, and should NOT listen to Howard by making his act more raunchy.  He makes his dogs talk.  That’s his act, and the jokes he culled from that were pretty funny, I thought.  He did a lot better than I expected from previous performances.  However, he does need to hone his craft a bit more, his hard consonants were not great.

American BMX Stunt Team did something I thought was impossible: they made a backflip on a bike boring.  I do think that this may have had partly to do with the terrible production values again, but I do think it was mostly the act itself.

Nikki Jensen acquitted herself well, and gave a good performance, but it wasn’t memorable, and I think she may have too many things working against her.  First, solo singers have a tough time making their acts big enough for this show, second, her version of the Coldplay song just didn’t fit with the lyrics, and third, she’s Australian.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, and her green card status was heavily promoted, but it’s just another thing stacked against her with the voting public.

The Scott Brothers, simply put, were amazing.  I loved this act so much.  Their moves were unique, their control incredible, and their story was good.  If they can step it up even more, I can see them in the finals.

Michael Nejad should never have made it out of the audition rounds, let alone out of Vegas.  This act was terrible, and that’s about all I have to say on it.

787 Crew did fine.  Their routine was proficient, but not boundary breaking.  It was almost boring, if I am to be honest, and the cameras did not do them any favors at all.  I think the camera men need to go back to film school, because the constant movement on an act that is constantly moving makes it really hard to like anything.

Shanice and Maurice Hayes are the father daughter singing duo that always seem to do “I’m glad we’re partners” songs.  It’s getting a bit shticky, if not downright cliché.  The act itself was cute, and Shanice’s performance stellar.  If they don’t get through, I’ll be very surprised.

David Garibaldi and his CKMY’s are another awesome act.  I love the ones where you can’t quite tell where they are going until they are finished.  They stepped up their game, with a painting from behind, and it was just fun to watch.  This was probably my favorite act of the night.

Should go through                          Will go through
David Garibaldi                                 David Garibaldi
The Scott Bros                                   Shanice and Maurice
Todd Oliver                                        Edon
Jarret and Raja                                  Lil Starr

Come back tomorrow for a quick recap and a count on my predictions!

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