This weekend, the Rensselyrics and Rusty Pipes hosted an invitational a cappella event. They, and their three guest groups, performed for over three hours in front of a packed McNeil Room.
The show, called "Everybody Gets Laid," had a slumber party theme. All the groups except the Skidmore Dynamics participated by wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts, pajamas, or nighties. The Dynamics, on the other hand, claimed that they would have dressed up, but they all sleep in the nude.
The Pipes opened the show with a very upbeat set—all of their songs were arrangements of pop songs. They sang a few that I’d never heard from the Pipes before, including Three Doors Down’s "Kryptonite," Lisa Loeb’s "Stay," and Rick James’ "Give It To Me Baby." As always, the Pipes’ selections were superbly arranged. The group picks songs well, choosing songs whose sound they can reproduce well. They closed well with "It’s All Been Done" by the Barenaked Ladies.
Next up were the Colgate Resolutions. They started off with "The Thong Song," but stopped the song when one member, who had been lying quietly in a sleeping bag, sat up and said, "I love those dreams." They moved on to Jamiroquai’s "Virtual Insanity," and after that, the rest of their songs, though well-sung, brought the energy down a bit. The Resos closed with Depeche Mode’s "Home." Though their singing was fairly good, the low energy of their later songs and the fact that someone directed the group throughout every song detracted from their performance.
The Buffalo Chips took over from the Colgate group. The all-male group from the University at Buffalo brought the energy back up a bit with "Semi-Charmed Life." They followed that up with a beautiful arrangement of U2’s "Mysterious Ways." The Chips then moved into a few songs interspersed with skits, leading into their finale, "Bohemian Rhapsody." This was easily the best song of the night, and featured expert arrangement and hilarious choreography.
After a short intermission, the Skidmore Dynamics took the stage. They presented an interesting collection of songs, including "Build Me Up Buttercup," "Hard to Handle," and several ballads. The Dynamics weren’t as good as the other groups performing, and their songs were not arranged as well.
The Rensselyrics were the last group to go on. They opened with a new one, "Ordinary Day," a song that I didn’t recognize but was good nonetheless. They followed up with "Down On the Corner." They continued with my favorite Rensselyrics song, Moxy Fruvous’ "King Of Spain." After that very upbeat song, the group changed gears a bit, slowing down the beat for a few songs. Their last song was "What You Own" from the musical "Rent," which they performed well.
At this point, the Pipes joined the ’Lyrics for Prince’s "Seven" to close the show.
Overall, the show was a success. I thought the choice of venues was a bit unfortunate—the McNeil Room isn’t ideal for an a cappella show. The acoustics weren’t the greatest and it was difficult to see the performers from the back of the room. Other than that, there were two solid guest groups and some outstanding songs, along with the great performances by the Rusty Pipes and Rensselyrics.
