By Caitlin Walsh, News Correspondent
On a frigid Tuesday night at the beginning of the semester, right as professors were starting to pile on the work, Northeastern’s a capella groups filled the university’s Blackman Auditorium and entertained students and faculty members.
Jake Siegel is a sophomore bass section leader and booking manager for Distilled Harmony, one of the six groups, and one of the three co-ed ensembles, that performed in Tuesday night’s concert. His excitement was palpable before the concert, as he gushed about what these groups can bring to the table.
“Tonight’s show is not everyday a cappella,” he said. “Our school is bringing a lot of talent and representation to the stage tonight and also to the upcoming ICCA (International Championships of A Cappella) quarter finals. All six of the groups that are performing tonight are competing this year and it’s an exciting time for us in this advancing art.”
He wasn’t wrong. The show started off with the all-male group, The UniSons, whose character was apparent as soon as they all stepped on stage in matching black shirts that read “Got Balls?” in white lettering. A few were sporting sunglasses; one even wore suspenders. Characters all around.
Their first song, “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons, featured amazing beatboxing support from a few of the men. They were all in it together, playing off of each other skillfully. All three of their songs kept up their unity, but perhaps their most lively number was their third and final, their personal rendition of Bloodhound Gang’s “The Bad Touch,” complete with booty shaking and stage humping.
Distilled Harmony took the stage second, bringing a co-ed mix. Their numbers included “Yoü and I” by Lady GaGa, which turned into a powerful male and female duet that would knock GaGa off her feet, Christina Perri’s “Jar of Hearts” and “Shark In the Water” by V.V. Brown to bring the beat and mood back up, again, with a sassy and soulful soloist taking it over. The support, all the while, stayed on key and kept the blood pumping. Most notable, however, was their final number, a powerfully smooth version of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” that reminded us all of Michael Bublé. They kept it jazzy, they kept it classy and they left the audience with no choice but thunderous applause.
Treble on Huntington, the first all-female group, brought some serious girl power to the stage, starting it off with Blu Cantrell’s early 2000s hit “Hit ‘Em Up Style (Oops!),” and later offered some eerily beautiful, reduced tempo Britney Spears. Their standout numbers, however, were certainly Neon Trees’ “Animal,” which had such fun energy led mostly by the soloist who danced right into center stage, and their closing number, “Some Nights” by Fun.
The DownBeats brought us all back to speed after a short intermission, taking on some smoother, sadder but still powerful and moving songs. Coldplay and Adele were naturally included, and their rendition of Ellie Goulding’s “Lights” was surprisingly spot-on for such a tough sound – impressive to say the least. However, it was their version of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love” that really wowed, with a background that gave the song a bit more of a tempo but kept it beautiful, all the same. The soloist was, without a doubt, captivating and enchanting.
The ladies of Pitch, Please! took the stage in all black – and all golden, sparkly sky high heels. Immediately, they were a force to be reckoned with. Their version of Emeli Sandé’s “My Kind of Love” was powerfully pleasing, especially for a song less known by the audience. Their rendition of “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child was sassy and choreographed, bringing us all flashbacks of early Beyoncé in the best way possible. But their showstopper was, to the delight of all Pitch Perfect fans, “Titanium” by David Guetta and Sia. Their soloist connected with the audience, added some dramatic flair, got the audience screaming applause before it even ended.
Closing the show were Northeastern’s a capella veterans, the older siblings of the bunch, The Nor’easters. They blew the roof off the house with their hauntingly emotional version of Florence + The Machine’s “Spectrum,” and crushed their version of Florence Welch’s song with Calvin Harris, “Sweet Nothing.” But they ended the entire night with the most energetic, fun, mind-blowing performance of the entire evening: the wildly popular “As Long As You Love Me” by Justin Bieber. The beatboxing was out of this world, the male and female leads perfectly paired, and the background was so balanced and in sync that their title as old pros was quite obviously fitting.
Siegel’s energy was still buzzing hours after the show, his spirits sky-high. “Tonight was such a great time for all of the groups, I think. We had a ton of fun preparing and performing this set for the show and are excited for our future and progression as a group of musicians,” he said.
