This group is only three semesters old and they were performing off-campus for the first time, but they sounded great and made the audience laugh. Each member was allowed to introduce a different song, including "Lean on Me," Scarborough Fair and a lullaby among others. Mixing in their colorful attire with a blend of birds chirping and babbling brooks, their sound was great. They ended their set with "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog" and set the tone for a fun-filled night.
Next was "Henry's Eight" from Wells College in Aurora NY. They explained that they were from an 'eensy-weensy' women's liberal arts college and sang their alma mater (sorta). Other songs included: "You Are My Only One" "Stand By Me" "Breakin' Up Is Hard To Do" and a great song which boldly stated "Chocolate is Love."
The Wellesley-MIT (or MIT-Wellesley) Tunes brought their energetic sound to the stage with "Wild Night" punctuated with air guitars. They finished with a song by Madonna and were sent off with a rousing round of applause.
The next group was introduced as having "30 legs, 3 nose-rings, 9 tattoos, and 14 belly-buttons," the Smith College Notables. They were one of two groups which have produced their own CD: "If You Feed Us, We Will Come" and they performed a mix of contemporary and older songs. They also did this really sick trick with one toothbrush and four toothbrushers (which you had to see to believe, nuff said).
The MIT Carolers started off with Peter Gabriel's "Kiss That Frog" and a silly number "Fatso." Then came the top ten reasons why MIT is like sex: sleepless nights; integration by parts; it's long and hard; you work a long time and still end up frustrated; the first time, it's pass/fail; a good instructor is hard to find; the best is expensive; you will do anything to get in; if you can't keep up, you have to withdraw; and finally, when it's all over, you wonder if it's worth it.
Of course they also had the top ten things that WPI stands for (I only got nine, sorry): Worcester Polyester Institute; Wombat Pummeling Institute; We Pipet Isopropyl alcohol; Wacky Poptart Insertion; Wet Pantyhose Irritate; Wet Pampers Irritate; Weird Panda Inbreeding; We Procreate Incestuously; and finally, Wicked Poor Ispelling. They ended with a traditional MIT drinking song "We are the engineers" and a plea to buy their upcoming CD.
The Crane College of Music's "A Sharp Arrangement" brought their talent from Potsdam, NY and presented the audience with a wide range of songs. From "Mr. Sandman" which was assisted by SHM's Ryan Stapleton, through "Because I'm a Blond" they joked with the crowd and were well-received.
SHM brought back some oldies, including: "Calendar Girl," "Don't Know Much" and "Little Surfer Girl" pleasing the whole crowd. After thanking everyone for coming, they did a number they call "Sweatin' to the Oldies" and finished the show with "Goodnight Sweetheart."
If you weren't there, you missed a really good show and this writer would advise you to find out when they're next performing and make it a point to be there.