Mouth Off 04.25.10
ICCA Finals Review
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For those who’ve been living in a cave, let us be the first to tell you that last night, the final round of the International Championship of Collegiate A cappella was held in the world-renowned Lincoln Center in New York City. The six competing groups put on a stunning show, with Mouth Off’s own Dave Brown hosting the show as emcee, and our very own Christopher Diaz among the elite judging panel.
We’ve heard from dozens and dozens of you that you wish you could’ve been there. We wish you could’ve been there too!
Lincoln Center policies prevented any live audio recording last night, but today we bring you the next best thing: an all-star elite aca-panel, sharing their experiences in the audience last night, plus professional tips on what it takes to win this competition.
Join us for this special episode, featuring insights and jokes and hugs from three certified Varsity Vocals judges: NYC CASA Ambassador Nick Fox, the voice of Mouth Off Alli Brooks, and SingStrong executive producer and Blue Jupiter professional singer Jonathan Minkoff. One of our favorite episodes yet.
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the red flags were actually for Berklee College of Music Pitch Slapped (from my perspective… in the side box.)
im in Limited Edition and would just love to say how much fun we had performing, competing and watching the show.
Get out of my head. All of you, everyone on that panel, get out of my head! But thanks for saying it all in a way that was more entertaining and clear and illustrative than what I would have. And you are all -so- right. Jim’s right, by the way. I was sitting next to some Berklee moms, and the pennants were for Berklee. I love that they brought pennants and waved them like it was a sporting event. It brings up echoes of the NCCA/NCAA intentional naming similarity, and the regional brackets and the leave it all on the stage performances.
As for the VoCals.. they blew me away. I think other groups were better than them at some things, but no group was better than them at enough things to take away the top spot. The choreo alone set a bar that I don’t think any other group managed to jump over. It was comprehensive, evocative, appropriate, and, to drive home Jonathan’s point, dynamic. But I was left feeling like the group only existed to compete. They hit all the marks (as the points prove), and I had to ask myself if they ever did anything with themselves except practice for the competition. Do they ever do home shows? Tour to other schools? How is the rest of the repertoire, and could they carry a whole show, or have they focused -so- much on their competition set that it has weakened the group on everything that isn’t the ICCAs? Now, obviously this isn’t true, because they do home shows, they record well reviewed albums every few years, etc. But it was the impression I got from seeing them on stage.
Some of my brief thoughts on the other groups:
Buffalo Chips – Probably didn’t focus enough on the competition aspects. At any other show it would have been a great performance. but they just missed a little bit here and there, and that adds up.
UGA Accidentals – the group that most felt like a single unit. The sound was as tightly knit as the best barbershop or gospel quartets out there, and it was liquid gold.
Purple Haze – I wished the VoCals had pumped out the wall of sound Purple Haze managed to rock. It was -powerful-. I’m so glad to see the group return.
Pitch Slapped – probably the group that impressed me most in the evening. Partly because I knew a bit more about what to expect from the other groups. But Pitch Slapped brought it. The solos, and the backing fills were all phenomenal. Keep an eye out for them in future competitions.
Divisi – I loved the body percussion they did. IT was very reminiscent of what Moira Smiley and VOCO did back in the 2007 Harmony Sweeps, and some of what Bobby McFerrin has integrated into his work as well. Sadly, I was left wanting more from the group. Come on girls, I know you’ve got it!
The most surprising competition results for me were actually from the ICHSA, and the Town Criers. Knowing the caliber of the other groups, and knowing that they were in on the wildcard slot, I honestly didn’t expect them to do as well as they did. Good job guys!
Dave was an awesome host on Saturday! Your website is fantastic. If you’re interested in some behind the scenes action from Pitch Slapped from the ICCA finals, check out my latest blog post. http://bit.ly/azpc5G
No offense to any of the groups that competed (because they were all of the highest caliber and definitely deserved to be there) but when did this competition become ICCSC (International Competition for Collegiate Show Choirs)? To me a cappella doesn’t entail block chord arrangements and over rehearsed musical theater choreo… at some point you begin to lose the “soul” of what makes a cappella such a unique genre of music. There has to be some sort of balance between the dichotomy of performance and entertainment and it seemed that many of these groups exist only at either extreme. Things like creative arrangements and syllables were the hallmarks of quality a cappella groups in the 90′s and I feel a lot of that has been lost. Still though, for all my criticism this was an incredible show and I look forward to seeing what these groups bring to the stage next year!
Thank you for the comprehensive rundown for those who couldn’t make it to the show. This is the closest contemporary a-cappella may ever get to _Pardon the Interruption_. I’m a little confused, though, about the big deal being made (in this episode and previously) about how the ICCA and ICHSA finals are “normally” held in one show; when I judged both finals in 2006, it was two shows on two successive nights. (And yes, I have the photos to prove it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_wb/sets/?&page=3)