You’d think that we would have had enough of a cappella after two weekends ago, where both the Rensselyrics and Partial Credit hosted their separate shows on consecutive days. But last Saturday played host to another a cappella showcase, as the Rusty Pipes filed into the DCC to perform its 11th annual spring show, titled “Wall of Sound” after the group’s upcoming CD. The turnout to the event was pretty impressive; by the time I arrived at the scene, I was having quite a hard time trying to find seats—DCC 308 was just that full of people. And even with hardly any seats left, people were still filing in as the concert began.
The Rusty Pipes opened up its “Wall of Sound” show with Christian Dommell ’07 soloing to “Time Is Running Out” by Muse. Before they could continue with the rest of their repertoire, however, the group decided to introduce the nominees for Best Co-Ed Group for the year. It was obvious who the winner would be, since Absolute Acappella was the only group performing out of the nominee list mentioned—though, I personally was rooting for the “Jackson Five,” which consisted of Michael Jackson and President Shirley Ann Jackson photoshopped onto the other boys’ faces.
Absolute Acappella is a group of men and women from SUNY New Paltz which performs a number of contemporary songs and some other timeless classics. The group started by clapping and stomping to the beat of its first song, “Day O” by Harry Belafonte. Afterward, it sang to its rendition of Jason Mraz’s “Geek in the Pink” and Gary Jules’ “Mad World.” Absolute Acappella then followed those two songs with a remixed version of “Cowboy Take Me Away” by the Dixie Chicks and “Cowboy” by Kid Rock. The group’s last song was Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” quite an overplayed song, but nonetheless it brought about a number of cheers and claps from the crowd.
Once the first guest group was done, it was then time to announce more nominees, this time of the Best Male Group—where The Pointercounts from SUNY Potsdam came out victorious. The all-male group prides itself on its wide range of musical styles, including pop songs, anthems, and other popular music. To show the variety of its repertoire, The Pointercounts’ first two songs were “Ignition” by R. Kelly and “Gone” by *NSYNC. The group’s next song, “Return to Pooh Corner” by Kenny Loggins, was also quite different from the other two. They also performed a rendition of The Beatles’ “Because.” The last song for that set was “May the Wind Always be at Your Back,” which is a traditional Irish blessing.
It was finally then time for the Rusty Pipes to begin its main event after the intermission. Jason Ingraham ’07 sang a solo on “So Let It Be” by The King Singers. Next on the list was Evanescence’s “Call Me When You’re Sober,” with Michele Viani ’09 as the soloist. Shawn Jiles ’09 followed Viani’s act with a solo of “Better State of Mind” by Three. A cheer went up for Bianca Zongrone ’10, who sang to My Chemical Romance’s “The Sharpest Lives.”
In between the Rusty Pipes songs, a few flowers and award titles were given to the seniors of the group. Those awarded were Randi Goldman ’07, Dommell, Ingraham, Pat Johnston ’07, and John Yi ’06. For further embarrassment—or perhaps praise—a few slides and videos were shown of past moments that each of the senior Pipes members went through.
A duet then took place between Johanna Carroll ’09 and Anna Cardillo ’09 as they sang to “You Thought Wrong,” a song by Kelly Clarkson and Tamyra Gray. Taylor Pruitt ’10 showed her colors in “Face Down” by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. This act was then followed with a solo of Jewel’s “Foolish Games” by Kate Dannheim ’09. The last song on the list was Carroll and Jiles’ duet of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You,” which was met with a standing ovation. The crowd stood up again and clapped enthusiastically after the performance of “Pride” by U2, a Rusty Pipes tradition.
It’s no wonder the cheering was so loud, as the Rusty Pipes have a huge fan following, which gives an inkling of its hefty and catchy repertoire. Along with its rather contemporary sound, the group has done a number of tours as well as participated in competitions—one of which was the National Competition of Collegiate A Cappella, where the Rusty Pipes recently took second place in the quarterfinals for the Northeast Region as well as the award for Outstanding Choreography (Goldman won for the choreography of “Time Is Running Out”—which tied with Partial Credit’s rendition of “Kiss the Girls”) and Outstanding Soloist (which went to Carroll and Jiles on their duet of “If I Ain’t Got You”). The Rusty Pipes group has had an excellent year.
