Last night I went to a live performance of a men's a capella group called Straight No Chaser. The 10-voice group was formed at Indiana University about 14 years ago when its members were students there. When the group reconvened for their 10-year college reunion, a video of the group was posted on YouTube and received something like 6 million hits, leading to a record contract, multi-city tour, PBS broadcast, and lots of iTunes downloads. The Chicago concert last night was a bit of a homecoming as the founder (and I believe primary artistic force behind the group) Dan Ponce, is a Chicago native and for a while was a news reporter on the local ABC television affiliate.
The group is very musically polished, with a couple of good solo singers, and a strong overall balance--although in last night's performance I did think the bass voices were over-amplified compared to the lead and inner voices. That's a mixing issue, though, not a musical one.
The primary YouTube clip that has gotten attention is a take-off of the 12 Days of Christmas, which was performed toward the end of the group's second set last night. It is a creative and funny arrangement, playing off a lot of the other Christmas music the group had sung earlier that night.
My primary beef with the group is a petty one--they have the most ill-fitting suits on a doo-wop group ever. They are all black with white shirts and black or red ties. Simple enough. But none of the 10 had been well-fit into these off the rack garmets.
Okay, so you're straight. I get it. That doesn't mean you can't be dressed and fitted a little better by a gay man.
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