The Rusty Pipes held their fifth annual Pipe-A-Thon on Saturday night in DCC 308. Though the small number of guest groups (two) was a bit of a disappointment, the show was an enjoyable display of collegiate a cappella.
This year’s guests were the Yellowjackets, an all-male group from the University of Rochester, and the Jackson Jills, an all-female group from Tufts University. Both groups were very talented.
I enjoyed the Jills more than the Jackets for two reasons. First, the Jills were a bit better in the area of showmanship—they drew the audience in more—while the Yellowjackets for the most part focused mainly on the singing part of the performance, with a few efforts at other entertaining displays.
The more important reason, however, was music selection. The Jackson Jills chose fairly familiar popular music, such as Ben Folds Five’s "Army" and Roxette’s "It Must Have Been Love." This is my favorite type of music at Pipe-A-Thons. The group from Rochester, on the other hand, had a few pop songs and several songs intended for a cappella, which were well sung but less interesting to me. I prefer songs that utilize clever arrangements and skillful voices to imitate musical instruments and other sounds not normally associated with human vocal cords.
True to the name of the concert, the Rusty Pipes was the star of the show. As is customary, the Pipes opened it up with a humorous video (matching the "Saved by the Pipes" theme) showing the group’s members realizing simultaneously (and late) that the Pipe-A-Thon is starting, and arriving together at DCC 308, followed by an opening song. This was followed by a skit and introduction of the Yellowjackets. Between the two guest groups, the Pipes sang "Happy Birthday" to a special audience member before turning the show over to the Jackson Jills.
After the guest groups were done, the Pipes took over, singing a few songs that were new to me and a few they sang last season. One of my favorite new songs was "Frank’s 2000 Inch TV," a Weird Al Yankovic song.
The Pipes also debuted their third CD at the show, taking preorders because the CD shipment did not make it in time for the Pipe-A-Thon.
As is customary, the Pipes sang an encore with the alumni members who were at the show. There were many alumni this year, and they sang U2’s "Pride (In the Name of Love)," the encore song they’ve been singing for the past few years.
All in all, the show was a good one. The Pipes are performing again on December 6, when they open for Rockapella at Troy Music Hall.
