ICCA Mid-Atlantic Semifinals at Rutgers University

Mike Chin checking in after a very memorable International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) Mid-Atlantic Semifinal at Rutgers University.

For the third consecutive year, the lovely Nicholas Music Center was the venue for this show, and for the second straight year, it happened on a Friday night. Rutgers University Shockwave hosted the event, and two of the group members had emcee duties for the night.

Before we get to the review, a quick summary:

The competitors:
After Hours (University of Rochester)
Casual Harmony (Rutgers University)
The Melismatics (Lehigh University)
The Pointercounts (SUNY Potsdam)
Onoscatopoeia (University of Toronto)
The Buffalo Chips (SUNY Buffalo)
Kaskeset (SUNY Binghamton)
The OrphanSporks (Rutgers University)

Host Group:
ShockWave (Rutgers University)

Photos from the event are available now on our Facebook page.

Shockwave opened the night with Alanis Morrissette’s “You Oughta Know.” It was a good performance, though one in a series of songs that gave me pause during the night, in the sense of “really? Groups are still doing this?” Don’t get me wrong—it’s a great song, but it has grown a bit played on the collegiate a cappella scene, and I think we’ve got to wait at least five years or so before it comes back in vogue as retro. Nonetheless, a good song to open the night. ICCA Producer David Rabizadeh took the stage from there for the standard announcements, after which point the ShockWave emcees took things away.

I must confess that one of the most fun parts of hosting an ICCA quarterfinal this year was getting to rap the intro for After Hours, and it pained me a bit to see the Rutgers girls one-up my own efforts on that introduction, one of them rapping at least as well as I did (probably better) while the other emcee beatboxed. A moment later the mixed group took the stage in their black formalwear with red ties for the guys, red belts for the women, for a sharp look that would oft reappear throughout the night.

After Hours opened with “1, 2, 3, 4” by The Plain White Tees. It’s a fun song and the group worked the stage well. The soloist wass good, though he jumped the gun on one of the verses, and had to go back and sing the same line twice. Good poise on the recovery, though. My main beef with this song is that I just feel it’s a bit too light and airy as an opener if you want for your group to be taken seriously at a semifinal level. There was very little wrong with the execution, but I don’t think it was the right song choice.

The second song made up for song selection nicely—I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: “The Chain” by Ingrid Michaelson is 2010’s best choice for a middle song in an ICCA set. The harmonies were pretty great on this, and I particularly liked the way in which the group handled the four part round at the end—beautiful sound, and very cool visuals to match with the group not only singing in a round, but orchestrating a series of arm movements to match the music. On the topic of visual presentation, I ordinarily hate choreography on a ballad, but this song flew in the face of that general rule. From the start, at which the group members danced in pairs, to the round, this performance was a sight to behold. Definitely the best choreography of the night, quite arguably the best I’ve seen all year.

After Hours closed on Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl” I don’t love this song choice, but it did accomplish the end of letting the group demonstrate its energy and attitude, which are pluses for a set closer. Good stage presence from the crew, good sound on the solo. Solid, if unexceptional way to wrap things up for the group.

The next group was Rutgers’ own Casual Harmony. The all-male group took the stage in their trademark multi-colored collared shirts and jeans.

The guys opened with “American Girls” by Counting Crows. I like this song, and I like Casual Harmony doing it, but it still escapes me why they would pick this one for competition. There’s nothing really wrong with it, but it’s a bit of a throw-away song in that it just doesn’t have the potential to demonstrate power or musicality. At this level of competition, there’s no room for throw-away performances. The guys made the most of it with a very good solo and backing solo on it (though I found the backing solo a little awkwardly clipped at points, for example, only singing “American girls” then backing away from the mic the first time he appeared). Good percussion and a nice build as the song went on, putting a rangeof dynamics on display. One of the greatest strengths of the song, and another trademark of the group was the way in which the guys seemed to pulse with energy—Casual Harmony is one of a handful groups I know that can just move to the music, sans any real choreography, and still make a performance fun to watch.

Next up was The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.” The basses led this one off in sick fashion, establishing that CasHarm had, indeed, come to play, and that their set had begun in earnest. Excellent solo here and a good, complex sound from the group on the whole. The guys organized their movement a bit more with their standard slow motion reaching to add a little something extra to the visual presentation.

Casual Harmony closed up shop with Jason Mraz’s “Butterfly.” Another good, complex arrangement, another fine soloist. The guys worked in some stop-motion movement on this one. While it was well-executed, I couldn’t help missing the sort of “bring the house down” choreography I’ve come to expect from CasHarm closers, complete with their well-known slide move. Maybe the ongoing debate over the slide’s origins prompted them to leave it on the rehearsal room floor this year? Whatever the case, it was a very good song to end on, but just a little anticlimactic, in that the guys never really arrived at a big moment to firmly make their case that they deserved to go to the Finals.

The Melismatics were the third competing group. Much like After Hours, the mixed group sported black dress clothes with red ties and belts.

The Lehigh group kicked off its set with Jordin Sparks’s “Battlefield.” The good news is that it was well-choreographed, and they brought a ton of energy to the stage. I particularly liked the stomp percussion they used early. My issue here is that the song just sounded simple. This may be a function of following Casual Harmony, but it just didn’t seem like there was much going on in the background at any given moment. The group demonstrated its ability to get loud, but I just didn’t hear much nuance. It’s my general feeling that songs built on attitude and visuals are best saved for the end of a set, and so, while this was a serviceable competition song, I didn’t love it as an opener.

Things got better from there with a cover of The Beatles’ “Let It Be.” The soloist started all on her own, before the group came in softly behind her, and grew more pronounced as the song went on. Very good solo, and nice harmonies behind her for a nice middle song.

Last up was Gloriana’s “Wild at Heart.” The group used a really interesting four part solo here, with two male-female pairs up front. Good choreography behind them, with lots of dancing in lines, not so different from what I’ve seen from the group in the last couple years. They went for the crowd clap to end, and, all in all, I think this succeeded as a closing song. My one real knock is a non-musical one, but I’ve been calling other groups out on it this year so I’m going to be consistent—at the end, the group just kind of left. The four soloists stood up front, then one looked back and realized they were alone on stage, after which point, the four of them awkwardly shuffled off. It’s a fairly minor detail, but, as I’ve written before, your stage exit is the last thing the audience and the judges is going to remember from your group. All I ask for is one big bow, or that the group jog off with the energy—something to demonstrate some forethought and to leave an impression. It’s a disservice to groups when they leave the stage this way.

Next up were The Pointercounts. The all-male group ran out on stage in their signature baseball jerseys. I’ve seen them perform a number of times over the years, and have always had the sense that they were one of the most overlooked powerhouses in the northeast. I came in with little foreknowledge of this year’s competition set, but had thoughts that this might be the year they break through to the Finals.

The Pointercounts opened with Linkin Park’s “In the End.” The ‘Counts, in large part, come from Potsdam’s celebrated Crane school of music, and this typically shows in their musical efforts. From the moment that the soloist maneuvered through the crowd of guys to start his rap, I couldn’t help thinking that the guys were making an effort to subvert expectations, and establish themselves as musical gangsters rather than choir boys. The problem is, when you walk into a semifinal with judges and a crowd that, for the most part, don’t know you, there are no expectations to undermine—you’re making a first impression. While this was fairly well-executed, it was quite possibly the weakest musical performance of the night up to that point. The guys brought energy and attitude, but the rap was just OK, and it really has to be exceptional to make this kind of song work. Weird, disappointing song choice. The only piece of it I would laud was the vocal percussion, which was solid.

Next up was Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.” Talk about a 180. For all the faults of The ‘Counts’ opener, this was an exceptional middle song. Simply sensational solo. The guy sounded a bit classical for my tastes at the start, but let loose a little as the song went on and positively nailed his money notes at the end. I also really appreciated the way in which the group told a story, and subtly developed its presence as the song went on. At the start, they only sung behind the soloist; on the second verse, they snapped their fingers; on the third verse they got in motion. This is exactly how I like to see a group build a song, and particularly a ballad, chasing off boredom by adding elements just in time to keep things interesting, but keeping the additions understated enough not to distract anyone from the music.

I had high hopes that The Pointercounts had turned things around heading into their third song. This is the point at which a ‘Counts front man put on an Asian accent, and shouted an order for “Sesame Chicken,” in prelude to a cover of Carl Douglas’s “Kung Fu Fighting.” Let me address the elephant in the room to start here. As you might have guessed from my last name, I’m half Chinese. I’m not one to take offense to an Asian joke—I’ve been the butt of many, and I’ve self-deprecatingly made my share of my own jokes along this theme. The thing is, there’s a time and a place for that sort of humor, and when you’re performing on stage for a general audience, and especially an audience you don’t know, racially insensitive comedy is not a good idea. Moreover, not like this makes a huge difference, but if there was even one recognizably Asian guy in the group to accept the role of butt of the joke, it would help. Taking all of this into consideration, when you get a group of 15 or so white guys on stage, singing “ching-chang” syllables, it’s an embarrassment for your group, and an embarrassment for the competition. I feel a little bad saying this, because the guys had clearly worked hard on the choreography, and the music (which, while not great, was far from the worst of the night). The song choice was painfully inappropriate, though--enough so to keep The ‘Counts from anywhere near placement in this competition in my book. All in all, the group demonstrated that it had real talent in its middle song, but the rest of the set was just a massive disappointment. Poor showing for a talented group of guys.

After intermission, it was time for Onoscatopoeia out of the University of Toronto. I happened to chat with a member of this group before they got on stage, and he explained to me that the group was not necessarily better or worse, but just “different” from the rest of the night’s competitors. As the mixed troupe of 25 people in black and red formalwear took stage, I couldn’t help but think that we were, indeed, in for a different experience.

Onoscatopoeia opened with Etta James’s “Seven Day Fool,” with a sample of Bobby Darin’s “Splish Splash.” The group had a very jazzy sound, and while this is not my style of choice, I’ll be darned if they didn’t sound great for the whole song. Good percussion and admirable choreography for a group of this size. One particularly memorable image was a group member reaching up his hand and acting like a shower head raining down upon the soloist. Just like the guy I spoke with suggested—it wasn’t necessarily good or bad, just really different. Strong opening song.

Next up was “You and I,” originally by Stevie wonder, more recently covered by Michael Buble. The group sang most of this chorally. Once again, it’s really not my style of music, but they were killing their harmonies. I especially liked the decision to have just one soloist step out to croon the last verse. Wonderful sound from the guy. This one stretched a little long for my tastes, and I was getting a tad bit bored by the end, but all in all, it was musically very accomplished.

Onoscatopoeia closed on “Hush Hush” by The Pussycat Dolls, featuring a sample of “I Will Survive.” Very good sound again, and I really appreciate the group branching out to a different style of song to wrap up the set. The group went all out on the choreography here, and ordinarily, this is the right time to do it. However, this is where having 25 people in your group becomes a problem. On one hand, it’s ambitious and impressive to get 25 people moving in synch and toward a common goal. On the other hand, that’s enough people that if you’re not careful, the choreo just looks busy and gets to be distracting. Onoscatopoeia walked the line on this. I wouldn’t say they actively looked bad, but I think they would have looked a lot better had half the group remained stationary while the other half worked its way through the motions. Nonetheless, it was a good closer to a very strong set.

The next group was The Buffalo Chips. I’ve seen different incarnations of this group perform many, many times over the years. On a relatively minor point, one of the things I appreciated about them from the moment they took the stage on this night was the way in which their look has matured. In 2007, the first year we were operating The A Cappella Blog, I saw The Chips perform at another Rutgers semifinal. For that show, they came out in baseball tees and jeans. The next time I saw them, they all had blue collared shirts and jeans. This time, they had the blue-collared shirts, white ties and black bottoms. While I’m not completely won over by the white ties, I like that the group has grown a bit more formal while remaining uniform, and sporting a distinctive look.

As they started their first song, a number of Chips flickered laser pointers or little flashlights on and off for an imaginative and fun lead in to Owl City’s “Fireflies.” A number of male groups are doing this song this year, but I have to say that this was probably the best version I’ve heard to date. Whether it was natural or he was working toward this end, the soloist’s voice had an uncanny resemblance to that of Owl City singer, for a really neat sound. There was a lot of really fun choreography going on here too—visually appealing, but just understated and well-executed enough not to distract from the music. I have to admit that I think this song choice, itself, is a little thin and breezy for a serious competition set (not so unlike “1, 2, 3, 4”) but with that being said, I think the guys made the most of it for a good opener.

Next up was “Drive” by Incubus. In discussing this song choice, I have to turn back to my comments about “You Oughta Know.” This song was cool when I was a senior in high school—and, folks, I’ve been out of college for a while. Furthermore, it’s one of those songs that’s been covered to death on the all-male a cappella scene. On top of all of this, it’s the sort of song I just don’t dig for competition—a ‘tweener that’s neither slow nor fast, a song that’s neither really chill nor intense. I will credit The Chips for, again, making the best of a lackluster song choice. Very strong solo here, and a good, complex background sound. I would have canned the choreography (particularly the lawnmower-like “driving”) in favor of some more intense, CasHarm like, bobbing, but the visual presentation was inoffensive for a generally good performance.

Last up was “Army” by Ben Folds. I get what The Chips were going for. This is a song with a ton of potential to demonstrate your energy, and do creative things with the brass arrangement. Nonetheless, I’ve long held that it’s really hard for an a cappella group to cover Ben Folds well (his University A Cappella compilation represents just about all of the rare exceptions I’ve heard), and I couldn’t help scratching my head at The Chips taking on yet another dated song that has already been covered a lot. Mind you, they made an admirable go at the song, with a good solo and three part brass section. I particularly enjoyed the lyrical conversion where the soloist noted “I thought about the army, I dropped out and joined The Chips instead.” Nonetheless, I couldn’t help feeling this group was capable of bigger and more original things. Good closer to a good set. I like that The Chips chose recognizable material, and songs that are good for an all-male group. I just wish they had been more creative when it came to song selection—I feel as though they had the talent to be better that what we saw on this night.

The seventh competing group was Kaskeset. The Jewish group took the stage all in black, with light blue-green ties and undershirts.

The group opened with Phil Collins’s “You’ll Be In My Heart.” Kaskeset used a really cool combination of snaps and body slaps to physically add percussion to the start of the song, immediately distinguishing them from the rest of the night’s competitors. I had high hopes at that point—unfortunately, the song wasn’t really going to deliver from there on. I sort of felt as though I was watching a knock off of The Sing-Off’s Socals as the group got a bit carried away with its theatrics, particularly with the male and female soloist pouring out their hearts to one another, and singing a bit out of tune as they did so. I liked the intensity with which the group went after this song, and maybe they were just having an off night musically, but I was feeling pretty lukewarm on the opener.

The group’s second song was all in Hebrew. I struggle with songs like this in a competition setting because, unless it’s a well-known foreign-language song, the group is really giving itself a barrier from connecting with the audience. With that being said, I do like that Kaskeset was true to its roots here, and that they established their identity on this number. Very good solo too, and a good sound from the group. Overall, it wasn’t bad, but the song didn’t really blow me away either.

Kaskeset ended its set with Jackie Wilson’s “Higher and Higher.” The group clearly had a lot of fun planning this one. The soloist demonstrated a good level of energy and attitude, and the group matched her well. There was a fun moment in which the vocal percussionist walked around the stage and sort of crept up on the soloist, at which point she draped his tie over her shoulder to demonstrate her affection. I did take a bit of an issue with the visual presentation, though, as the soloist pushed him away on “he soon departed, and you know I never saw his face again.” This complaint is sort of silly, and stems from knowing this song far too well, but at that juncture, the “he” that the lyrics are talking about is loneliness—in that Jackie’s lover has chased off his loneliness forever. With that in mind, from a storyline perspective, it made no sense for the soloist to push the percussionist away. OK, I digress. Good finishing song, and the group proved very shrewd in calling on the crowd to “get on up” and succeeding in getting somewhere between 1/3 and ½ of the audience to stand, dance, and clap with them, which, in turn, led to some of the biggest applause of the night when they were done. Kaskeset was not among the night’s most polished acts, but demonstrated the way in which really engaging the crowd can make you memorable and more entertaining.

The last of the competing groups was a Rutgers mixed group by name of The OrphanSporks. I couldn’t help but notice that a lot of the guys in the group were also part of Casual Harmony, which set up a bit of an odd dynamic for the competition. The group got on stage in brightly colored, individualized t-shirts that said things like “Peace, love, harmonies” and “Dimples.” The group immediately looked quite different from any of the others that night. Ordinarily, I really favor groups that dress up for competition, but in this case, I sort of liked the more laidback vibe they were going for—more on that to follow.

The OrphanSporks opened with Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On.” Very nice solo here, and very nice sound from the group in general. I felt as though the song fit the group’s vibe quite well—hopeful, a bit mellow without being dull. Like Casual Harmony, the group didn’t do much in the way of choreography, but demonstrated a lot of energy and looked really comfortable on stage. Also along the same lines, they put forth a really complex sound without ever making it look hard. The thing that really distinguished this one from a song like “American Girls” was simple song selection—the song itself resonated more with the audience, and fit the group’s larger image. Message songs like this won’t work for everyone, but were a very good fit for this crew.

Next up was Damien Rice’s “Volcano.” Very nice use of the mixed group dynamic here with downright intense performances from the male and female soloists. While I thought the t-shirts were a little awkward when they were trying to be this serious, the song still, oddly enough, sort of fit the group’s style with it’s sort of mellow overarching sound, punctuated with moments of raw emotion. Great sound all around here, and it built well.

Without pausing for applause, The OrphanSporks launched into their “Soul Medley” to close. The same male soloist from “Volcano” stayed on to lead the way for The Temptations’ “Aint Too Proud To Beg.” Sensational energy and sound on this one, and while the group still didn’t really launch into full-fledged choreography, there were some fun hand jives at least. Before long, they transitioned to “Rescue Me” then “You’re All I Need to Get By.” This was just a ton of fun, and sounded great. All the soloists carried their weight, and the energy never faltered. You really can’t ask for much more out of a closing song.

As the judges headed off to deliberate, ShockWave entertained the audience with selections including “Paparazzi,” “Walk Away,” “Uninvited,” and “Almost Lover.” As they performed, I reviewed my notes. I couldn’t help feeling the field was pretty open for who would advance. Casual Harmony had been solid, but didn’t seem to have quite the same kick as they had at quarterfinals, and weren’t as vibrant as I’d seen them in past years. Onoscatopoeia didn’t really appeal to my personal tastes, but were quite good musically, and I felt they had a good chance at moving on. The Chips had brought out a strong set and, though I disagreed with their song selections, they had performed well on those songs. After Hours represented a bit of a dark horse who just might have emerged if they struck the judges the right way.

When push comes to shove, though, I felt it was The OrphanSporks who had won the night. From their attire, to their song selections, to the way they carried themselves on stage, I just couldn’t help feeling that this was the group most at home with its own identity. They were serious musicians who weren’t afraid to take on a lighter vibe. They remained chill and laid back without ever failing to engage the audience. They covered a range of song styles and yet their set really felt more cohesive than any of the others. The soloists were fantastic, the sound was good and complex. Don’t get me wrong—there was clearly no run away winner, but I felt they had edged out the competition on this night.

The official results were interesting—while I can’t truly condemn the awards or final placement, I also didn’t really agree with much of it—the superlatives went to my second or third place picks in most categories; for final placement, I’ll be honest—I really didn’t think The Chips were going to get the duke. With that being said, they are strong group, and will represent the region well at Finals, and given the long history of the crew of the crew, and their persistence in competing, I am happy to see them finally get this opportunity. With all of that established, I was, as I often am, quite disappointed to see a large portion of crowd get up to leave before or doing The Chips’ encore. I don’t care if the weakest group of the night wins—the regional champions deserve the respect of having everyone at least sit through their final song. The Chips turned in a good rendition of John Mayer’s “Good Love Is On the Way” to close out the show.

With that, The Chips join The SoCal VoCals, Pitch Slapped, Purple Haze and The Accidentals in an increasingly full finals bracket, with only the international groups yet to be announced. The ACB crew will head to New York to cover the ICCA Finals on April 24. We’ll be live blogging that show as well, in addition to offering our final full event review for the season. Be sure to stay tuned!

My Picks for the Night

Overall Placement:
1. The OrphanSporks
2. Onoscatopoeia
3. Casual Harmony
4. The Buffalo Chips
5. After Hours

Best Soloist:
1. The Pointercounts for “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday”
2. Onoscatopoeia for “You and I”
3. The OrphanSporks for “What’s Goin’ On”
4. Casual Harmony for “Butterfly”
5. The Buffalo Chips for “Fireflies”

Best Vocal Percussion:
1. Casual Harmony
2. The Buffalo Chips
3. The Pointercounts

Best Choreography:
1. After Hours for “The Chain”
2. The Buffalo Chips for “Fireflies”
3. The Melismatics for “Battlefield”

ICCA Official Results

Overall Placement:
1. The Buffalo Chips
2. The OrphanSporks
3. Casual Harmony

Outstanding Soloist: The OrphanSporks for “What’s Goin’ On”

Outstanding Vocal Percussion: The Pointercounts for “In the End”

Outstanding Arrangement: The Melismatics for “Let It Be”

Outstanding Choreography: The Buffalo Chips for “Fireflies”