On Saturday, February 27, a dream came true for The A Cappella Blog crew. After attending dozens of ICCA shows over the years, the blog staff had the opportunity to host its very own ICCA quarterfinal. The result was one heck of a night, filled with good music, good friends and a good time to be had by all.

A call to arms

It all started when the Varsity Vocals organization put out the call on its website, seeking a host for a Mid-Atlantic quarterfinal. It didn’t take long ACB Production Manager Mike Scalise to get on the phone with Content Manager Mike Chin with an idea.

As an alum and current employee of Nazareth College Scalise had a number of connections at the school, not the least of which was a tie to Naz’s only all-female a cappella group Call4BackUp. Working with Nazareth colleagues Jamie Fazio and Sara Rusick, Scalise and Call4BackUp secured a time and venue, and, working with ICCA Director of College A Cappella Programming Lindsay Howerton sured up the details for the event.

Read the rest

Mike Chin checking in here after a memorable International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) quarterfinal at Johns Hopkins University. This was the first competition for the South region, and my first one for the year after a blizzard derailed my plans to journey to Rutgers last weekend.

This show took place at Shriver Hall on the Johns Hopkins University campus in strangely snowy Baltimore, MD.

Before we get to the review, a quick summary:

The Competitors:
The University of Maryland Baltimore County Mama’s Boys
Salisbury University Squawkappella
The Johns Hopkins University Octopodes
The Georgetown University Phantoms
Virginia Tech Juxtaposition
University of Maryland College Park PandemoniUM
University of Delaware Vocal Point

Host Group:
The Johns Hopkins University Octopodes

Guest Groups:
The Johns Hopkins University Mental Notes
The Johns Hopkins University All-Nighters
The Johns Hopkins University Vocal Chords

Read the rest

Mike Scalise here to fill you in on a recent show. The Mid-Atlantic region of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) opened this Saturday, February 6, with a quarterfinal at Cornell University. Call Alumni Auditorium in Kennedy Hall was the site for the show. Having arrived early to Cornell, I was able to scope out the venue. The last time I was at Cornell for an ICCA show was several years ago, and the event occurred in Sage Chapel. This venue had a much different feel. First, it had stadium seating, holding around 600, with a surprisingly small stage. Regardless, it looked well-suited for an event like this.

A quick summary of the show:

Host Group:
The Key Elements (Cornell University)

Competing Groups:
Kaskeset (SUNY Binghamton)
Phalanx (Elizabethtown College)
The Pointercounts (SUNY Potsdam)
Premium Blend (Ithaca College)
Soulfege (Lafayette College)

Read the rest

Brent Chismark is a Michigan State University alumnus. This is his first review for The A Cappella Blog.

A remarkable change of venue is the first thing to note about the 2010 ICCA Midwest Quarterfinal in East Lansing, MI. Since my time as an undergraduate at MSU at the start of the Millennium, all the ICCA shows that took place at Michigan State University have been on-campus. This year, the venue was moved to the John Hannah Community Center, about a half-mile north of the University. I was initially apprehensive about the suitability of a community center for an ICCA show, though it had promise as far as available free parking was concerned.

However, once inside, the White Performing Arts Theater has a lot to offer an ICCA Quarterfinal–standard theatrical seating and better acoustics and light than the on-campus Fairchild Theatre for sure. The balcony section provided an excellent place for the event coordinators to corral the performing groups, while still giving them a great view of the show, and provided them a direct path to and from stage. Down below, as the show began, the available ground seats were mostly full, taking into account all the various roped-off seats for judges and timekeeper.

Our emcees for the night were MSU’s Spartan Dischords, known for their boisterous brand of on-stage antics. They opened the show with Jay Sean’s “Down”, which integrated “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas. Then, after the requisite rules summary, the first competitor took the stage.

Smooth Benediction is a mixed group from Mount Marty College, a private Catholic institution in South Dakota. Undoubtedly the farthest travelers of the day (at 800 miles), they only retained a slightly haggard appearance from their long trip. Their set followed the typical “Holy Trinity” (no pun intended) of upbeat, down-tempo, and rock-out, interspersed with some preacher-inspired intros. Their final song, an arrangement of George Michael’s “Faith” was pretty well received, especially when the lead was interrupted Kanye-style by another group member. While injecting a moment of laughter, it seemed a little out-of-place. However, when they got going again with a fumbled key change, the stunt just came off as an attempt at misdirection while they tried to nail that key change.

Next up was the GMen from the University of Michigan. Sporting their customized GMen jerseys, they took the stage with Guster’s “Careful”. It has been a few years since I last heard this now 15-year-old men’s group, but they have definitely stepped up their game in the last few years as they were the tightest I had heard them. Strong bass presence on the mic–probably the best of the night–great choreography and solid arranging were particular highlights. Their arrangement of Queen’s “(Crazy Little) Thing Called Love”, was arranged in a 60’s lounge style, with 50’s inspired choreography and an Elvis Presley lead standing down-right with the ensemble arranged in two rows center stage. The choreography here was especially well-done and reminiscent of perennial ICCA competitor U of I Xtension Chords.

Read the rest

Mike Chin here once again, writing after the fourth and final episode of The Sing-Off. The show opens with the remaining groups—Nota, The Beelzebubs and Voices of Lee–uniting to perform U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” It’s cheesy, but not as painfully so as the last ensemble number. Voices of Lee looks better than it has any point in the competition, clad in a black and a stylish shade of midnight blue. The ‘Bubs have chic look of their own happening in purple and black–lots of them rocking the argyle. Nota is the least aesthetically pleasing in yellow and gray. Of the groups, The ‘Bubs sound most at home on this song.

For most of the song, there’s one representative from each group up front. For The ‘Bubs and Nota, it’s the usual front men, but for Voices of Lee, it occurs to me that there isn’t one lead person I really think of to represent them. There’s the guy who got spotlighted on episode two for taking on the interim director role, and the guy who had the last couple solos. In any event, it’s a young woman representing the group for this one. For better or worse, I think the lack of one easily definable face for the group says something about Voices in this competition.

Lachey leads us off, recapping the competition structure and where we are. He reveals that tonight’s show will feature songs of hope and inspiration to get us into the holiday spirit.

Group #1: Voices of Lee

As I wipe the vomit from the corners of my mouth, we get clips of Voices of Lee volunteering with some kids for the day. It actually is fairly touching, and though it’s a bit cliché, I like that that the show’s contestants each spent some time in the community as a way of culminating the show experience. In any event, Voices of Lee takes the stage live for a rendition of “Stand By Me.” Nice bass sound. Good solo, though I’d argue the backing solo that comes in for a bit in the second verse is actually stronger. The blend is good, as per usual. There’s a point at which the group slowly, unsteadily maneuvers across the stage toward the first soloist, and I can’t help having images of zombies stalking their prey. That’s not where they’re headed with this, of course. Harmless, if in non-sensational a cappella all around, as we’ve come to expect from this crew.

Read the rest