Amelia Brookes
On the night of Friday 25th March, people across the university were waiting, breath bated, for the Student’s Union Election results…but Amelia Brookes was in the Djanogly Recital Hall, waiting for the A Cappella Society to take the stage for their spring showcase.
I hadn’t heard a live a cappella performance ever at university before, so I was looking forward to it. I wondered if they were all going to come out in matching suits and ties, or maybe dresses, if they would have a microphone or not, and if they would have guaranteed choreography or not. What I was not expecting was a group to come out in costumes from various time periods, and belt Bohemian Rhapsody (and it was iconic, by the way!)
We were greeted by Daisy and Juliet, the President and Vice President, respectively. They entertained us with jokes in the breaks (joined by Mitch and his top-tier humour) and announced the acts that we would see that evening. We started with a rendition of Walking On Sunshine, with the members’ outfits arranged in the colours of the rainbow on- stage (thank you A Cappella Soc, very cute)! Unplugged, with their cheesy songs and cheesier dance moves (courtesy of Jacob), vaguely set the precedent for the type of vibes I would be seeing that very night, when I went to Ocean afterwards.
A cheerful vibe that matched their voices
This was followed by Pick and Mix (previously Cadence) who stunned the audience with their rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody in costume, and with artistic versatility. Next was Son of a Pitch, who performed American Boy, and an impressive mashup of the songs from the beloved musical, Hairspray– they too had beautifully rainbow coloured outfits, making for a cheerful vibe that matched their voices. And can we talk about Radiooctave’s absolutely beautiful performance, which brought angelic vibes to my ears! The entire first half was a lot of fun and so energetic, which really encouraged me to be hyped for the second half.
I was Rick Rolled
I was sitting in my seat, waiting for the delights that the rest of the second half would bring. I had already heard the committee perform a kooky cover of Ghostbusters, and was laughing at Men II Boys perform “I’m all about that bass, all about that bass, no tenor”. My guard was down. Let me clarify here that I love Rick Astley’s songs, and that there is no animosity towards the situation. But… I was Rick Rolled. As soon as the first line “We’re no strangers to love…” hit my ears, I was suddenly aware that this group of twentysomething men had managed to rick roll everyone in the rehearsal hall, including me. I could only watch in confusion as the song continued, and said men danced around in fedoras and waistcoats, winning over the audience.
As soon as Pitch Please walked on-stage, I was prepared for a return to the cheerful pop songs as they performed a cover of The Sweet Escape, only to cringe as I heard the opening lines of a song by Jason Derulo of Whatcha Say fame. Extra shout out that they removed the line that, in the original song, ended with “reminds me of a Kanye West song”!
Vocally stunning
The show ended on a sweet note with a personal standout Acapocalypse, a group that was both extremely popular with the audience (a few members gave it a standing ovation) and vocally stunning, with a standout performance being their rendition of Let Me Entertain You, which both of the girls sitting next to me looked captivated by.
I hope that everyone who is part of A Cappella Soc is extremely proud of themselves for displaying such a wonderful performance. By the time I left the rehearsal hall for a difficult trek back to my accommodation, I could hear members of the society stroll out of the doors behind me, talking about seeing each other the next night to do it all again, and as I walked away across the car park, I could hear melodies still hanging in the air.
Amelia Brookes
Featured image courtesy of Alex Watkin. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image courtesy of @acappellauon via @instagram.com. No changes were made to these images.
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