ICCA Mid-Atlantic Semifinals at Rutgers

Event: International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Mid-Atlantic Semifinal
Date:  March 24, 2007
Location: New Brunswick, NJ
Rutgers University
Student Center Multi-Purpose Room
Official Results: See end of article

Mike C checking in here after one heck of an ICCA Semifinal at Rutgers last night. It was a very competitive show, and 24 hours later, I still find myself second guessing my own picks for ranking and awards, because of just how close things were. Regardless, some of the judges' decisions left me more than a little confused. I'm getting ahead of myself, though. Let's start at the beginning.

After some unexpected delays and some wrong turns on the way to Rutgers, I didn't arrive at the show until 7:30 p.m. I was glad I preordered my tickets, as word on the street was that the 500 seats in the Multi-Purpose Room had sold out an hour before. After seeing a couple poorly attended quarterfinals this year, it was awesome to head into the Rutgers Student Center and feel the electricity in the air. There was a sold out crowd, with well over a dozen people on the waiting list to try to come in. There were friends and family parading around with poster board signs to cheer on their favorite groups. My favorite fans may have been those who came to support Penn State's Shades of Blue, wearing t-shirts that read "Just Doo It," with the Nike swoosh symbol. All in all, it was really neat to feel the "big show" vibe going on.

I'm not remotely familiar with the facilities at Rutgers, but I really wish I could have transported this awesome crowd to a more suitable venue. The Multi-Purpose Room was flat land with folding chairs all throughout, meaning a lot of the crowd had trouble seeing the stage (and, man, were those chairs uncomfortable by the second hour in). In addition, the acoustics weren't great from where I was sitting. A lot of people ended up standing in the back or off to the sides.

Rutgers' own Casual Harmony hosted the night's event, opening it with a cover of John Legend's "Used To Love U." These guys are truly impressive, especially for a group with as short of a history as they have (just three or four years, if I'm not mistaken). ICCA Mid-Atlantic Producer Hayley Cammarata took the mic for the standard announcements. In a neat twist that I cannot recall seeing at other ICCA shows I've been to, different members of Casual Harmony introduced each of the evenin's competing groups.

As we get into the competing groups, a reminder of my completely subjective scoring model. The basic breakdown:

* = Not so good.
** = Okay
*** = Good
**** = Stellar
***** = Simply Outstanding

First out of the chute was Ithaca College's all-male group, Ithacappella. The guys wore their usual matching blue blazers and khakis, with assorted shirts and ties. The look is a little formal for my tastes, but it's classy, and works just fine in the semifinal setting.

The set opened with Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Coming." The group looked a tad nervous in the early going, but settled into its groove soon enough, and the soloist and vocal percussionist proved unflappable throughout. Second to the out of this world antics from the Binghamton Crosbys, I'll credit this song with the best choreography I've seen this year. There was some really fun stuff including a moment when a number of guys, including the percussionist bent at the waist and stood still, before coming back to life as robots moments later. The robots proceeded to do an innovative slide move, as the song went on. Whereas most groups would close with this song, it's a testament to the level of energy Ithacappella brings to the table that they were only getting started. Up next was a cover of Sarah McLachlan's "When She Loved Me." I'd like to think this soloist read my review of his performance last month, and took some pointers. In reality, he probably found constructive criticism elsewhere (maybe the judges' sheets). In any case, I was really impressed by the enhanced emotion he brought to this ballad, selling it many times more than he did the last time around. I was a little upset with the Rutgers personnel for letting a large number of people walk into the auditorium during this song. I know it was distracting for me. Fortunately, it didn't seem to faze the group. In any case, a good and improved middle song. Last up was "School of Rock." Just as it was at Lafayette, this song was raucous fun, featuring choreography right out of the Jack Black movie by the same name, and an ultra-animated soloist. At Lafayette, I speculated that the soloist improvised in moving off of the tiny stage, into the crowd, to make room for the choreography. He did it again here, to lackluster results. Unfortunately, there was no light in the Multi-Purpose Room outside of the spotlights on stage, meaning he jumped into the darkness , rendering whatever theatrics he might have put on invisible to the bulk of the crowd. Someone opened some fire doors during this song, letting out a brief second of an alarm, which was another disservice to the group. For appearing unfazed by the distractions, and making some moves on their middle song, I'm going to bump up my subjective score for Ithacappella this time around, awarding them 3.75/5 stars.

Set Summary:
"Hold On, I'm Coming" by Sam & Dave
"When She Loved Me" by Sarah McLachlan
"School of Rock" from School of Rock

Next up were the all-male Buffalo Chips. They came out in jeans and baseball tees, each with a different letter of "BUFFALO CHIPS" on the back (this will come into play later). Not a bad outfit by any means, but a little informal for competition, and especially semifinals.

I've seen The Chips perform a few times in recent years, and they've always struck me about the same way--good, respectable a cappella, but nothing to write home about. To their credit, the group started strong here with Rob Thomas's "This Is How A Heart Breaks." Good energy and a good soloist here, but there wasn't a lot for the background guys to do. I wasn't wild about the comical expressions the group threw in in stop time at one point, taking away the from the intensity that I felt was more appropriate for the song. The guys ended the song chorally, which I liked the idea of it, but it didn't sound quite right to me. Second up was "Over My Head" by The Fray. Maybe it's just me, but I don't like this as an a cappella song, and especially don't care for it in a competition set. It's just too in-between--not really a ballad, not a high energy song. The soloist was good. Unfortunately, there wasn't any movement from the background, and the group just didn't get loud when it needed to, leaving the whole thing pretty boring. Last up was a medley of at least two Muse songs--"Time Is Running Out" and "Hysteria" (there may have been another song as well). The dynamics weren't as polished as I would have liked on this one either, but the guys did some creative things with choreography here. I was especially impressed when the group enclosed the soloist in their arms going into one chorus, only for him to throw them off, breaking free. The trend of charismatic soloists went on. The transitions between songs in the medley wasn't as smooth as I would have liked. At first, I really appreciated the tempo changes the guys worked in, but the transitions went on far too long, blurring the lines between songs, and ultimately losing my interest. Still, a fun end to the set, as the guys spun around in unison on their last note, letting their shirts spell out "BUFFALO CHIPS" to the crowd, as a final image. All in all, a good set, but not one that's going to make a lot of noise in semifinals. 3.25/5 stars.

Set Summary:
"This Is How A Heart Breaks" by Rob Thomas
"Over My Head" by The Fray
"Time Is Running Out/Hysteria" by Muse

Third up was Syracuse University's all-male Orange Appeal. As I wrote in February, Orange Appeal boasts one of my favorite uniforms in collegiate a cappella. Black collared shirts and blue jeans for solidarity. Ties and chucks to add to the uniform, but different colors and designs all around for individuality. It's semi-formal, it's hip, it's distinctive.

Orange Appeal opened with Death Cab For Cutie's "Steadier Footing." The soloist's voice seemed a little less controlled in this outing than it was in the quarterfinals, but he showed more emotion here. It's an unconventional, but smart opener for the set. It's short and grabbing, and the emo ballad does a good job of priming the crowd for the raw power of Muse's "Time Is Running Out." It's tough to use basically the same song as another group in the same competition, and all the more so when the previous rendition came immediately before your set. Nonetheless, the Orange Appeal rendition outshined Buffalo's in just about every respect, with a fantastic soloist and well-chosen movement. The energy level seemed a little lower here than it was in February, but it was still a good rendering all around. Third up was my least favorite song of the set, a cover of The Beatles' "Because." While I'm still not entertained with the song itself, I have to admit that there's a certain aesthetic appeal to it, with some nice harmonies and a complex arrangement. Last up, the guys took on a spiritual called "The Battle." The group opted to slow this one down a good bit, a call that I wasn't wild with, as it seemed to strip the song of some of its energy. Still, it was musically impressive, and the choreography was still exceptionally involved and funny. Orange Appeal's set was a really interesting one, if for no other reason than the diversity the guys put into play. The set ranged from emo ballad, to hard rock, to obscure Beatles, to spiritual, and they did a fine job with each style. While I couldn't advocate giving Orange Appeal an award for any one song, looking at the set as a whole, they were certainly worthy of recognition. It's a small touch, but I also appreciated the professionalism the guys showed in leaving the stage, with a well synchronized bow, an their measured, well organized walk to the back. 4/5 stars.

Set Summary
"Steadier Footing" by Death Cab for Cutie
"Time Is Running Out" by Muse
"Because" by The Beatles
"The Battle"

Syracuse's Groovestand competed next, and were our first mixed group of the night. The group was more dressed up than they were for their last outing, with many of the guys in sports coats, and a number of women putting on skirts, while they all maintained their black and white theme from quarterfinals. While I agree with the idea of sprucing for the second round of competition, I thought the dress clothes actually hindered the group here, limiting the movement and energy I consider to be this ensemble's signatures.

The set started with Joan Osborne's "St. Teresa." I felt this soloist was robbed of Outstanding Soloist honors in February, and tonight's outing was every bit as good, and, if it's possible, several times more intense, actually earning her applause from the crowd midway through the song. I wish we could have gotten more movement from the group, especially given the length of the song. While I appreciate the subtle increase in movement throughout the piece, there was certainly room for more. Next up was "The Gulf War Song" by Moxy Fruvous. This was musically sound enough, the group changed up it's stance here, standing in a V formation, rather than the cluster they used last month. It seemed to me that the rationale was to put every member's full body on greater display, as the group really played up the dramatic qualities of the song, putting far less emphasis on the comedic bits. As I stated last month, I would strongly prefer a straight ballad to this 'in-between' song. While the effort was there to make this more serious, it's hard to make the recurring line, "Don't tell me I can't fight, or I'll punch out your lights," really resonate. Last up was Boyz II Men's "Thank You,"  sampling "Motownphilly." It's still a good song for this group, finally letting the group move around the stage. However, here's where attire can really affect a set. Perhaps the most memorable image from Groovestand's set in quarterfinals, was watching the soloist jumping, criss-crossing her legs, and dancing while she powered through the song. I can't be sure if it was the skirt, or if she actually was more subdued, but I just couldn't see the same level of activity this time around. It was a strong set, but not enough to thrive at this level of competition. 3.5/5 stars.

Set Summary:
"St. Teresa" by Joan Osborne
"Gulf War Song" by Moxy Fruvous
"Thank You" by Boyz II Men

Intermission time, and we got a warning from the emcees that everyone standing in the back would have to find a seat before the second half of the show started. This proved to be an empty threat. I'm not positive there even were enough seats to fit everyone.

While we're at the break, I'd might as well acknowledge Casual Harmony's plugs for their new CD, Score Some Harmony. I picked up my copy and listened to it a couple times on the ride home from Rutgers. It really is a strong compilation, though some tracks are a little overproduced for my tastes. I'll likely have a more detailed review posted in the weeks to come.

Back from intermission, Drew University's 36 Madison Avenue opened the second half. The guys wore black collared shirts and jeans, classing it up a little for the semifinals. They still don't look like the most imposing group, but this time around, I knew what to expect from this all-male powerhouse.

The group opened with Seal's "Future Love Paradise," featuring one of the evening's top soloists. Awesome voice, and good body language from the guy. I loved Mad Ave's movement on this one, with little real choreography to speak of, but with every one of the guys selling every motion full tilt. Next up was Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising." Another awesome soloist, and, watching through the zoom on my camera, I was able to catch a glimpse of the awesome facials from this guy that I'm afraid were lost on a lot of the audience. The guys elected to sample not only "Born In The USA" this time, but also "Dancing In The Dark." I wasn't wild about that choice, using a song with less thematic connection, as if they were just trying to drive home that they were singing Bruce Springtseen. Of course, the competition was in Jersey, so I suppose it wasn't the worst strategy. The guys rounded out their set with a fun rendition of Tim McGraw's "Real Good Man." Another fine soloist. The choreography seemed a little less pronounced to me here than it was at Lafayette, but it was still a good, rousing piece, and the finish with the soloist falling back into his crouched compadres remained a neat visual. Though the guys did a good job of crossing genres in the set, the pieces still sounded a bit too much alike for my tastes, and I would have liked to have heard more diversity throughout. Still the crowd was impressed, and a large contingent of Mad Ave fans gave them a standing ovation. 3.75/5 stars.

Set Summary:
"Future Love Paradise" by Seal
"The Rising" by Bruce Springsteen
"Real Good Man" by Tim McGraw

Five groups down, and up sixth was Penn State's mixed group, Shades of Blue. They had outfits to match the name with varying shades and styles of blue tops, and black bottoms. I suppose they can get away with the inconsistency in attire based on their name, but I'm still not a fan of it.

Shades of Blue started with "Seasons of Love" from Rent. Though the girls behind me whispered that they loved the song, I couldn't help turning to Mike S. next to me, and giving the song choice the big thumbs down. However, much to my surprise, the group had won me over by the end of the piece. There was a lot of movement, and many members of the group had the opportunity to shine, belting stand alone lines from the song. It was powerful and beautiful, and Shades of Blue was just getting started. Next up was Annie Lennox's "Into The West." Great soloist, great sound, and good movement on this one too. Again, these aren't songs I would have picked, but hearing and seeing this group was an *experience*. Continuing with the off beat song choices, next up was "Mary Had A Little Lamb" into "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" into "Three Blind Mice." Innovative arrangement here, with some red hot soloists. The group managed to work in a fourth song, turning to a cappella standard "Lean on Me." The start was an absolutely beautiful ballad, the end was a rousing spiritual, which got away from the group a little bit, but still accomplished what it needed to. Powerful stuff. 4/5 stars.

"Seasons of Love" from Rent
"Into the West" by Annie Lennox
"Mary Had a Little Lamb" Medley
"Lean on Me"

Our penultimate group was the home team, and boy did the crowd let us know it with their cheers, chants, and numerous signs springing up throughout the crowd. Deep Treble looked sharp in red and black. The group started strong with a powerful rendering of Aerosmith's "Janie's Got a Gun." It's a really different song choice, and the group played it well, building the anticipation with their quiet intro, before launching into the first verse. The soloist's voice reminded me of Tina Turner, and I really dug her on this song. Strong vocal percussion here as well, though I wouldn't have had the girl doing it stand as far off to the side as she was. Unfortunately, this tune dragged on a little too long. I would have cut a verse, or sampled something in to lessen that effect, as the song would have been that much more potent were it a minute shorter, or mixed up. Cool visual at the finish though, as the group took a collective puff on their air cigarettes to end it. Next up was The Fray's "How To Save a Life." Like "Over My Head," this is too much of a 'tweener for me. To his credit, the soloist sold it really well, putting in the proper vocal and facial emotion where he needed it. The song was kind of boring to me, and the choreography was a big turn off. First of all, much of it seemed right out of the unwritten playbook of a cappella choreography. You sway. You crouch and rise with a crescendo. The group also used a turn and slide move here that was straight out of the Casual Harmony move set. I know that, in good conscious, you really can't blame a group for stealing choreography, because, when you get down to it, everyone derives from everyone else, and Casual Harmony quite possibly took the move from someone else before that. Besides that, the judges probably aren't going to recognize a particular move as "stolen." Nonetheless, this distracted me, and the movement didn't really seem to fit the song. Lastly, this one went on a little long, especially in the outro. Deep Treble launched into a military count off and march next, leading into "Rhythm Nation" by Janet Jackson. The soloist didn't wow me here, and I found it a little off-putting that the left strap of her shirt fell and stayed down seconds into the song. Good percussion here, with a sunglassed, leather jacketed dude taking the reins. Good energy level, but there was just too much choreography for my tastes, with a hand drive or step to more lines than not. Then, as if to add some more insult to my personal injury, we got the turn and slide move again. At least it fit this song better. 3.5/5 stars.

Set Summary:
"Janie’s Got a Gun" by Aerosmith
"How To Save A Life" by The Fray
"Rhythm Nation" by Janet Jackson

Our final group for the night was The Westminster Choir College Deaftones. Interesting outfit choices here, with everyone in black with neon green highlights (headbands, necklaces, collars, suspenders, etc.). I would have liked some more consistency in the style of dress here, as it ranged from dress shirts to one guy in a muscle tee.

The Deaftones opened with a strangely weak rendering of Starship's "We Built This City." It was kind of strange to hear a group sound this thin after all of the fuller performances of the evening. I expected something comical or self-deprecating to make this song work, but all we got were hand drives upon hand drives. Next came Kelly Clarkson's "Addicted." The soloist showed some good emotion here, but just didn't have a lot of fire power. This one seemed pretty over-choreographed to me, and I would have rather seen less movement, and more intensity from the group. Again, the group sounded pretty thin. The Deaftones saved their strongest song for last, finally presenting a soloist with some charisma for The Killers' "Mr. Brightside." Good sound, and I liked that the movements were less choreographed, and more natural on this one, with the group mostly just dancing in an arc around the soloist. All in all, not a horrible set, but it seemed kind of out of place at a semifinal. I am, of course, not very well-versed in the most technical elements of musicality, so I would expect that the group from Westminster Choir College was probably more impressive from a technical standpoint than I'm giving them credit for. In any case, I've got to go on what I know, and my score is a 2.5/5.

On to the deliberations. Plenty for the judges to discuss, and Casual Harmony was more than up to the task of keeping the crowd entertained. The group did a good job of selling its CD by performing most of the songs from it. Highlights included "Aerials," "Through With You," "Karma Police" and "Champagne High." The guys performed "Time Is Running Out" with a new soloist, whose voice was a little clean cut for my tastes on the song, but he did a good job of hitting the notes, and the choreography was still killer. There was an amusing moment when the group sang "Over My Head," and the soloist acknowledged in verse, "I never knew, I never knew that every group would sing this song." They wrapped up their set with a really fun rendition of their alumni song, Cake's "Short Skirt, Long Jacket."

On to the announcement of awards and placement (all of which you can watch on YouTube by searching for ICCA Rutgers). Despite my self-professed lack of formal musical training and knowledge, I typically find that my picks match up really well with those of the judges. Sure, we'll flip-flop a first and second place finish sometimes, or one of my runners up won't place. Never before have I been this floored with the results of a show. In my mind, four groups were a cut above the rest: Orange Appeal, Shades of Blue, 36 Madison Avenue and Ithacappella (as you may have noticed, I have bumped Ithacapella up in my estimation since my results posting this morning. Replaying their set in my mind as I wrote this review, I have to admit that I'd place them above Groovestand, and right on par with Mad Ave). I could see any combination of these four groups placing, and was wholeheartedly expecting for Orange Appeal and Shades of Blue to duke it out over first place. Imagine my surprise when The Deaftones were announced as second runners up. Ithacappella's second place finishing didn't seem quite right to me, but I won't argue it. But then Deep Treble took first place, and earned a trip to the International Finals, not to mention taking home the only two awards given. I'm still scratching my head over this.

I focus much more on the elements of a cappella that revolve around entertainment, and appeal to the "common man," so I suppose this show must have had a major divide between what I value, and what works musically. Everyone has a right to their opinion. In the world of The A Cappella Blog, mine reigns supreme. In terms of what happens on stage, and who goes to the finals, that's up to a very different batch of people to decide.

Looking at the comments board to my previous post, some debate has come up about home field advantage in ICCA, and biased judging. I've never known this to be the case, and, quite frankly have the faith and trust in the ICCA adjudicators that they would rise above these sorts of personal interests. I do find myself pretty curious about just how these results came about, though. The ICCA scoring system is much more scientific than my own, combining the judges' subjective rankings with their more objective numerical point totals. Given the low overall scores posted at varsityvocals.com (346, 323 and 311, respectively, for the top three finishers) I can only assume the subjective placements were scattered across the field pretty well. Nonetheless, a strange finish to the show that left more than a few people in the audience confused.

While I disagree with Deep Treble's first place finish, I was a little disappointed with the way in which so much of the crowd emptied out before or during their encore, Jason Mraz's "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)." Gotta lend your respect the champs, like them or not. Pretty good song to finish the night, and it's too bad there weren't more people listening.

All in all, it was an entertaining and very competitive show. Props to the folks at Rutgers for doing their best with a huge crowd, and my hat's off to Casual Harmony for doing a fine job as hosts.

To check out photos from this and previous ICCA shows, you can check out The ACB Facebook page here.

A Cappella Blog Picks:

Overall Placement:
8. The Westminster Choir College Deaftones
7. The University at Buffalo Buffalo Chips
6. Rutgers University Deep Treble
5. Syracuse University Groovestand
4. Ithaca College Ithacapella
3. Drew University 36 Madison Avenue
2. Penn State Shades of Blue
1. Syracuse University Orange Appeal

Best Choreography:
3. 36 Madison Avenue, "Real Good Man"
2. Orange Appeal, "The Battle"
1. Ithacappella, "Hold On, I'm Coming"

Best Soloist:
3. Tie: Shades of Blue, "Into the West" / Deep Treble, "Janie's Got a Gun"
2. 36 Madison Avenue, "Future Love Paradise"
1. Groovestand, "St. Teresa"

Best Vocal Percussion:
3. Orange Appeal, "Time Is Running Out"
2. Groovestand, "Thank You"
1. Ithacappella, "Hold On, I'm Coming"

Best Overall Song:
2. Madison Avenue, "Future Love Paradise"
1. Ithacappella, "Hold On, I'm Coming"

Best Attire:
3. Tie: Ithacappella / Buffalo Chips (polar opposites--Chips get the nod for making attire a meaningful part of the set)
2. Deep Treble
1. Orange Appeal

ICCA Official Results:

Overall Placement:
2nd Runner Up: The Westminster Choir College Deaftones
1st Runner Up: Ithaca College Ithacappella
1st Place: Rutgers University Deep Treble

Outstanding Soloist: Deep Treble, Yaa Acheampong, "Janie's Got a Gun"
Outstanding Vocal Percussion: Deep Treble, Jessica Totaro