BoddaH1994 Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 I hated the Bandstand for so many years. Who in their right mind would stand out in the blazing heat on blacktop to watch the park’s “B” show? A lot has changed over the past 5 years, though. Since Winterfest was re-re-introduced in 2017, the Bandstand has seemed to be revitalized. The truss work that was necessary for the Christmas shows has become a permanent fixture allowing for things such as complex lighting, video screens, and more. Oh, and the stage got a huge expansion just two years ago. The bandstand has become sort of a town square for a relaxing night of entertainment away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the park. It’s now such an awesome venue to see shows after the sun begins to set. Every year for the past several years there has been essentially the same formula for the shows: live band, singer, dancers… today’s hits. It worked. This year seems to have something special to it. It literally has something for everyone! There’s modern music, there’s 90s music, there are TV themes, heck there’s even a viral song and dance number from TikTok! All of these are amplified by the fact that we have sort of a “best of” cast with some familiar faces we haven’t seen in years, more than likely because some of their endeavors are still on pause from the pandemic. Of course there is the River City Band. What can I say? You’d think it was a recorded track with how tight they are, but it just goes to show that a live band is always superior to music that is in the can. The app lists the current showtimes at 6:00 and 7:00, although as we were leaving they kicked off an 8:00 show too. The Bandstand isn’t fun until the sun goes down, so the later show that you can see, the better. I would highly recommend giving this one a try. As with all shows, it checks the one box that matters above all else: it’s just plain fun to watch. Have you seen the show? What are your thoughts? If you would have done things differently, what would you have done? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malem Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 I'm really liking the changes to the bandstand lighting effects since last season (when most of the current effects were new). It's going to look great when night-time shows can happen. I caught most of the 8:00 Center Stage Live show on my way out of the park last night, and I was impressed. The band sounded great, and the large set of dancers kept the crowd engaged. It's nice to see more elaborate shows taking place on the bandstand. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver2005 Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 The members of the RCB are about as pro as you can get. I know one of the trumpet players (who essentially put the band together), and he's played occasionally with the Cincinnati Pops, including solo work with Aretha Franklin when she performed with them a while back. He also works with the UC Band. He's one of the best trumpet players you'll see perform live. Wouldn't expect anything less. Looking forward to hearing them on my next visit. Also, I would LOVE to perform with them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiian Coasters 325 Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 3 minutes ago, silver2005 said: The members of the RCB are about as pro as you can get. I know one of the trumpet players (who essentially put the band together), and he's played occasionally with the Cincinnati Pops, including solo work with Aretha Franklin when she performed with them a while back. He also works with the UC Band. He's one of the best trumpet players you'll see perform live. Wouldn't expect anything less. Looking forward to hearing them on my next visit. Also, I would LOVE to perform with them. Yeah! They are also really nice people! Especially the drummer Billy and his wife Flor who is the percussionist and also sings sometimes. I befriended Billy on FB over the 2019/2020 off-season. I always try to say hello and chat with him whenever I can. You can also tell he likes talking to people who also play drums (like I do myself). I talked to him a little bit today after I was done with my shift at tower and told him that he has the best job in the park. Trust me, I would die to be able to perform on that stage on drums someday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted May 31, 2021 Author Share Posted May 31, 2021 One thing I have liked for several years is how right when the crowd starts to get pooped out, Flo takes the reigns and instantly injects a gallon of Red Bull into the audience. It keeps the show alive! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
super7 Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 This show hasn’t had dancers except Hot Rhythm Nights at Carnivale and the year it was in the International Showplace in 2015. The addition of dancers takes it ti another level. It’s been a great show over the years with outstanding talent. But up to and including the year it was in the Showplace, the vocalists were very choreographed. Over the last several years that had slipped away, so happy to see choreography back in it. They have spent funds updating the bandstand but it is still a HORRIBLE venue in the hot sun, with no seating The sightlines are blocked by the crowd The performers and the audience deserve better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiian Coasters 325 Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 58 minutes ago, super7 said: This show hasn’t had dancers except Hot Rhythm Nights at Carnivale and the year it was in the International Showplace in 2015. The addition of dancers takes it ti another level. It’s been a great show over the years with outstanding talent. But up to and including the year it was in the Showplace, the vocalists were very choreographed. Over the last several years that had slipped away, so happy to see choreography back in it. They have spent funds updating the bandstand but it is still a HORRIBLE venue in the hot sun, with no seating The sightlines are blocked by the crowd The performers and the audience deserve better I actually kinda like the location of the bandstand. It's right in the center of the park and is easily accessed by most pathways. Basically its purpose is to get people to stop and take a listen while they are roaming around the park. It is also a great place to be able to hang and get some awesome entertainment that is energetic and interactive right before the Fireworks. However, I do agree that the hot sun isn't the best as well as it having to cancel/postpone the shows if there is even a little bit of rain. I think an easy answer to that would be to install a roof on top of the bandstand and make it like a festival stage that would also help the performers be able to perform if it rains and not have the sun shining right overtop of them on a really hot sunny day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brenthodge Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 6 hours ago, super7 said: This show hasn’t had dancers except Hot Rhythm Nights at Carnivale and the year it was in the International Showplace in 2015. The addition of dancers takes it ti another level. It’s been a great show over the years with outstanding talent. But up to and including the year it was in the Showplace, the vocalists were very choreographed. Over the last several years that had slipped away, so happy to see choreography back in it. They have spent funds updating the bandstand but it is still a HORRIBLE venue in the hot sun, with no seating The sightlines are blocked by the crowd The performers and the audience deserve better Agree on the venue. They’ve updated the infrastructure and entertainment to make it something you want to watch, but have done little to make it a place you want to be. Meanwhile, International Showplace sits unused a lot of the time. It’s a hard space in that you can’t really have a lot of seating in the traffic path, but they really need something. Maybe even if they took the front two sections of planter in front of tower and created terraces with umbrella tables or some type of pergola shade structure on each side? I was disappointed when they redid IS that they didn’t do anything to make the truss work look more permanent and less “80s arena concert”. When they extended the stage and redid it all that would’ve been a great time to have addressed that. Or, open up IntShowplce more with more terraced seating and tables instead of rows of benches that are rarely full, better covering, and less of a barrier at the back do the entire venue is more open to the main path and use that space a lot more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUN&ONLY! Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Kings Island can’t really do much to add seating to the bandstand with its location in the park. It would be nice to see an International Showplace renovation, however, because it is very dated in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 What is considered a midway and gatherings in large groups that block midways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
super7 Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 After seeing this live, it is absolutely excellent. The vocalists, dancers and band are all top tier talent. It’s great to see so many familiar performers in all 3 of those categories The dancers are very tightly choreographed during the entire show as well as the vocalists being choreographed. As I said before, that is what was missing from the recent bandstand shows. Also worth noting that there are both male and female dedicated dancers which I only recall before in Hot Rhythm Nights. It’s a great balance. It’s a strong playlist of fresh music for KI shows. This show is very re-watchable as there is a lot going on the whole time with no downtime. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 That band is top notch. They can literally sound like a soundtrack of the top acts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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