America’s Got Talent returned tonight with auditions in Tampa Bay. Here’s our recap of last night’s auditions.

The first act to appear on last night’s auditions was a group called Inspire the Fire. Inspire the Fire is a singing and dancing group that reaches out to any teens in need. It has been described as an “urban Glee.” They weren’t bad, but I think the judges gave them much more credit than they deserved. I’ll be glad to see them again in Vegas where they’ll have a chance to sell themselves again. I really want to like them.

The next successful group to perform was All That! They are a clogging team comprised solely of men – men who wear muscle shirts and have tattoos, no less. Longtime viewers of AGT will remember them from season 1 when they finished as the runner-up. This was not mentioned on the show. Sharon Osbourne, Nick Cannon, Howie Mandel, and Howard Stern were not on the show then, so they wouldn’t remember that. Clogging and tap dancing groups can be either good or bad depending on how tight they are. All That! was very tight and very good.

Another successful act to take the stage in Tampa Bay was not the kind of act that you usually see on AGT, but it was an act that I was very happy to see. As someone who has been playing the trumpet for the better part of his life, seeing a group based on brass instruments excited me. The Distinguished Men of Brass was a very entertaining group not only for brass geeks like me, but for everybody in attendance. I look forward to seeing them again.

The final audition of the night came from a singer named Ulysses. Ulysses surprised everyone by singing the theme song from the 1970s TV show, The Love Boat. Howard wasn’t impressed and voted “no,” but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. I was particularly impressed by how good his tone was. It reminded me of last year’s winner Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.

What do you think? What was your favorite act of the night?