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May. 13th, 2005 @ 11:44 am And I'm here...
Current Mood: cheerful
IRELAND
After pushing several women and children out of the way (only joking) and getting the taxi driver to ovetake on the inside (not joking), I made it in time to catch the Irish rehearsal which thankfully ran late. We now havea rather bizarre hyrib choreography of the You're A Star performance and the Late Late show version. The same pretty girls from the LLS are still doing the dancing (including the awful bit where there bow down in front of Joe) but now at the break they have reverted to the Irish dancing, but not involving Donna & Joe, who disappear backstage. It's obvious from the press conference that the routine has cauased much thinking and rethinking, and they now feel they have the right mix. I'm not so sure. It reminds me of a kiddie disco and not in a good way. I got to ask a couple of questions at the Press Conference. While Donna & Joe would obviously like to give Ireland its 8th win, they would consider a Top 10 result a success. Apparently thir costumes on Thursday will be "young and funky" (which hopefully means the end of the shawl!!). A lot of people here see this making the final, but I see nothing so far to change my mind that it might be bottom 5. I hope that I'm wrong.

SLOVENIA

Oh dear, this has gone badly wrong somewhere. Omar looked uncomfortable like the little schoolboy who forgot to bring his homework in, all alone on stage with one backing singer off on side stage He's having to scream to be heard over the backing. There are some additional orchestral bits not on the CD version, but this is another semi-final loser for me. Omar is getting some tough questioning from Andy from Kazakhstan on why the song was re-arranged, and others are giving a grilling on why the song is not in English, which brings me to.....

ISRAEL
After starting in Hebrew, the song now switches to English about half way through. The English lyrics are great, Shiri looks stunning with 3 backing singers, guitarist and pianist on stage and there are lots of close ups. I didn't think that this would qualify, but I'm not having to re-think.

The stage looks stunning. The auditorium is like a giant school gym. I've met tons of familiar faces.
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May. 13th, 2005 @ 12:12 pm Romania Rehearsal May 13th 2005
Morning! After a great night in the Euroclub it was back to rehearsals this morning and first up was Romania. Sistem had about 15 yellow drums/barrels on stage so that took a while to setup on stage. The background video looks like black and white target disks on a red background. The same is shown on the background fins and the funnels on stage are all extended.

Luminita's vocals were good. During the instrumental part of the song she also start banging on the drums and as the song progresses all of the members of Sistem come forward with various drums, cymbals one even having drums on his feet! Overall, this was a good reearsal but it did look a bit too busy on stage. There was a lot going on, maybe too much. At the press conference afterwards they were not happy as they were not able to use any pyrotechnics on stage. Tthis was their principal complaint.

So, a good performance but a little too busy. Not sure how this will fare in the semi. I'll just have to wait and see!
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May. 13th, 2005 @ 12:24 pm Hungary Rehearsal May 13th 2005
Ok, After the previews, Hungary was seen by many as one of the favourites for the Eurovision title this year . The video had been excellent but how would this translate to the Eurovision stage?

First of all, after Romania, the drums had to be taken off and then the cleaners had to come on to clean the stage which gave us a slightly comical image of two cleaners mopping the stage as Hungary did their sound check!

Slowly moving stars was the order of the day for the video element of the staging for Hungary along with what looked like an orange flowing sheet!(I kid you not). Red and purple were the other main colours on stage.

Szilvia's vocals were very strong. Five male dancers onstage including the main one from the preview video. the song starts off with him dancing before the others join in and Szilvia then starts singing. She also dances herself for part of the song so she is not static onstage all of the time.

The main feeling at the end of this rehearsal was that it was not as strong onstage as it was in the video so it may not do as well as some expect. However, it was just the first rehearsal so a lot could happen before the night of the semi final. However, a little disappointing (for me anyway).


Peter
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May. 13th, 2005 @ 12:37 pm Finland Rehearsal May 13th 2005
After two energetic rehearsals from Romania and Norway, things quietened down a little with Finland.

His costume looks like it will be a white suit. Lots if flowing light in the video elements and there is a flying dove of peace in two of the cylinders. 5 backing singers with Geir onstage who do quite a lot of walking beside him , in front if him, around him! For one rehearsal, dry ice was pumped on but not sure if they will use it in the semi as the whole stage had to be mopped up again after it was used! We'll have to wait and see. The vocals here were excellent both from geir and his backing singers, well performed.

Finland should be happy with rehearsal one.


Peter
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May. 13th, 2005 @ 12:45 pm (FYR) Macedonia rehearsal May 13th 2005
macedonia was next on and the last rehearsal before a coffee break!

Martin looks like he will be wearing a salmon pink suit for the semi final.

We have floating flower effects in the video elements this time, various colours with puple being the main colour of the stage background. 2 drums are on the cylinder on the right side of the stage. There are 3 backing dancers and 2 backing singers.During the instrumental part, martin goes over and bangs on his drums before coming back centre stage to finish singing the song.

The only strange part of this rehearsal was that Martin sang all the low notes, He didn't sing any of the high ones but his backing singer did. What I don;t know is whether he did this to rest his voice or because he can't reach them!!!

An OK rehearsal this one I think.


Peter
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May. 13th, 2005 @ 01:12 pm (no subject)
Sorry there has been no reports from me yesterday and today.
I did write some stuff yesterday and today but my clock appears to have caused an error in sending it to the journal.

Thankfully Peter has managed to cover all proceedings yesterday and this morning.


I agree that Romania and Hungary came across well.

Finland was a lot better than I expected and Finally Macedonia was a bit too messy for me.
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May. 13th, 2005 @ 03:35 pm Andorra Rehearsal May 13th 2005
OK, after a short break back to the next batch of rehearsals.

Andorra was next on stage.

The video elements consist of slowly falling coloured leaves. All of the funnells are compressed into floating cylinders for this one.

Now Andorra was a very theatrical performance. Marian is joined onstage by 2 male backing dancers and 3 female backing singers one of which is the 1995 2nd placed Spanish singer Anabel Conde!

There are 4 large black fans made of feathers used as props during the performance. At one stage they are joined to Marians back to give the impression that she has wings! I'm sure there is a message there somewhere:))

Marian's vocal was really strong with a very wide vocal range, while the vocals from the backing singers were a little ropey at the start but improved with each rehearsal.

this improved in my estimation from the preview but I honestly have no idea if it will get Andorra into the final. A lot of thought has gone into the presentation but it may look a little messy unless they get all the camera angles right!

Peter
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May. 13th, 2005 @ 03:43 pm Switzerland rehearsal May 13th 2005
Now Switzerland was another rehearsal that was eagerly awaited by many.

Fire and water could be the theme for this one. The background consists of flowing water video. At the start of the song the funnels are all extended and they compress together as the song progreses. The cylinders on the stage start off black with a 'zebra like' tiger running on the black background. The song is apparently based on a tiger so that must be the link. Then , as soon as the first chorus begins, the black background is replaced with a bright flame effect. New golden spot lights appeared on stage for the first time for this song. The tiger effect is also on the background fins.

The four members of Vanilla Ninja are onstage along with a male drummer and male guitarist/backing singer. As the song builds the revolving mirrors come into play in the background adding to the stage setting. I was waiting to see how the vocals were. The lead singer was very good but the backing was a little iffy at the start but this did get better after each rehearsal.

Overall, this was a very good rehearsal for Switzerland. They will definitely have a better result than last year (but that would not be difficult). In my opinion, this is a definite one to watch in the final skakeup.


Peter
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May. 13th, 2005 @ 03:53 pm Croatia rehearsal May 13th 2005
Croatia next.

Costumewise, I saw a black suit and a white dress. I assume Boris will wear the suit but stranger things have happened in Eurovision! :))

The 3 female backing singers (Lado members) are onstage along with a pipes player and a drummer with 2 drums and a waist drum. Lots of clouds in the Croation set of purple, blue and green. The funnels have gold lighting and there is a blue border on the cylinders.

Now this was a very good rehearsal except for one thing - The drummer! He acts onstage a little like last year's Estonian drummer except not as frightening!! However, the performance is very stylish until the last 20 seconds or so when the drummer decides to start doing a handstand and walking on his hands across the stage which, to me, just looked like a cheap gimmick and really detracted from the overall visual presentation of the song.

Hopefully, they will drop this but I'll have to wait to see if they do at their next rehearsal.


Peter
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May. 13th, 2005 @ 06:30 pm Ireland rehearsal May 13th 2005
ok. It took longer to write up the last batch of rehearsals that I missed Bulgaria!! Andrew was there so hopefully he'll write his review later.

Ireland next. Being an Irishman, I was personally dreading this after the disastrous performance on the Irish Late Late Show alast weekend.
There is a red pulsing light on the cylinders looking a little like a red ambulance siren. the funnels are compressed into cylinders, Lots of purple on stage also and as the song build those revolving mirrors are back! And some patriotic green spotlights appear as well!

It looks like Donna and Joe will be dressed in black. (hope that does not symbolise anything!)

Four female backing singers/dancers on stage with radio mics while Donna and Joe use hand mics. The Irish dancing is back! But Donna and Joe don't dance like in You're a Star.

Overall, this was a pretty good rehearsal. After last weekends performance I did not give Ireland a hope of qualifying for the final but, after today, I think Ireland has a small chance of getting through.

I know Keith will disagree about my interpretation of the rehearsal but that's democracy!!!


Peter
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May. 13th, 2005 @ 06:39 pm Slovenia Rehearsal May 13th 2005
Lots of blue storm clouds make up the video elements of the Slovenian entry at the start of the song. Just 2 people on stage, Omar and one female operatic backing singer. There is a siver globe high in the background at the start of the song which rises into oblivion as the song progresses and silver light on the cylinders.

Near the end of the song when the rock element gets stronger, all of the blue storm clouds change to fiery red and then change back to blue for the softer end of the song.

Omar's vocal was definitely ropey during this rehearsal. He didn't get through one full run of the song without a vocal problem but, at the Slovenian press conference, he said that he was ill but hoped to be ok for the semi final.


Peter
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May. 13th, 2005 @ 06:46 pm And I'm here
And I'm here...
IRELAND
After pushing several women and children out of the way (only joking) and getting the taxi driver to ovetake on the inside (not joking), I made it in time to catch the Irish rehearsal which thankfully ran late. We now havea rather bizarre hyrib choreography of the You're A Star performance and the Late Late show version. The same pretty girls from the LLS are still doing the dancing (including the awful bit where there bow down in front of Joe) but now at the break they have reverted to the Irish dancing, but not involving Donna & Joe, who disappear backstage. It's obvious from the press conference that the routine has cauased much thinking and rethinking, and they now feel they have the right mix. I'm not so sure. It reminds me of a kiddie disco and not in a good way. I got to ask a couple of questions at the Press Conference. While Donna & Joe would obviously like to give Ireland its 8th win, they would consider a Top 10 result a success. Apparently thir costumes on Thursday will be "young and funky" (which hopefully means the end of the shawl!!). A lot of people here see this making the final, but I see nothing so far to change my mind that it might be bottom 5. I hope that I'm wrong.

SLOVENIA

Oh dear, this has gone badly wrong somewhere. Omar looked uncomfortable like the little schoolboy who forgot to bring his homework in, all alone on stage with one backing singer off on side stage He's having to scream to be heard over the backing. There are some additional orchestral bits not on the CD version, but this is another semi-final loser for me. Omar is getting some tough questioning from Andy from Kazakhstan on why the song was re-arranged, and others are giving a grilling on why the song is not in English, which brings me to.....

ISRAEL
After starting in Hebrew, the song now switches to English about half way through. The English lyrics are great, Shiri looks stunning with 3 backing singers, guitarist and pianist on stage and there are lots of close ups. I didn't think that this would qualify, but I'm not having to re-think.

The stage looks stunning. The auditorium is like a giant school gym. I've met tons of familiar faces.
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May. 13th, 2005 @ 06:49 pm Israel Rehearsal May 13th 2005
Israel next!

Six on stage. Lead singer, man on piano, man with guitar on stool and 3 female backing singers. A very classy performance here. Green and gold background.

The main difference from the preview performance is that it is sung half in Hebrew, then the other half in English. Mixed reaction to this in the hall.

Shiri's vocals were very good so a very competent rehearsal from Israel.
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May. 13th, 2005 @ 07:33 pm (no subject)
Ok well as promised by Peter i was at the Bulgarian rehearsal. I will quickly run through all the rehearsals though
which Peter and now Kieth(congratulations Kieth on getting here in record time) have already commented on.

Andorra was first on after lunch and came across really quite well to me. Annabell Conde is singing one of the backing vocals
and I also recognised one of the male dancers from last year too(dont ask).
Nice voval and arrangement.

Switzerland next was one of my pre contest favourites and I found their rehearsal to be really fantastic. Very powerful
performance and good vocal harmonies within the group.

Croatia rehearsal was also a good show. Nice is an understatement.

Onto Bulgaria which Peter missed. I would love to say this has went up in my estimations as it was one of my favourites
for the bottom spot. But sadly i cannot. Dull Dull Dull Dull Dull. Everyone is too static on the stage. There is no life anywhere
and even the lighting does nothing for this song. If Bulgaria finish above the bottom 3 in the semi then I will be shocked.

Ireland I know has been slated in many quarters in the past weeks and i was no exception. First time I heard it I hated it with
a passion. When I saw the new routine on tv the other week I groaned with severe pain.
So I wasnt expecting anything from todays rehearsal and watched it ready to be honest with my thoughts on what is a journal for
an Irish website. The rehearsal today remarkably surprised me. I still dislike the song but they have improved the routine and I
am glad the Irish dancing is back in. Joe seems a little awkward at times on the stage whereas Donna is much more smooth in her
performance. But overall it came across to me as an adequate performance and may scrape into the final but thats about all.

Slovenia was actually sung really well despite Omar feeling unwell today. His female backing is superb and clearly a classical
singer, which she confirmed later at the press conference.Great lighting throughout too.

Denmark didnt appear today so no comments there.

Currently watching the Isreali press conference which had a few too many political related questions for my liking.
Please keep politics out of Eurovision please.

Only Poland left today which i hope to catch before getting freshened up for dinner and Euroclub later.

Shalom
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May. 13th, 2005 @ 08:53 pm You nailed me to the floor with just one look...
After a beer break to keep me going (well I was up at 4am) I have seen the rehearsals of Poland and Denmark (in that order).

POLAND : The main focus here is on the not unattractive male singer, who sings, dances and does his fair share of gymnastics. He is supported by two black haired girls (ie the title of the song), who flap about a lot and have some of the best frocks on offer this year, There's also a female accordianists and the other 2/3rds of Ivan & Delfin. Not I have to say that I'm not a great fan of this song and it gets FAR too repiticious for the last minute, but given its great draw and the fact that its going to hoover votes up from all the old Warsaw Block countries, it would be a fool who would write this one off. A real contender for the final!

DENMARK : This was delayed becuse because the Danes apparently had problems getting here. Jacob is supported on stage by four male backing singers, who must obviously have great voices, because they certainly wern't chosen for their looks. Jacob performs the song well but while I really like the songs it sort of shuffles its way aimless for 3 minutes and this has shades of Norway from last year (the song that came last in the final).

The Polish press conference is about to begin, and I'm not going to cover the pres conferences unless there's something really special going on. The official suite is doing a great job on the P.C's.

Tomorrow we start at 11am local time (9am Irish Time). I will add a blog on my general thoughts on Kyiv and the stage etc, before the first song. After that I hope to get to give my opinions on every song and rate each ones chances of qualifying. The problem ios that the trip from the arena to the press centre is about 10 minutes + 2 security checks + 5 flights of stairs.

By the way, keep the comments coming,. If there's anything you'd like to ask, we'll do our best to answer.
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