In the spirit of collegiate sphere bouncing, the Choons have come out to play to find out who can take home the title of Champion Choonigan.
As in the hardcourt game, this will be a five on five showdown. Starting five choons from two bands face off head to head. Track one vs track one, and so on, until we get to five. One substitution is allowed in the case of a segue track or some such thing. Hope ya got a good front half of an album! Competition looks to be intense.
Let the Choonament begin!
First bracket up consist of Birth of Joy bringing their Hyper Focus going up against Elephant9 with the Greatest Show on Earth. Birth of Joy have been listed as the favorite, but one never knows what competition brings. Very different approaches should be entertaining in this organ vs organ melee. The flip of the plectrum decides that Birth of Joy holds stage first.
Round 1:
With Birth of Joy declaring that their focus is in hypermode, it’s no wonder they captured the spirit of event with the opening track “Join the Game.” An anthem for March Chooness if ever I’ve heard one. Beginning with a slow, building drone, you just know something big is gonna come outta this box. Percussion builds up and the organ kicks in. The games are afoot! The soul rising organ leads into a solid rocker. Nicely played, Birth of Joy. Excellent start.
In the other gate, Elephant9 puts “Way of Return” on display. Looks as though they are excited to be back. Ooo, much slower, more pensive start here. Sounds as if they are still planning something. Not quite the gate crasher of “Join the Game,” but a more cerebral approach. Clearly a mood setter, this one. Judges seem confused by the tactic, but seem patient…
Results:
“Join the Game” crushes it, taking the first win.
Round 2:
Switching sides, Elephant9 comes out first, this time bringing the action with “Actionpack1,” filling the arena with a great tension driver. Judges seem pleased here, with plenty of agreeable nods and favorable scores. Let’s see if Birth of Joy can match this artistry.
Oh, they bring out the title track. Opening with a smokey, driven organ riff, “Hyper Focus” states that they are not gonna play Elephant9’s game. They have their own plan. This seems complete with smack talk about Elephant9’s lack of speed. This kind of dissing creates worried looks among the panel, but they are really into the spunk. Torn, clearly.
Results:
In close scoring, Birth of Joy takes it, perhaps solely by determination. Focused, indeed. Elephant9 seems disappointed, having a lot riding on that one.
Round 3:
Birth of Joy comes out first, going for the win. “You Are Many” comes out seeming to emulate Elephant9’s own style, creating disgusted looks along the Elephant9 sidelines. Nevertheless, another solid choon, if not quite as compelling as the previous too, as noted by our panel.
“Farmer’s Secret” comes out the Elephant9 camp, organ wide awake now. Catchy, attention grabbing opening sliding into atmospheric and soaring to a raucous conglomeration of sound that appears to hypnotize the judges. “This is what I came for!”, exclaims one of the council.
Results:
Elephant9 stuns the crowd with this piece and easily takes the win, keeping their hopes alive.
Round 4:
Elephant9 starts up “Dancing With Mister E.” by laying down a nice groove and slides into some mystic organ jazz. Clearly putting some imagery out there. Oooo, then things get intense. These guys came to fight this one out! Tempo slows a bit while drums increase. Oh, drum solo! Wha?! Crowd is into it as the band makes a mad dash for the finish. Spectacular! Big hand for the elephant in the room.
Birth of Joy uses their substitution for “i” to bring in “Riff Raff.” More of that charged organ. Fantastic sound. Tossing in some more reverbed vocals this time around. Toe tapping going on in the crowd as the band makes their statement about not appreciating being hassled by some “Jeckyl and Hyde”. Might not get the response they were hopin’ for here. Let’s see.
Results:
Elephant9 wins again to tie things up! One more choon each for a chance at victory. Tension here is unreal!
Round 5:
For their closing, Birth of Joy brings out “Forenoon,” firing up that organ once more. Guitar comes in with slow, low wail, leading into a mid-tempo choon. Laden with effects, including vocals, this choon carries itself well, pausing only to allow the guitar to lay down some atmosphere. Vocals tricky here. There may have been a pair of newlyweds drowned and then discovered in the morning. Not sure, but surely a bad day. Dark tale, this one, but a great groove.
Elephant9 steps up with their final chance to impress with “Mystery Blend.” Feels like a melancholy beginning, almost as if they are playing off of “Forenoon.” Are they carrying on the story? Could certainly be accused of playing off of the emotion of the previous choon. What a turn of events! I can feel the sadness for the couple as they lay motionless in the morning sun, and I feel frustratingly helpless with their situation. Wow! Have never seen this before! They have Blended the Mystery with precision. This could be just the clever turn they need to steal victory from Birth of Joy. Let’s check the scores and see what turns out.
Results:
They have done it! Oh my goodnight, they have done it! Elephant9 takes an upset win with that clever turn on a competitor’s song. Unbelieveble! With 3 wins out of 5, they have come back after losing the first two to claim victory in this semi-final round. Now they can look forward to taking on the winner between Black Moth and JIRM.
Birth of Joy looks devastated. Appeared to have almost clinched it, but just got edged out in the end. Heart breaking defeat.
Coming up later will be Black Moth vs JIRM in the other semi-final. If it’s like this one, I’m not sure if I can handle it. Whew!
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