ICCA Mid-Atlantic Quarterfinal at Penn State

The Mid-Atlantic region of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) opened this Saturday, with a quarterfinal at Penn State. Alumni Hall in the Hetzel Union Building was the site for this late night show (starting at 10 p.m.). I had mixed feelings on the venue—it was aesthetically pleasing enough, but the lack of stadium-style seating wasn’t ideal for the viewing audience, and the folding chairs weren’t exactly comfortable heading into the second hour of performance. The ICCA season in the Mid-Atlantic was off to a strong start, though, with one of the better quarterfinals I’ve seen.

A quick summary of the show:

Host groups:
The Penn State Penharmonics
Penn State None of the Above (NOTA)

Competing groups:
Lehigh University A Whole Step Up
The Gettysburg College Four Scores
The University of Pittsburgh Pendulums
Ithaca College Ithacappella
The Lafayette College Chorduroys
Penn State Univesity Shades of Blue

Pictures from this show will be available shortly on our photos page.

And now, on to the full event review…

The Penharmonics kicked off the evening, performing Rihanna's "Disturbia." Solid solo, and a nice use of the talents at hand, as the mixed group seemed to cover every part for a very full sound. Nothing out of this world from a visual standpoint, but the group came out with a lot of energy and sold the emotion of the song well.

A pair of Penharmonics hung around to handle emcee duties for the evening. Their first responsibility was introducing the new Mid-Atlantic producer, Rutgers Casual Harmony alumnus Dave Rabizadeh. Rabizadeh delivered the usual announcements, including a request for everyone to hold their applause until the end of each set, rather than clapping between songs—a request that, surprisingly enough, held up for the vast majority of the night. Hats off to Rabizadeh.

First out of the chute for the evening’s competitors was Lehigh University A Whole Step Up. The all-male group came clad in white shirts, brown slacks and a random assortment of ties. A little formal, and yet not quite distinctive enough for my tastes, but the shirt and tie look does communicate that you take the competition seriously, so I’m all right with that. The guys opened with Sister Hazel’s “It’s All For You.” They started a bit abruptly, and quite simply, with the soloist singing on his own while the rest of the guys snapped their fingers. It wasn’t until they neared the first chorus that the rest of the group started singing at all. The soloist was good, and the harmonies that backed him up at that point made for a nice effect, but neither the soloist, nor the effect were quite nice enough to justify that over-simplified beginning. It’s the kind of choice that might play well in a day-to-day performance, but the degree of difficulty just won’t hold up in competition. The arrangement didn’t grow much more complex as the song went on. The guys sounded good, mind you, but they weren’t doing much to impress from a technical standpoint. At the close, they began singing in a round, before transitioning to samples of “Run Around” by Blues Traveler and “Real World” by Matchbox 20. Very little thematic connection there, aside from the songs being from a similar era. Again, it sounded good, but I wasn’t sold on the musical choices.

Next up for the Lehigh guys was “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” by The Righteous Brothers. They started this song from the same arc they had ended “It’s All for You” on, which made for a very fluid visual transition. Very nice sound here. The dueling soloists here had just the right level of charisma to sell this song, and there was some fun choreography throughout. Nothing too complex from a musical standpoint on this song either, but I was pleasantly surprised with the group’s ability to fuse a ballad sound with some really entertaining visuals. Nice change of pace from the first song, without falling into the clichés of the a cappella ballad or boring anyone.

A Whole Step Up closed its set with Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.” The group managed to ramp up the energy even further on this one, with off the wall choreography, highlighted by the guys steering their “racing cars,” complete with ties thrown back against the wind. Excellent musical and theatrical performance from the soloist, and good percussion throughout this one. My main complaint here, though, is that, despite all of the showmanship, the guys still weren’t doing much of anything noteworthy with the music itself. For the whole set, and this last song especially, I couldn’t help thinking that if they turned down the choreography and humor by a third, and spent a little more time refining the arrangement, and diversifying the parts, they could have gone from good to great. All in all, though, it was a solid showing from A Whole Step Up, and a decent start to the show.

A Whole Step Up Set Summary:
1. “It’s All For You” by Sister Hazel
2. “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” by The Righteous Brothers
3. “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen

Next up were The Gettysburg College Four Scores. The mixed group came out all in black, with orange and blue highlights, for a pretty sharp look. They opened with Sublime’s “Summertime. The soloist was OK, but a bit a bland for my tastes. Looked a good bit like Paul F. Tompkins, though, so some random points for that. The percussion was good throughout, and while there was no real choreography, the group moved well enough to remain visually interesting throughout. All in all, my main beef with this song was that it felt like it lasted forever. I don’t think that’s so much a flaw in the group as performers, but rather the song selection—there’s just not enough going on in this song to engage the audience with an a cappella rendering of it. The Scores put in a random sampling of “Roxanne” toward the end. I have nothing against samples, but this didn’t add much of anything from my perspective, only prolonging an already excessively long piece.

Next was ”Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight,” by Amos Lee. Another song that I, personally, like, but find to be a poor pick for competition, especially after “Summertime.” In my interpretation of this song, it’s a mood piece about a lazy morning, walking around a city, putting familiar old places into a new context, and philosophizing about life. If you’re going to go the traditional route of slowing things down with the middle song, that middle song needs to meet at least one of these criteria: A) be musically awe-inspiring, B) be emotionally gripping, C) provide an absolutely striking difference from the song before it. The Amos Lee song did not deliver on any of these levels. Good solo, and a nice, somewhat complex sound from the group, but unfortunately, nothing to really grab the audience.

The Scores ended on Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.” Finally, a song choice that I can get behind (though I have sinking suspicion this is going to become the most over-covered song in collegiate a cappella this year). All in all, this was definitely the most interesting and memorable song of the set. The VP guy employed some nice body percussion at the start of this one. From there, there were plenty of transitions throughout, with the men and women of the group splitting off both visually and aurally. The two distinct groups alternated on choral renderings of the lyrics to mixed results—at points, pulling it off quite well, at points sounding a bit scattered. Late in the song, the backing blend fell apart a bit to, with someone singing some “ba” syllables way too loud, overpowering everything else going on on stage. All in all, The Scores had an ambitious vision for this song, and pulled it off for the most part. My biggest complaint here was that, once again, the song felt as though it went on for an eternity. Definitely could have trimmed some of the instrumental parts for a tighter overall presentation. Taking it all into consideration, The Scores performed well, but were burdened by poor song selections that weren’t going to allow them to reach the upper tier of most ICCA competitions.

Four Scores Set Summary
1. “Summertime” by Sublime
2. “Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight” by Amos Lee
3. “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay

The third competing group was The Pitt Pendulums. The mixed group came out with black tops, blue jeans and orange and blue highlights. The idea of the outfit here isn’t so divergent from The Scores, but the execution left a lot to be desired, with some members taking the highlights to far greater extremes than others. This has nothing to do with the musicality of a group, but I find these sorts of clothing choices distracting, as they unintentionally draw attention to random individuals. The Pendulums began their set with Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab.” The conceptualization of this piece worked on many levels, with the group giving its soloist plenty of room to operate and work the stage, and some fun choreography going on in the background. Right ideas all around, but the execution left a lot to be desired. The soloist was good, but simply not big enough in voice or stage presence to really manage this solo, and the spotlight the group was clearly focusing on her. And as for the movement, there was a lot of self-conscious smiling that really took away from the visual presentation for me. All in all, a good song choice, but not for this group. OK start to the set.

Next was John Mayer’s “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room.” Nice solo here. Overall, good blend from the group. The ICCAs are, first and foremost, music competitions, and so I do want to recognize that this song was pretty good from that perspective. With all of that said, this song was a visual train wreck. I know that a number of casual a cappella fans are critical of a song without movement, and that some readers have even challenged this very blog for centering too much on choreography and attire, at the expense of the actual sound. It’s songs like this, however, that demonstrate just how much excessive and poorly executed movement can cripple a performance. From the get go, The Pendulums engaged in a complex pattern of stepping and sliding around one another. Such movement can certainly work, but in this case, it was just painfully slow and awkward to look at. The slide and step returned later in the song, before the group transitioned to a set up wherein each male member of the group held hands with one of the women. This could have worked in a certain context. Here, however, the vocal percussionist just looked odd, shackled to a male counterpart as she bobbed, keeping the beat with the mic in her other hand. Meanwhile, the soloist stood at the center with a group member dancing around him in sliding circles, for a really bizarre and distracting image.

Last from The Pendulums was Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Put Your Records On.” I imagine that this was the song that the group put the least effort into planning and complexifying—and I mean that in the best possible way. The soloist was easy and breezy; the movement was basic and undistracting; the arrangement wasn’t complicated, but the group performed it well. This song was not a game changer by any stretch, but it was a demonstration that, in many cases, simple is better, and that groups need to play to their strengths, work around their limitations, and do their own thing. A nice finish to the set.

Pitt Pendulums Set Summary
1. “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse
2. “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” by John Mayer
3. “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae

Intermission time, which meant the soothing sounds of BOCA 2009.

Back from intermission, NOTA took the stage. No rhyme or reason to the attire here, which is fine for a group that isn’t competing, though, as a general rule, I appreciate some uniformity from a group, regardless of when or where they’re performing, even if it’s as simple as picking all dark or all light clothes, or settling on everyone showing up in a t-shirt and jeans. I digress. The mixed group performed a mix of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” Nice, harmless fun (pardon the pun/redundancy) on this one.

The fourth competing group was Ithaca College Ithacappella. After years of advancing to the semifinals, and a trip to the ICCA finals last year, Ithacappella had to come in as favorites for this evening. The guys came clad in their traditional blue blazers, khakis, shirts and ties. They opened with “Soul Man.” By the standards of a group of Ithacapella’s caliber, this song wasn’t anything remarkable. However, the sheer power and confidence the guys demonstrated here showed their level of experience and showmanship. A fairly average song, by Ithacappella standards was enough to raise the bar for the night as a whole. Very good solo, lots of fun choreography, fantastic percussion—all of the recent hallmarks of the group were there. Furthermore, the guys made some fun syllable choices and insertions from the background, not only echoing the solo, but adding bits like “here comes the bridge” and “one more time now” for a really entertaining effect. Nice choral close to this one.

Next up was “Say (All I Need)” by OneRepublic. Ithacappella took control of the stage in their opener. In this song, they asserted why they’re a finals-level group. Simply fantastic solo here. Too often, a cappella ballads are just boring. The soloist here absolutely defied that stigma with raw emotion in his voice and visual presentation, mixing up the dynamics and showing some real stage presence. That’s not to take anything away from the rest of the group, employing a range of dynamics themselves, blending quite nicely, and remaining physically engaged, despite a lack of formal choreography. Simply fantastic song.

Last up was The Jackson Five’s “I Want You Back.” I have had the pleasure of getting to see Ithacapella compete for four straight years now. Each year, they have churned out a barn-burning, high octane closer that has the audience talking long after the show. This year was no exception, as the guys unleashed a positively brilliant performance of the song. The guys produced an amazing sheer volume of sound, with energy to rival any group I’ve seen on any stage. That’s not to say that the song was just loud, though. The arrangement was reasonably complex, and the sound was just great. Once more, the perc was out of this world. What’s more, Ithacappella played out their signature crazy choreography, kicking off the song with a series of perfectly synchronized turns and hand drives, and then absolutely pulsing with energy when the individual members were left to their own devices. All of this may have been enough to effectively close the set, and ensure Ithacapella a trip to the semifinals. But then there was the centerpiece of this song--the one and only Nate Tao. I’m trying not to gush here, but Tao positively owned the stage with his phenomenal vocal stylings and visible passion for the music. This was a phenomenal song choice to highlight everything that Ithacapella does well. As I stated earlier, I have had the opportunity to see Ithacappella perform year after year, and it has been truly enjoyable to see the group grow, mature, and learn from each outing. This was a great set, and while it’s too early to be too bold with predictions, I’m not going to be surprised in the least of this group returns to the ICCA finals this year.

Ithacapella Set Summary
1. “Soul Man” by Sam & Dave
2. “Say (All I Need)” by OneRepublic
3. “I Want You Back” by The Jackson Five

The fifth competing group was The Lafayette College Chorduroys. The emcees introduced them by noting that half the group had graduated the year before, but the group had retained much of it’s tradition—for The Chorduroys “it’s all in the pants.” This was followed by a quick, almost mumbled, “That’s what she said.” If you want to appeal to the inner-twelve year old of this reviewer, here’s a quick tip—that joke never gets old, use it whenever you can. Back to the show, The Chorduroys were considerably downsized from the last time I had seen them in 2007, with just eight guys, in an assortment of collared shirts and corduroy pants. They opened with “Without Your Love” by M-Pact. Good solo, very good VP. The guys put together a good sound overall, with some nice changes in dynamics throughout.

Next was The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Otherside.” I liked this song choice—picking an intense tune that was really different from the one before it, helping to show the diversity of the group’s repertoire. Good solo here, and a fine arrangement of the song that left everybody with something interesting to do, and a nice choral finish. The choreography was a bit silly for my tastes here, but it’s a minor complaint.

The Chorduroys wrapped things up with Van Morrison’s “Moondance.” As much as I love this song, I don’t think it had a place in this set, and I did not care for the execution. The solo was adequate and the group didn’t sound bad, but there was too much time spent snapping fingers, rather than singing—equally a function of the song itself, and the choices the group made with the arrangement. The thing that really ruined the song for me, though, was the movement—and most particularly the movements the soloist put into play. The guy used a recurring hip sway/pelvic thrust move. I don’t consider myself a prude, and in the context of a normal college show, I have no problem with a bit of innuendo or suggestive performance. ICCA shows are supposed to family friendly, though. The judges aren’t college kids, and at this show, more than half crowd was made up of parents and families. This over-sexed style of performance was not appropriate, not particularly well done, and far from necessary for the song itself. Up until “Moondance” I assessed The Chorduroys to be very competitive with, and maybe even topping A Whole Step Up. By the time the set was done, though, things had headed way down hill.

Chorduroys Set Summary
1. “Without Your Love” by M-Pact
2. “Otherside” by The Red Hot Chili Peppers
3. “Moondance” by The Chorduroys

The last competitors for the night were The Penn State University Shades of Blue. This was my third straight year seeing the group compete, and they came clad in their usual many shades of blue tops, and black bottoms. The lack of uniformity still irks me a bit, but it fits the name of the group, and they limited their blues to three different shades this time out, so I can’t complain too much. The Shades started with Linkin Park’s “Shadow of the Day.” There were some very pretty harmonies going on here. Solid solo. The movement was good—for the most part quite subtle, so that it was never distracting, but always interesting to watch.

The Shades made the interesting choice of transitioning between each song with one member singing a line from another song, unaccompanied. This choice added some fluidity to the set, though the transitional lines seemed a bit random, the first one being from Des’ree’s “You Gotta Be.” The second song turned out to be Christina Aguilera’s “Makes Me Wanna Pray.” This song was wonderfully complicated in all the right ways, from the dueling powerhouse soloists, to the varied and full arrangement, to a visual presentation that incorporated a lot of innovative, aesthetically pleasing, and difficult movement. As I’ve observed from Shades of Blue before, there were points of the song where the sound quality and presentation seemed downright musical theatre-like. I’m generally not pleased with this style of performance at this sort of competition, but, once again, The Shades pulled it off well enough to make me forget my reservations and enjoy the show.

The next transitional piece was a sampling of The Five Stairsteps’ “O-o-h Child” leading into Blessid Union of Souls’ “I Believe.” The group changed soloists every few lines on this one, at times doubling up on the mic. There was a better range of dynamics on this one than The Shades’ preceding songs (which had ranged from loud to super loud), and, once again, the theatrics worked well for the group. The Shades are not everyone’s cup of tea. They have a very different style from most collegiate groups who compete—more dramatic, at times overwrought. I once had a friend criticize the individual members for being divas, and trying to one-up each other. While I can understand the nay-sayers, I appreciate The Shades’ effort to do something distinct and to make every song--and sometimes every line--an event. Solid set.

Shades of Blue Set Summary
1. “Shadow of the Day” by Linkin Park
2. “Makes Me Wanna Pray” by Christina Aguilera
3. “I Believe” by Blessid Union of Souls

While the judges deliberated, the host groups returned to the stage. NOTA performed a nice medley of Dispatch songs, including “The General,” “Out Loud,” and “Two Coins.” Other highlights included renderings of “Call Me When You’re Sober,” “I Will Survive,” and “Hold My Hand.” The Penharmonics took the stage again as well, for a set that included “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “How Do I Get You Alone,” “Gone,” and “Hey Jude.”

On to the announcement of awards and placement. Rabizadeh did not invite all of the performers to join him on stage—I’m not sure if this is a change in the ICCA procedure or something unique to this show. In any event, I had very few quibbles with what the judges decided. Outstanding choreography and arrangement honors to Shades of Blue. The outstanding VP award went to Ithacappella. The two groups shared outstanding soloist honors. A Whole Step Up took their well deserved spot as second runners-up, Shades of Blue finished second, and Ithacappella won the night, rounding things out with an fun encore performance of “Dancing in the Street.”

All in all, a pretty stellar quarterfinal. Ithacappella and Shades of Blue rightfully move on to Rutgers for the semifinals, and, as I wrote earlier, I have to say that the Ithaca guys were good enough to be a threat to make it to the finals once more.

ACB Picks for the Night
Overall Placement:
1. Ithacapella
2. Shades of Blue
3. A Whole Step Up

Outstanding Soloist:
1. Ithacappella for “I Want You Back”
2. Ithacappella for “Say (All I Need)”
3. Shades of Blue for “Makes Me Wanna Pray”

Outstanding Choreography:
1. Ithacappella for “I Want You Back”
2. A Whole Step Up for “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’”
3. Shades of Blue for “Makes Me Wanna Pray”

Outstanding VP:
1. Ithacappella, full set
2. The Chorduroys, full set

Official ICCA Results
Overall Placement:
1. Ithacapella
2. Shades of Blue
3. A Whole Step Up

Outstanding Soloist
Shades of Blue for “Makes Me Wanna Pray” and Ithacappella for “I Want You Back”

Outstanding Choreography:
Shades of Blue

Outstanding VP:
Ithacappella, full set