To introduce the Pipes, a humorous story of superheroes and villains—and movie rip-offs—was taken into effect. At the DCC, we were all introduced to some of the Pipes members, who were dressed as superheroes. At that point, we all wondered, pointed, and laughed at the manliness of the Incredibly Manly Man, the mood swings of PMS Girl, and the antics of the Stereotypically White Man.

After the small clip, the Pipes rushed down to the stage and began with a wonderful performance of “Crawling” by Linkin Park. And so the ninth annual Pipe-a-Thon began that night.

Instead of continuing with their music, the Pipes opened the floor for SUNY Binghamton’s ’80s-style co-ed a cappella group, Rhythm Method. They started the fun by literally kicking loose to “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins.

More catchy tunes followed suit, including “Goonies R Good Enough” by Cyndi Lauper, “New Age Girl” by Dead Eye Dick, and a blowout performance of “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurythmics.

Following Rhythm Method was an all-girl a cappella group from Smith College in Massachusetts, the Noteables. The Noteables have a repertoire of more than just ’80s music, in fact, according to a number of people, they “sing everything.”

The Noteables’ first songs were “Just Like Heaven” from The Cure, “Borderline” by Madonna, “Son of a Preacher Man” by Dusty Springfield, and a much better rendition of “Cry Me a River” by Justin Timberlake. Before their final song, the Noteables decided to do a slightly interesting and overly weird—or disgusting—ad on Crest Toothpaste. Once that bit was done, they finished off their performance with “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys.

Intermission was called afterwards, in which people clamored outside to commend the past two performances and to buy their CDs. Once the lights went off again, another video clip was shown which continued the story of a fight between good and evil (where the Just Overly Evil Man schemed about kidnappings and harmonic resonators).

After much waiting, the Rusty Pipes came back again to perform more songs, including “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by Deep Blue Something, “Cool” by Gwen Stefani, and “A Charming Spell” by Splashdown. In addition to that impressive bunch, the Pipes tickled our funny bones by doing an alcoholic rendition of Raffi’s “Bananaphone” (and there’s a disclaimer on underage drinking, so don’t even think about it!).

Most of the audience gave a standing ovation to the Pipes’ arrangement of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You,” and afterwards the last video was shown. In the end, the battle between good and evil was put on hold; the Rusty Pipes had a gig to perform after all.

To end the show with a bang, the Pipes performed three songs that landed them second place at the International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella quaterfinals in Syracuse University. No wonder, since the last three songs did stand out above the rest.

The Rusty Pipes finished the last half with “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day and “Let It Be” by the Beatles. The performance of “Helena” by My Chemical Romance received a standing ovation as well.

As a final performance and tradition, Rusty Pipes alumni were asked to join the current members to sing “Pride” by U2. Overall, the Pipes delivered a supremely outstanding performance, and they definitely saved the day.