Tour:Smart - Martin Atkins at Avant Garden Tonight.
H-Town Rock
Missed Connections: November 2 - 5
Daily-ist Thursday: River Oaks Theater 70th Anniversary Celebration
Get sticky at Lawndale's Sugar Skull workshop
US Air Guitar Championships @ Scout Bar
Yep, folks. You read it right. Tonight, Scout Bar will hold the local round of the US Air Guitar Championships. The local winner gets a trip to the US Finals, and the US winner gets a trip to the World Championships in Finland, where the contest has been a part of the Oulu Music Video Festival in Oulu, Finland since 1996.
The first organized air guitar competition in the UK was held in 1994, in Australia in 2002, and in the United States in 2003. On-off air guitar competitions have been organized in the early 1980's in Sweden and in the United States.
We know what you must be thinking (because we are, too). "Um, how do you judge an imaginariy instrument contest?" Rules have much in common with figure skating, especially using 6.0 score system. Well, of course! Air guitar and figure skating have so much in common.
Technical merit — how much the performance looks like the real playing, including accurate reproduction of all fretwork, chords, solos and technical moves.
Stage presence — a charisma of rock star, the ability to rock, lack of stage fright and power to drive thousands of listeners; involves doing guitar moves and other emotional demonstrations.
Airness — the most subjective criterion, as "presentation" in figure skating — how much the performance was an object of art by itself, not only a simulation of playing guitar.
Wanna read all the rules? (trust us, you do.) Follow the jump.
Each participant has to play air guitar on stage in two rounds, each lasting for 1 minute.
Round 1: participant plays a pre-prepared section of the song of their own choosing.
Round 2: participant plays a section of the song chosen by an organizer or competitor; the song is not announced beforehand and kept secret until the round begins.
>>Participant plays alone
>>Backing bands, either with real or air instruments are not allowed;
>>Roadies and groupies are allowed to make up some image, but they have to leave the stage before performance.
>>Participant has to play air guitar (i.e. air drums, piano and other instruments are not allowed). Air guitar can be acoustic, electric or both. (um, OK.)
Generally, there is no dress code and participant is encouraged to use any clothing and props that would add character and make the performance more interesting. However, any real musical equipment or crew (instruments, amplifiers, effect pedals, backing band members, etc) are strictly not allowed. Some events make an exception for a real guitar pick, some don't.
Jury consists of independent judges, usually famous musicians or music critics. (We are extra curious as to these "famous musicians" they will find in Houston to judge this competition.)
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tonight, June 22nd | doors open at 8pm
Scout Bar | 18307 Egret Bay
Tickets | $5 (show Age 18+ only)
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