Event Reviews

Event Review: SoJam 2011 Collegiate Competition (Plus, Sundry Thoughts from the Weekend)

By Mike Chin on November 15, 2011 in Event Reviews

November 11-13 marked the ninth annual SoJam. For the uninitiated, SoJam is an a cappella festival coordinated by The Contemporary A Cappella Society (CASA). Among the highlights of this year’s festival were a collegiate competition that included two 2011 ICCA finalist groups (the full review starts below), a dynamite professional group showcase, a series of workshops, and a pair of memorable end-of-the-day after parties. I’ll get into more sundry thoughts on the weekend at the end of this post, but right up front, I wanted to give a quick shout out to a few of the a cappella luminaries we had the pleasure of connecting with this weekend: Overboard's Alfredo Austin; world champion beatboxer and out-of-this world bass fromThe Boxettes Bellatrix; LA-based music director and arranger, and alum of the SoCal VoCals Ben Bram; long-time CASA board member and Recorded A Cappella Review Board (RARB) coordinator Benjamin Stevens; recorded a cappella virtuoso Bill Hare, A Cappella Records founder/president and CASA board member Chris Crawford; Mouth Off podcast hosts, CASA extraordinaires, and all-around swell guys Chris Diaz and Dave Brown, ACB Who’s singing blogger and Syracuse Orange Appeal all-star Keith Tripler; superstar of The Sing-Off’s Delilah, Berklee Pitch Slapped, and Musae Hannah Juliano; The Vocal Company’s UNC Sapphires alum Jill Clark, Liquid 5th Productions’ Josh Chopak; uber-talented member The Sing-Off’s Kinfolk 9 and Musae Kari Francis; L's Arrangements’ female a cappella arranging guru Laura Long; Musae co-founder, Acalosophy blogger, and all-around a cappella wonder woman Lo Barreiro; the mastermind behind SIN3G Mark Torres; RARB publisher and founder of Columba Nonsequitur Michael Marcus, a cappella evil genius and the guy behind the new Human-Feedback Rob Dietz, Voice Box's Sean Matthews and Brendan McCann; and the arranger extraordinaire behind Random Notes Tom Anderson. In addition, though I didn’t get to meet him, I was thrilled to walk away with my copy of Stephen Harrison’s newly released Acapolitics novel (ACB review pending!).

Event Review: The Sing-Off Season 3, Episode 9

By Mike Chin on November 14, 2011 in Event Reviews

It’s R&B (both contemporary and retro) night on The Sing-Off. Our group number is an R&B medley that kicks off with James Brown’s “I Feel Good.” The Dartmouth Aires soloist gets the lead opening up, then hands it off to the Pentatonix front man. A mix of Afro-Blue, Urban Method, and Vocal Point takes the lead from there, shifting through “ABC” by the Jackson 5. Next up is “Crazy in Love” by Beyonce. Really fun, particularly when Afro-Blue has the lead on it. The rap guy gets a nice little spotlight for the Jay-Z bit. It may seem counterintuitive that the group numbers get stronger as the cast shrinks, but, in a sense, I think the ability to spotlight eah group more, and the smaller numbers all around are creating more cohesion on these big group sings. I dig it.

The Aires kick things off, singing R. Kelly’s “Ignition (Remix)”--not the sort of high energy song I would necessarily anticipate from them. The leads are charismatic, but just don’t sound quite as urban as I’d really like make this work. Fun little bit of choreographed walking on the “bounce, bounce” part. Smart cut forward to the “after the show” part, and a pretty sublime moment as the guys thrust their pelvises in slow motion as they slide their way up a scale. This is the kind of moment that’s a little silly and not necessarily family friendly, but goes along way toward asserting identity as a collegiate all-male group, which, by its nature, probably isn’t going to be entirely sanitized. I dig it. The breakdown is a lot of fun, and it feels like they really hit their groove there. Fun little succession of “beep, beep”s on the close. It took a little time for the guys to work their way into this song, but I really liked how it wrapped up.

Event Review: The Sing-Off Season 3, Episode 8

By Mike Chin on November 7, 2011 in Event Reviews

It’s rock n roll/country night on The Sing-Off. The group number of the week is Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up”. Pentatonix front guy leads off quite well, and Delilah picks up and the ball and runs with it from there. Sublime wall of sound moving ahead, with the Vocal Point guys riffing off it. Urban Method gets its moment, then The Aires soloist says “heck no, this is my moment,” after which the Pentatonix an Delilah leads challenge him, before Urban Method gets it back. Afro-Blue is, oddly, the lone group up in the stands. I guess they couldn’t choreograph them in. But oh, wait, the whole crowd has a hand in the air waving, so I guess the entire studio is in on the choreo for this one. All in all, a pretty cool number that worked well for the uber-group formula, and I’d actually be interested to hear a regular-sized ensemble take it on.

Pentatonix kicks off the evening’s competition with Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild.” The behind the scenes package shows that the woman is feeling sick—dangerous for a five-person group. Nice motor-simulation bass on the opening, and killer perc as always. Fun use of the steps on stage to stagger the group’s entrances. The sound is a little thin on the verse but masked well behind the bass and perc. Good call to go choral on the chorus. The whole group falls out, then flies into the second verse—excellent dramatic choice. I really don’t like the backing vocals here (said the broken record) because they just sounds so thin with only two people behind them. When they let loose and focus less on harmonies that echo the solo, and more on providing texture to the melody, the song takes off. The interesting thing I’m finding with this group is that, when the bass and perc are the stars, the group sounds killer. In more melodic pieces, I can sort of take or leave them. This was a good outing for the crew.

Sara calls the performance incredible, and says the sacrifice the group is making are all worth it. She lauds the solo. Shawn gives props to the bass and drums, calling them the driving force and the heroes behind the song. Ben—always the musical historian--points out that this song is the source of the term “heavy metal.” He says the performance was awesome.

Here come The Dartmouth Aires with Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” Just two men on stage to open—solo and perc. The guys explode onto stage from all sides, launching into a racing tempo and pounding sound. Second rock solo is surprisingly solid—this brand of aggression is hard to pull off in a cappella, but he’s swinging for the fences and making contact. The choreography is a little too Westside Story for my tastes when they get to moving around, but the energy and pure swagger we saw from these guys in the opening weeks of the show is so clearly back that I won’t knock it—crazy what one week of the judges kissing your rear end will do for your confidence, huh? Neat little classical breakdown as the group staggers into three lines, and we’re back to a solid rock sound on the close. Really solid outing all around for The Aires.

Shawn channels Ric Flair with a big ol’ “WOOOOOOOO!” He compliments the growl of the second solo, then circles back to the first. Ben lauds the drive of the piece and the Broadway take on the opening and close. He comments they lost the pitch a little on the bridge, but recovered quickly. Sara praises the group’s versatility and ability to blend theatrical performance, humor and rock, and takes her hat off to the percussionist.

Third out of the tunnel is Afro-Blue singing “American Girl” by Tom Petty & The Heartbeakers. Very clean soaring vocals on the open. Jazzy little beat on the verse. Solo is good, but a little too animated for my tastes in a sort of uncomfortable, trying too hard way. In the lead-in Afro-Blue talked about stripping down to basics, and not over-thinking the sound, but when this group dumbs things down, they demote themselves to the status of “really good jazz group” which just isn’t as appealing or interesting as the crossover work they’ve shone with in the past. Weird choice to cut straight to the instrumental section next. This is the first part I’d cut if I only had two minutes to work with. They transition to a sample of the National anthem which is reasonably well executed ,but pretty forced in terms of thematic connection. I definitely could have done without it. Part of the problem is that this song is a rock anthem in which a man pays tribute to American girls; having a female lead really redefines it, and all the cutesy effects don’t help matters. Jazz breakdown of the chorus on the close, which I’m lukewarm on. Musically, this was all fine, but I think these are the poorest artistic decisions we’ve ever heard from this group.

Ben says the top was especially good, and the group members were themselves on the melody. He didn’t like the National Anthem sample for lack of a connection to the song itself. He comments on the conflict between finding an identity and being accessible; he challenges the group to be more complex, but deceptively so. Sara calls the group fantastically talented but says she didn’t see the group in this performance, and couldn’t really feel them. Shawn says he loves hearing Afro-Blue sing, but in this song, they seemed intimidated by the rock genre and it didn’t relate to the group as well as it should have.

Next up, Delilah is here with Aerosmith classic “Dream On.” The blend is a little off on the opening, but holy poop do I love this solo—particularly when she rips en route to the chorus. The bass is killing it. Nice, sudden escalation, cutting straight from the chorus to the bridge. That’s what it’s about when it comes to trimming a song for the context. The solo steps out front and gets the wind blowing in her hair for the high notes and… she… kills it. Lots of fun staccato bursts from the group behind her—easy to not notice them behind this star-making solo performance. Superb!

Event Review: The Sing-Off Season 3, Episode 7

By Mike Chin on October 31, 2011 in Event Reviews

It’s mashup night this Halloween on The Sing-Off. The group number starts off with “This is Halloween” from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. Interesting choice, with enough animation on the voices that everyone can find of find its own natural place in it. The Pentatonix lead guy takes us in another direction with Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London.” Fun. I like that this lead-in is honoring both the holiday and the mashup theme, though I do not envy the groups that needed to learn fragments of these songs in addition to their own three song pieces for their individual mashups. Ray Parker’s “Ghostbusters” is next on the docket. Fun fusion of vocal bits with some pretty cool, basic choreography. This may not be the most musical opening number we’ve heard on the show, but I’ll be darned if it wasn’t the most fun.

Urban Method leads us off with a mashup of Rihanna songs. The group starts with “What’s My Name.” First solo is meek and starts a little flat. We’re back to the overtop theatrics with the rap guy and first solo adancing up on one another—I don’t like it. This soloist neither looks nor sounds comfortable in the least. The beatbox is solid, but nothing else about this is really wowing me. “Umbrella” is the second leg. The solo is better, though also a bit understated here. Nice crescendo from the group sliding into the chorus. I could very much live without the box step choreography. And what’s with this E-Z listening backup vocal take on the chorus? This should be a power point in the medley, and they’re positively blowing it. On to the third leg, “Only Girl in the World.” Best solo yet, and the group seems most comfortable on this part, though the group still just doesn’t seem to have its usual swagger. Nice moment as the earlier soloists mash in their parts toward the close—probably the best element of the performance. I appreciate the decision to put the girls up front and prove that they can go, but the way things turned out, this went much further toward confirming my doubts than getting me on board the Urban Method bandwagon.

Sara says parts of this song really worked—particularly the end. She questions the group’s confidence early on, and wants them to sing their butts off more from the get-go. Shawn praises the decision to put the women front and center to show what the ladies can do. He compliments the final soloist, but asks the second soloist for more bravado. Ben says the transitions were really cool, and showed their production sensibilities. He thought “What’s My Name” worked well, but things came unglued in “Umbrella.” He says they wrapped up well on “Only Girl in the World,” and that, all in all, the girls did just fine.

Vocal Point is here with an Elvis Presley mashup. They kick things off with “Don’t Be Cruel.” They go old school announcer style on the intro, which is a fun little touch. Very basic start to the music with the soloist lent plenty of room to operate. He’s good, but not quite as bold as I’d really hope for on an Elvis song. Abrupt transition to “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” but it’s the right choice on soloist here, with the “The Way You Look Tonight” guy. Very slick. Interesting maintenance of the earlier tempo which makes the overall mashup sound more cohesive, but also robs the song of it a bit of its emotion. The tempo changes as the song moves along, which is interesting and well-executed. Nice moment as the guys spread out and the soloist rips loose on the final bit. Smoother transition to “Jailhouse Rock” and the “Zoot Suit Riot” front man. This is very similar to that first performance we saw from Vocal Point this season, fueled on tons of choreography and a soloist who is as entertaining of a showman as anyone who has ever been on this show. You can see the influence of this group’s International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella experience in how they constructed this medley. The ICCAs give you twelve minutes to work with, which usually means three songs, with which each group has a good amount of space to show its range and work in its best licks. Smart work.

Event Review: The Sing-Off Season 3, Episode 6

By Mike Chin on October 24, 2011 in Event Reviews

It’s hip-hop hits week here on The Sing-Off. In the opening we learn there will be a one-on-one sing-off between the bottom two groups this week. Let the drama build. The show opens on “Nothin’ On You” by B.O.B. featuring Bruno Mars. The Vocal Point dude is the first to sound out of place in the genre. Urban Method gets a nice long bit to let loose, followed well by Pentatonix. Delilah and Ruby from The Collective take their part. By Ruby’s standards, this is understated—I’ll take it. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the cast follows Vocal Point’s lead sounding like they’re singing too carefully and just don’t fit here. The key to this episode is readily apparent—own the hip hop the way Urban Method and Pentatonix are likely to do, or reinvent a song to your interests. I fear anything in between is going to fail miserably.

As much as it’s a bit lame that we don’t get a competition performance before the break, I like the concept of the background video here. Hearing the groups talk about the challenge of getting 2 hip-hop songs ready this week is interesting and, particularly for those of us in the audience who haven’t performed like this, it demonstrates that getting music together on the fly isn't as easy as the Glee kids make it look...

The Dartmouth Aires lead us off this week. They’re singing Flo Rida’s “Club Can’t Handle Me.” Squeaky clean classical sound on the opening. The guys just plain don’t look natural here. Way out of their element. The rap is on tempo to the guy’s credit, but the tone just plain is not connecting here. The guys are working the stage fairly effectively, but even the energy seems subdued for their discomfort with the music. I’m not hearing the low end. The lead guy gets a few moments of attitude and gets his power note at the end as the group swells nicely behind him. The good news is that this got much stronger toward the end, and they left on a good note. I just don’t think much about the song worked prior to that point, though.

Sara loved the energy and that the guys enjoyed what they were doing. She thought the guys sounded rushed early, but they found themselves and their swagger later on. Shawn says they kept the attitude of the song while lending their own spin to it. He talks about the importance of having fun and letting the music flow, and says they pulled it off. Ben says it was fun and lauds the way in which two of the hey parts blended. He describes the sound as polka hip hop, and says they found their tempo toward the end. He compliments the tenors.

Here comes Afro-Blue with their take on The Fugees’ take on “Killing Me Softly.” Smart way of blending what’s more natural for them with the theme of the episode, but let’s see how they execute it. The sound starts out loose and fun, and the group looks remarkably at ease. It sort of harkens back to Street Corner Symphony’s chill treatment of “Hey, Soul Sister” last year. Nice beat. The solo is working early on and I like the little backing harmonies they’re throwing out there. Pretty little backing on the solo for the chorus. The bass and perc are performing quite nicely. When this group gets big on some of those power chords, it’s just fantastic. This comes a bit un-complex and static relative to what we’ve heard from the group before—but that’s a lofty standard. This was comfortable and quite good. Above all else, I sort of liken this to the ICCA group that’s sort of forgettable when you watch them live, but if you buy their CD after the show, or re-listen on YouTube, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how pleasing the sound really is.

We get a touch of battle rap banter from Ben folds and Nick Lachey. Wow, never thought I’d write that sentence. Ben calls the performance gorgeous, and credits the decision to omit the bass early on then work it in. He praises the solo. Sara calls it a flawless arrangement and performance of a classic song. Shawn says Roberta Black would be proud, and calls the bass the foundation of the group. He comments on how they sound like a record track, which is dope.

Event Review: The Sing-Off Season 3, Episode 5

By Mike Chin on October 17, 2011 in Event Reviews

We are back for episode five. Two groups go home tonight, and we open with what Nick Lachey’s voice over touts as the biggest opening number of in Sing-Off history. Urban Method opens up the group number, Lionel Richie's "All Night Long," followed by The Deltones, then Pentatonix whose soloist over-enunciates just to annoy me. The Aires follow, then North Shore, oddly apart from everyone else up in the balcony. Then Delialah’s here back on stage. The Yellow Jackets are mixing it up in the crowd. The Collective descends the audience stairs with Ruby’s vibrato OUT OF CONTROL. Vocal Point enters the stage in similar fashion. Afro-Blue makes an entrance in style with a quasi-congo line coming from the back (not to mention the opening number’s slickest vocals). The Aires front man is doing his all to bust a gut, and Ruby is not to be outdone. Good song choice and fun enough opening number, particularly considering how many groups the number had to account for.

The Yellow Jackets are back in the opening slot. These guys definitely have something to prove this week. They’re taking on by Wannabe The Spice Girls. In the intro video, the guys acknowledge that the odds are not on their behalf being one of three remaining all-male collegiate groups. Some fun opening bits with two separate groups singing against one another. The tenor is way over the top on the solo here—cutesy and a bit graing this week. The solo to follow is better. The classical voice guy is… rubbing his pec. Uncomfortable. (Male) Posh Spice is embarrassingly British. They fade into a free-for-all of do-si-do choreography for a moment. The good news is that the bass sound is good and full here, and the group sounds very clean on its build to finish. This was fun and mostly funny, but also a bit grating. Far better than any other a cappella treatment I’ve heard of this song. This is the kind of song choice I usually balk at male groups picking for competition, but the guys took it seriously and did well, particularly under the guilty pleasure guidelines.

Sara loved that the song was fun and showed off personality. She did observe there were tuning issues and that it’s easy to over-sing. Shawn found the song strange but enjoyable, but noticed that the harmonies were a bit pitchy. Ben says it was really entertaining, and that the group worked an event into every four-to-eight bars. He notes that one of the challenges the group will have to address is giving a face to each of the voices to help them connect with the audience.

Delilah is up next with “What a Feeling” by Irene Cara from Flashdance. We open on most of the girls seated in chairs, save for the soloist. She sells the vulnerability of the opening well, though I’d like a little thicker sound from her voice—maybe she’s just saving it. The girls are up and dancing behind the solo. The solo sounds a little flat to me, the group a little more subdued than we’re used to hearing from this group. I hear the bass loud and clear and the perc is quite good, but the group sounds a little restrained otherwise. The choreo is mild. The harmonies sound a little sharp. Nice little scale-vocal-breakdown effect on the close. Good, but probably the weakest we’ve heard Delilah to date.

Event Review: The RIT Sing-Off 2011

By Mike Scalise on October 12, 2011 in Event Reviews

On Friday, October 7, 2011, the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) played host to its first Sing-Off-based competition, appropriately titled The RIT Sing Off.

The event featured three competing groups. Before we get to the review, a quick summary:

The Competitors:
RIT Vocal Accent
RIT Brick City Singers
Fredonia Guerillas

Host Group:
RIT Eight Beat Measure

Judges:
Mickey Hamilton
Mary Beth Cooper
Katie Riegal

When I arrived at RIT for the event, I was surprised to see how full the venue was. Granted, this was a free event for faculty, staff, and students, but without much promotion, the show drew in approximately 400 people. I showed up a little on the later side, but was able to see the stage without a problem thanks to Ingle Auditorium’s stadium seating. In addition, I’d like to point out that this event was unique to me in that it was the first a cappella competition I’ve attended that was interpreted for the hearing impaired. Methinks this is because RIT has the world’s largest technical college for deaf students (NTID).

The first group to take the stage was Vocal Accent. The group was comprised of thirteen females wearing a mixture of black and purple apparel. They began their set with “King of Anything” by Sara Bareilles, which I think was a really good song choice to be sung a cappella, especially for an all-female group. Group members formed a small semicircle around the soloist and swayed their shoulders, hips, and knees to the beat. The soloist was simply OK. There were some parts that were a bit out of tune and I thought the vocals in general could have been a little louder. However, this could have been the result of many possible factors.

Vocal Accent’s second song choice was Jordin Sparks’ “One Step at a Time.” Again, this was an appropriate selection for the group. The arrangement of group members and general movements throughout the song did not change much from the first song. However, the backing vocals were much fuller this time and the vocal percussion was well executed. Unfortunately, I still felt like the soloist could have been a little more pronounced.

For their final song, the group sang Sublime’s “What I Got.” While normally I don’t advocate that single-gender a cappella groups choose songs that are traditionally sung by the opposite gender, Vocal Accent pulled it together and gave what I believe to be their best performance of the night. There were two soloists throughout the song, both of which were in tune and easy to hear. The vocal percussionist was extremely into the song and delivered a strong performance. The group concluded their set by collectively and vibrantly singing the chorus of the song – all in all, a good way to start off the competition.

Judges’ Comments:

Mickey said the group brought him into the story, but to make sure they bring everyone in by increasing the energy level.

Mary Beth said she loved the lavender colors the group was wearing. She thought the soloists could have been a little louder and offered up a tip to hold the microphone closer to their mouths. She also mentioned that it’s tough to be the first group to perform, and working through the sound issues is, in part, why. Lastly, she agreed with Mickey that the energy levels could have been raised to enhance their performance.

Katie said the group’s sopranos were fantastic. She also said that the first song was a little rushed and that the group should make sure to take their time. Along with that tip, she, like the other two judges, recommended that the girls exude more energy.

Next up were the RIT Brick City Singers (BCS). This group of fourteen males arrived on stage looking like what one judge described as a bunch of Crayola crayons. The guys had on black shoes, slacks, and ties, as well each with a uniquely-colored button-down shirt. Personally, I like uniformity without uniformity, and this seemed to fit the bill.

Event Review: The Sing-Off Season 3, Episode 4

By Mike Chin on October 10, 2011 in Event Reviews

The Sing-Off is back for week four, with the second showing for bracket two. The theme is current radio hits and sixiteis musica again. The Pentatonix lead guy kicks us off with a solo too high for him on The Plain White Ts’ “Rhythm of Love”, and The Collective front woman is in love with herself again as she takes the second shotat the solo mic.. A Dartmouth Aire and Sonos chick are up on a floral balcony and another collection of talent is on the patio downstairs. This is a corny song to begin with, but they’re really milking it. The North Shore guys are palpably more comfortable with this mellow little ditty than they were with My Chemical Romance two weeks ago. Lots of snapping and touch steps scattered across the stage. This is more critique of the song selection and style choices than anything the groups are doing wrong, but I gotta say this is kind of painful. I have to give the duke to the Aires for selling it all the best, perhaps on account of the bizarre neon pink and pastel blue formal wear that, like a platter, seems designed to serve up cheese.

The Deltones are first up with Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory.” Nice pulsing perc on the open. Ooh… lyric flub within the first five lines. Let’s see if they can keep it together. Nice little bit of stage repositioning to a V-formation. The soloist is gutting this out nicely, but the sound is just kind of empty on the whole. Even the fist bumps don’t really seem to have much piss and vinegar behind them. This is the sort of song that’s all about attitude and the cheesy little echo effects they’re going with are not delivering that. This is not a stellar showing for this group.

Shawn calls the performance solid. He lays the praise on the solo and the perc. Sara liked the shift to a more playful sound and credits the solo. She wanted the physicality to come across less static, though, and for the ‘Tones to sing their asses off more. Ben says it sounded like the song had some southern flavor. He was worried about the top of the perc and he tought it was a little weak on top, but he says the song overall was solid.

The Dartmouth Aires are here with “Animal” by Neon Trees. This has been a favorite as of late on the collegiate scene. It will be interesting to hear how the guys can make it their own. Neat visual on the opening with the guys circled up and the soloist running within them. The soloist drops to a seat on the stairs as the groups spreads the stage. Nice pulsing beat. Tons of fun visuals going on as the guys move their bums off to sell every bit of this thing. The guys take full advantage of the sheer size of the group, pounding out the volume and filling their parts nicely. Nice second solo. The sound starts to seem a little repetitive, which I wouldn’t worry so much about if they were doing the whole song, but this is just a two-minute sample—that shouldn’t happen. It’s a relatively minor quibble—solid showing.

Shawn says the song and performance exemplified the group’s youth and energy, and he loves the guys’ pants. Ben says the energy was great and solo really told a story. It sounded like a pop song—they rocked it. Sara thought the energy and excitement from each guy was fantastic and loved the solo, particularly when he went into his upper register for the choruses.

Season 3’s biggest underachievers, Sonos are back, this time singing Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.” Hmm… not the first song I would have picked (if just for how dead this horse was beaten on the collegiate scene two years ago), but let’s see what they can do. That perc is so sick. Nice harmonies, albeit them coming across a bit thin again. I want to see the front man emote a little more--he sounds great, but the performance aspect just isn’t there. The group is making an effort to move more this week, which bodes well, but what movement we get is pretty restrained. I worry the overall vibe was just too mellow to connect with a general audience here.

Ben says the arrangement was really strong and a marked improvement, tapping into the song. Ben applauds the bass sound one of the women worked out. Sara loves that the group has embraced this new sound. She found it pitchy at points, and felt like they were missing an extra voice. Shawn praises the nuance of the perc effects. He was concerned about the female harmonies going in, but says they came across beautifully. He thought the intricacy of the harmonies led to some pitchy points, but overall liked it.

Pentatonix is coming up next, and bringing Ke$ha’s “Your Love is My Drug” to the stage. They promise a sick remix. This song is one of my guilty pleasures from the past year—I’m interested to hear what they do with it. The guys are huddled as the female member strolls on past them. Odd little jazzy sound on the opening here. Nice perc, interesting harmonies. I’m OK with it. I guy with a way too classical voice for this song takes the lead heading into the chorus, and it is not so good. The group sounds awfully thin on that chorus. I credit for at least working the stage effectively. The song more or less falls into the original sound in the bridge when the female lead takes over, with pulsing perc behind it—and this is a very good thing. Very cool little wind-it-back audio effect, and the original soloist gets a moment to shine. Talk about a bipolar performance—start good, tank, then go sublime. I’m still a little overwhelmed with the lack of firepower this group is giving us—past winners NOTA and committed overcame the numbers game, so there aren’t any excuses.

Ben says that, from the bridge out the song was really strong, but he didn’t really like the risks the group took at the top, applying a melody to the song—he thinks they’re stronger when they’re freaking out. Shawn says the group has found its niche with the futuristic dance sound. He talks about the solo and how the guy can sing really well, but needs to know when to hold it back to fit the song. He liked the pleasant, sweet sound of the second solo. Sara loves the way in which the group has a signature sound, and says the bass and drum blew her face off. She calls the soloist a beast.

The Collective is here. Of the three groups in jeopardy (the others are The Deltones and Sonos) this group has the most ground to make up from last time. The crew is singing “Rocketeer” by Far East Movement. The hype video tells us the soloist has laryngitis. Ouch. Static opening with just the soloist from last week riffing. She transitions to a different soloist whose likeability factor is instantly several times higher. The group blend is far better this time out, though the sound is a bit basic. Good perc. Male solo is good, if a bit too restrained, with a bit of an Adam Levine tinge to it. I really want to hear more attitude from the background—the one dude who’s shouting “fly” echoes is trying—they could double up on that. All in all, it really wasn’t bad (and was much better than last time) but was just a bit too vanilla for my tastes.

Sara lauds the solos and credits the jazzy approach to the song, though she says they lost the groove a bit, and the bass got off pitch at points. Ben talks about the solo working really well, and her illness not being an issue for it. He wants to hear the group relax and open a little more so they can feel the blend. Shawn talks about how the rhythm section is really important on a song like this, and though it fell away at times, it was generally good and demonstrated improvement from last time.

North Shore is stepping out of its comfort zone for this top 40 performance. None of them listen to the radio anymore, and they hadn’t heard of Bruno Mars before, but here they come with “The Lazy Song”. We open on the guys lounging on easy chairs for a fun if a bit overly literal visual interpretation. I love the bass sound from this group. The soloist is really going for it—not a perfect fit, but it functions. The whistle is so smoothly incorporated. Nice playing up of a more current reference like doing the Dougie. Nice moment as they get on up to fall into a groove. As much as the sound is, objectively, a bit thin the guys are clearly having fun and do a nice job of building to moments when the soloist can let loose or the group can show off it’s ‘tude. That’s the difference between a group like this and Pentatonix. Given how far these guys are from home, I’ll give that a vote of “excellent.” Best number of the night so far.

Sara calls the performance clean and crisp. She digs the group’s personality and ability to make it all look effortless. Shawn was concerned if the guys would be able to make the song their own, and he says they pulled it off well. He gives props to the bass. Ben says he couldn’t find anything wrong it, and celebrates the breath control on the solo.

The Dartmouth Aires are here with “Animal” by Neon Trees. This has been a favorite as of late on the collegiate scene. It will be interesting to hear how the guys can make it their own. Neat visual on the opening with the guys circled up and the soloist running within them. The soloist drops to a seat on the stairs as the groups spreads the stage. Nice pulsing beat. Tons of fun visuals going on as the guys move their bums off to sell every bit of this thing. The guys take full advantage of the sheer size of the group, pounding out the volume and filling their parts nicely. Nice second solo. The sound starts to seem a little repetitive, which I wouldn’t worry so much about if they were doing the whole song, but this is just a two-minute sample—that shouldn’t happen. It’s a relatively minor quibble—solid showing.

Shawn says the song and performance exemplified the group’s youth and energy, and he loves the guys’ pants. Ben says the energy was great and solo really told a story. It sounded like a pop song—they rocked it. Sara thought the energy and excitement from each guy was fantastic and loved the solo, particularly when he went into his upper register for the choruses.

Pentatonix is back with Janice Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” odd little reggae groove on the opening. The lyric change to make this a man’s song is just contextually strange. The group seems a lot more restrained on this one than we’ve heard the group up to this point—far less of the frenzy, far more chill. I don’t love the sight of the soloist and the woman just kneeling and watching during the horn solo. As much as it spotlights a cool effect, when you only have five members, at least three of them should be singing at all times. I’m growing a little weary of that same record-slow-down effect to end every song. The overall performance was better than all this criticism gives it credit for, but I’m just not on the same wavelength with this group’s artistic decisions.

Shawn calls the arrangement fly. Sara credits the group making the song its own and lauds the perc/horn man. She likes the groups blend, though she missed the power of the group a little. Ben says that they took a risk and did a great job. He cites that the group wants to rush and they could have slowed down a bit more to sell the song.

The Deltones are here with “You Can’t Hurry Love” by The Supremes. Nice bass sound, and nice ability to take advantage of the female quorum for some high harmonies and good girl movement. Things seem to slip a little out of tune as it goes on. Nice little moment as the group drops out leading into the chorus. The movement grows a little cheesy, but fits the song well. Nothing earth-shattering here, but generally a solid outing.

Sara calls the group “so damn cute” and really liked the sass of the movement. She observes a bit of pitchiness. Ben credits the ability of a collegiate group to come together, but does observe the pitch issues as well. Shawn said he was listening for the bass line and says they pulled that off well. He found the lead beautiful and sassy. He said he could have used a little more from the mid-range voices to round out the sound.

North Shore brings us “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers. Are these guys ever in their element. Simple. Beautiful. Holy cow, did you catch the soloist’s falsetto?! Haha—that’s not even fair. I could have dealt with a bit of movement from the guys, but that’s as minor of a quibble as you’re likely to get on this blog. Fantastic outing.

Ben says the second verse had a bit of pitch issues, but says he’s poking holes in something amazing. Shawn calls the solo silky—he observes the pitch issues as well, but says they delivered the song as it should be delivered. Sara loved the performance and sings the praises of the solo, too. She dug the blend as well.

The Collective is back with Sam and Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Coming.” On an aside, Ithacappella’s version of this song from a few years back remains an all-time favorite. Dueling male and female soloists—I’m not so sure about that decision. I’ve gotta be honest, I don’t love either of them. This is probably the fullest the group has sounded, to its credit. I like the idea of the moment, but when the left side of the stage moonwalks, they look awkward as all heck. The group goes for the gusto towards the finish for what sounds like it’s building to the group’s best moment yet—until they finish on a messy final note.

Ben says the second half rocked, and is what he’s wanted from the group—maybe it points out the need for the group to let loose more, sooner. Shawn echoes that, on a song like this, the group needs to take the audience to church from the get-go. He wanted more, sooner. Sara likes the leads o this one and loved it from the second chorus out. She says the group is comfortable on stage and she believes in them.

Sonos comes out swinging with “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5. Jazzy, but dangerous sounding opening. Cool. The female lead is downright sultry, and the group is both moving more, and moving in a way that looks comfortable for them. Nice moment as they cluster then spread out, adding parts as they go with the perc man holding down the foundation. I wish we could have arrived at a bit more of a dramatic moment, but this is still such a cool reimagining, and probably the best we’ve heard Sonos on The Sing-Off

Ben questions how effective the reharmonizations were, and says they have to get past pedals. Shawn says the danger of covering a classic is that it’s a classic, and he was missing the riffs. He says it was ambitious, but it didn’t work for him. Sara says she really likes when groups change up their arrangements, but she wanted them to at least throw it back to the original for a moment, and she wanted to see a little more pleading from the solo.

The Dartmouth Aires round out the second half with The Who’s “Pinball Wizard.” Check them basses! The soloist demonstrates a unique ability to create remarkable volume and depth while looking chill as hell. The guys are selling everything they’ve got. Neat little visual with one member portraying a pinball against the simulated machine walls of two lines of Aires—not musical, but fun to watch. This is where a little bit of a performance gets lost in the translation from live stage to TV. Very nice high harmonies to close.

Sara says it was awesome, calls the soloist a natural, and loved the arrangement. She credits them with wrangling together so many voices. Ben says Pete Townshend would love that arrangement, and he loved the style of silly the guys brought to the finish. He loved the transitions. There were occasional pitch issues, but they were effectively masked. Shawn calls the soloist a rock star. The mentions the pitch problems early on, but says it was fun and he loved the energy.

Elimination time. North Shore and The Dartmouth Aires are safe. Pentatonix and The Deltones are safe. No surprises here. None of the bottom three really performed this week—The Deltones were the safest coming in, and played things steady throughout the episode. The Collective is safe. Not a surprise, but still a disappointment to see a pro group head out so early in favor of a thrown-together gang that hasn’t yet got it together in the form of The Collective. Sonos sings Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye To Yesterday.” The emotion shows in the missed notes on the opening here. Messier than I’ve ever heard or would expect from Sonos. Shawn hides his face--he might claim in sorrow, but I think it’s more displeasure about the treatment of his song than the elimination.

That’s all for this episode. Next week, the brackets merge for the top ten. Two groups go home next week. Be sure to check back here at The ACB later this week for the updated Sing-Off Power Rankings!

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