A sold out crowd at the World Cafe Live was rocking on Saturday night, as JGT turned it up to 11 and the Kenny Gates Trio rocked the house. In the end, the Sofa Kingdom stood alone as King of the Dorks, and the Champs dreams of a three-peat were dashed.
It was a night that had it all: devastating drum solos, major surprises, half naked women, a half naked quizmaster, and of course controversy. The night began with Alexis Brie Wildau performing on the ukelele. The crowd was a little skeptical at first, but warmed to her peformance when she kicked into Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer”. She was followed by One Man Show David Smith, who played guitar while performing the human pretzel. (If the human pretzel is indeed something that is “performed”.)
Finally it was time for JGT to take the stage. Despite assurances that I would not be rapping, I surprised everyone by opening the show with some totally ill hip-hop. With the Bears in the Super Bowl, it was obvious what song I had to rap: The Quizzo Bowl Shuffle. It was then time for the actual contest to begin.
There were 37 teams, and 6 of them emerged from the first round unscathed. My dad’s team was in last after one round. But they rebounded strongly acing round number 2, the 50/50 round (Chicago or Indy). The Satan’s MInions were the only team to make it thru two rounds without missing a question, and they held a narrow 37-36 lead over MAGMA after two.
Halftime saw the emegence of the Hellcat Girls (They were the same as the Bawdy Girls I had been promoting, but they just wanted me to announce them by a different name). The reaction to their performance was mixed, as I believe they usually play in wilder, rowdier venues. I didn’t see any of it, as I was preparing for my song and dance number. When they were done, I emerged from the back wearing a lacy tux, but it didn’t stay on long. Though I only performed Flashdance for about 2 minutes, the performance was enough to firmly establish me as one of Philly’s most talented singers and dancers. Again, I hope to have video tommorrow.
The Champs had struggled through two rounds, but made their move in Round Three, as they were the only team to ace the Sexy and Risque Wild Card Round. But even a perfect round only put them in 2nd, behind the shocking leaders after three: Barbaro’s S & M: Beating a Dead Horse, a team led by Trivia Art and Smackdown. After another incredible jam session by the Kenny Gates Trio, it was on to the Impossible Round, a round marked by controversy, finger pointing, and the emergence of a new champion.
The 4th Round had it all: A minor scoring snafu, accusations of possible cheating, an icy staredown between MAGMA and the Sofa Kingdom, and a questionable question. The scoring snafu was cleared up rather quickly, the accusations proved false, and a MAGMA-Sofa Kingdom rivalry can only be good for the sport. As for the questionable question, well it will be discussed and yelled about for weeks to come. The question in question: “What four word message did the Wicked Witch skywrite in the Wizard of Oz?” The answer I was looking for was “Surrender Dorothy or Die”. However, though that was the original message shot for the movie, it was edited out before the movie was released, thus turning that bit of info from trivia to minutiae. The answer stood as called (It wasn’t questioned until two days later), and the Sofa Kingdom emerged with a 128-124 win over Lamda Lamda Lamda (below)***
MAGMA finished 3rd with 122, and the Champs tied the Satan’s Minions for 4th with 120. FU Jobu (below) finished last with a 65, and took home a sweet last place prize. Of course, Johnny specifically instructed them that they could not place it under any bridges. I hope to have everyone’s scores posted ASAP, and will have a lot more photos posted soon as well.
*** In case you were wondering, that question would not have made a difference in the winner. The Sofa Kingdom would have won regardless. Had the Ethics Committee changed the final answer, it would have affected 2nd.