The Lamron

Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Brendan Murphy The Southside Boys, one of Geneseo's three a capella groups, performed in costumes as part of a special Halloween concert held Saturday in Wadsworth Auditorium.

An audience decked out in costumes complemented last Saturday night's AHH! Capella Halloween concert in Wadsworth Auditorium, which displayed the vocal styles of Geneseo groups Exit 8, Hips n' Harmony and Southside Boys.

The concert featured classic songs from each ensemble's repertoire while the groups also added a few fun, festive twists to the night.

Exit 8 was the first to take the stage, eschewing formal performance-wear for costumes that portrayed members of the group as SpongeBob SquarePants, sports players and David Bowie, among others

Occasionally, the backing vocals overpowered the solos and lessened the impact of the singers' impressive voices. This seemed to be the case at the start of Exit 8's rendition of Fiona Apple's "Criminal," as senior Erin Caragol's solo was overwhelmed by the rest of the ensemble. By the end of the number, however, Caragol's voice rose above the background.

The group earned cheers from the audience at the opening notes of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," led by seniors Michael Radi and Chantal Helbig, which closed out the first half of the group's performance.

Next on stage was Geneseo's all-female a cappella group, Hips n' Harmony. Between an upbeat version of The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love" led by senior Shannon McDermott, and the Gilmore Girls theme song, Carole King's "Where You Lead" featuring sophomore Kerry Heffernan as the soloist, the group got into the holiday spirit with a cute, quick song about the new members of the group set to the "Addams Family" theme.

The last of the a cappella groups to take the stage were the Southside Boys, breaking into an old favorite, "Good Ole A Cappella," led by Radi, senior Alex Cupelo and junior Curtis Jones. The group's final selection before intermission was a medley of television themes from their childhood, featuring familiar tunes from old favorites such as "Doug," "Rocko's Modern Life," "Power Rangers" and "Pokémon." The medley struck a perfect mix of creativity, cleverness and nostalgia.

After a brief intermission, the three a cappella groups took the stage again in reverse order. Southside Boys continued to feed off their goofy vibe by skillfully performing Fountain of Wayne's "Stacy's Mom" and the "Ghostbusters" theme song.

Some other standouts included junior Hips n' Harmony member Minji Lee's solo during a rendition of Katy Perry's "Thinking of You," as well as the closer of the show, Exit 8's clever compilation of Jock Jams songs with original lyrics about candy and chaos that defines a Halloween weekend at college.

Though the a cappella concert was innocent enough, Exit 8's medley, which took tunes from songs such as "Everybody Dance Now" and "Pump Up the Jam," hinted at the debauchery that was sure to take place after the curtain fell and the crowd cleared the auditorium. "Don't get arrested," junior Nicholas Cotrupi advised as the song ended, sending off the costumed audience into the festive night.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools