(no subject)

[markjwilder]

Opening number: I always like the opening numbers.

Vocal Rush (Bottom of the River by Delta Rae):
(before) Not sure that high schoolers are going to be able to pull off a wide range of songs, but we'll see. As for their first number, I'm not familiar with the song so I listened to the original real quick. It's a bold choice to do something that's already pretty much an a capella song. Looking forward to seeing what they do.

(after) Okay, that was better than I was expecting. They had a good range, though there wasn't a lot on the bottom end outside of a reasonable bass drum (I'm guessing it was vocal since I didn't see anyone stomping for most of the song). Speaking of stomping, their little breakdown stomp in the late middle section was good. My only big complaint is the hissing of the vocal percussion, which is a little pet peeve I have. The performance also gives no indication of how they'll do in arrangement of more complex songs.

Home Free (Cruise by Florida Georgia Line):
(before) I'm nervous about country music just because I don't much care for modern country music. The bass is great, though, and I love a good bass.As for the song, I didn't know it of course, and a quick listen on YouTube confirms that I don't like it at all.

(after) The bass is very good. The vocal percussion is also very good (one bad hissy cymbal). They clearly know that tehy have a good bass, too, since he has multiple spots where he's in the forefront. The harmonies are tight and the lead has a nice voice and good power. Overall, it's a darn good performance of an uninteresting song.

The Princeton Footnotes (I Knew You were Trouble by Taylor Swift):
(before) The songs they do during the "get to know us" segment doesn't excite me at all. There have been some college groups that I really liked (Beelzebubs, Dartmouth Aires), but I don't think these guys will be that way. As for the song, of course I don't know it. Once I skipped the first 2.5 minutes of the YouTube video to get to the actual song, it'll be interesting. The female vocals seem like a problem, but the song seems like it will make for a good arrangement with the dubstepp-y chorus.

(after) Warbling the first phrase doesn't help, but they recovered quickly. The percussion intro wasn't great, either. They have a nice full sound and good harmonies which is typical of the big college groups. The vocal percussion distracted me a lot, which isn't good. I liked the false ending and the dub-step coda ("We love you Ben" and all). That was fun, and I like fun. Overall I thought they were good but without anything terribly exciting.

Calle Sol (Pon De Replay by Rihanna):
(before) Expecing a Latin flair, of course, but I'm hoping they don't go overboard. They little previews didn't give a great indication of their sound so I guess we'll find out. Finally, though, it's a song that I know (a little).

(after) Nice harmonies and backing vocals. The bass is good and I'm glad they good bass. The dance break is fun to watch but Wasn't great musically amd was kinda long (Nota did it better). THe girls can clearly sing and harmonize and dance, and it was fun but the sound was empty in the middle. I was hoping for a little better.

Street Corner Renaissance (What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction):
(before) I admit that I have a soft spot for the old guys and doo-wop. I doubt they'll win, but I hope they stick around. I really hope tehy do something modern in a doo-wop style. Dismissing vocal percussion isn't surprising, but it def has it's uses. Funny that they didn't say what the song was before the performance, but it is one I don't know (surprise). It will be interesting to hear as a doo-wop song, which is bound to be an improvement.

(after) Doo-wop bass, man. Okay, they're clearly here to have fun with song.The Bass is doing a good job of keeping the rythym, and the harmonies are tight as you'd expect. I liek that they each are taking a turn on lead. A good show of versitility. The doo-wop ending was awesome. I like them a lot. Again, I don't think they'll win, but I hope they do this again a few more times before they go home.

HALFWAY:
(before) Okay, apparently we're already making an elimination. My ranking of the first five is:
1. Vocal Rush
2. Street Corner Renaissance
3. Home Free
4. The Princeton Footnotes
4. Calle Sol

So we'll call it a tie at the bottom. I'd put Calle Sol in the Battle at the Bottom.

(after) I guess the judges agree with me to a point, though they broke the tie-breaker the other way.

Ten (Tell Me Something Good by Rufus and Chaka Kahn):
(before) Much like with doo-wop, I think gospel will lend itself well to a lot of songs, but could be a liability as well if it gets too samey. Watching the get-to-know-you, though, they didn't sound that gospelly (which is totally a word). I LOVE the choice of song, which should show right away if they're for real or not.

(after) A great gospel start. What a sound. The transition from gospel to funk was great. Needless to say the lead vocals are amazingly strong. I was expecting something a little more in the middle, whether it's harmonies or counter melodies or something. The start and end were phenomenal, but the actual meat of the song was just lacking a tiny something.

Element (Burn by Ellie Goulding)
(before) Full disclosure: I have a bias againt all-female a capella groups in this kind of competition due to the simple fact that they don't fill in the low end, and I need that low end. Last season, I think that Delilah would have gone a lot farther if they just got a good bass (their female bass was the best female bass I've seen, but it just wasn't that bass-y). So, anyway, that's an admitted bias I have. I hope their arrangements are such that the lack of low-end becomes unnoticed. As for the song, I don't know it, and a listen on YouTube lets me know that I don't care for it.

(after) The vocal percussionist does a good boomy kick drum which is nice. THe performance is kind of what I expected. It was well harmonized and full in the mids and top and lacking at the bottom. I think I would call it brassy. I'm also not enamored with the leads. There were also a couple of minor pitch issues. In every show there's a group I don't care for that goes deep into the competition, and this might be the one this year. They're probably better than I give them credit for and if they were doing a song I liked more then that would probably help.

Voice Play (Feel This Moment by Pitbull feat. Christina Aguilera)
(before) A second profression a capella group which is interesting. They should have good blend and arrangement sense, and you can tell from the get-to-know-you intro that they have a good bass. It's another song that I don't know, which is my least favorite part of this show. It's... interesting. Kinda all over the place.

(after)I think it's a good arrangement and the harmonies are indeed tight. They do a good job of sounding bigger than their numbers. Interesting transitions from one section to teh next. Overall I thought they did great. Good percussion, nice bass. The female voice was kind of weak (breathy) at the beginning but was stronger at the end.

The Filharmonic (Treasure by Bruno Mars)
(before) They sound good in the get-to-know-us. Not much more to say. The song is -- shocking -- one that I don't know. Listening to it on YouTube, I kinda dig it. It's got a nice funky groove to it. It'll be impressive if they can pull it off.

(After) They're doing a good job, but not quite killing it. They're having a bunch of fun and that helps. The bass has been steady, though the tempo seems uneven. Okay, I take it back. Toward the end they were killing it, at least with their personality. The two guys that sang lead were both very good and the "horn section" did a good job keeping it consistant. THe ending wasn't the best.

AcoUstiKats (Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke ft. blah and blah)
(before) The name sucks. I mean, I get it, but the cap UK in the middle just looks dumb. I expect them to be all about fun, and I hope their vocals don't let them down. As for the song, FINALLY one that I know inside and out. From watching the video. For the music. THE MUSIC.

(after) The bass is great. It's definately all about the fun. It's exactly what I would expect, just like the Darmouth Aires. The lead singer (the African American one) does great in the falsetto highs and bad in the lows. The strange... breakdown? part in the middle with the different tempo didn't work for me at all, though. Overall, it's what I hoped for in a college group, which is to say frenetic fun. Better than the Princeton group by a long shot.

SECOND HALF:
1. Filharmonic
2. AcoUstiKats
3. Voice Play
4. Ten
5. Element

(before) Not surprisingly, Element is my choice to send to the Bottom Battle.

(after) I guess I liked Voice Play more than the judges. Clearly not the choice I would have made. I'm expecting them to beat the Princetones (I just made that name up. I'm clever).

BOTTOM BATTLE:
I'm not sure that I like this format for the battle, but the result is one of the best performances of the night. I def keep Voice Play if I get a vote.

My personal rankings:
1. Filharmonic
2. AcoUstiKats
3. Vocal Rush
4. Street Corner Renaissance
5. Voice Play
6. Home Free
7. Ten
8. Calle Sol
9. Element
(The Princeton Footnotes)

Comments

[bristlesage.livejournal.com]

Nice review. Me, I found Calle Sol weaker than Element, just no middle at all.

I think Vocal Rush has the biggest potential, but agree that Filharmonic and AcoUstiKats are probably leaders right now. Nothing stunning like Pentatonix yet, but there's time, and it's a solid lineup, I think.

Oh, and I thought Jewel, once she settled down and stopped making fun of the "boys", had solid critique. Not quite as good a fit as Barailles, but I think she's gonna be all right. Stockman and Folds remain two of the best reality show judges we've got.

[joeyhemlock.livejournal.com]

Jewel was great great great. I like that she actually talks musically. Maybe not quite as "music nerd" as Ben Folds but it's nice to see real critique. I loved Barailles' personality, but she often ended up talking about superfluous stuff..

If I were betting, I think it'll be Home Free, but we'll see. I didn't like the song, and I think I'm going to continue to not like their song choices, but they sounded good and full. Similarly, the songs that Filharmonic and AcoUstiKats chose probably biased me to like them a little extra. The songs they choose are important.

I'm really rooting for Vocal Rush to go far. It'll be interesting to hear them do something that requires a higher level of arrangement.

None of the groups blew me out of the water. I was also a little surprised that none of the leads blew me out of the water; Such as Delilah doing "Greande" or that guy Moi who had a great voice in an otherwise unremarkable group (Kinfolk 9; I had to look it up) and crushed it on Let It Be.

[joeyhemlock.livejournal.com]

Let It Be was also the poster boy for the hissy "cymbals" that I hate in vocal percussion.

[bristlesage.livejournal.com]

You're right--I should have said that Barielles was a better natural fit for the panel, but I agree that Jewel had better critique.

Could be Home Free--they make a lot of sound for a smaller group, and they're very, very good. That bass really is ridiculous.

Agreed that it was a weak night for leads. Kept waiting for some chills, but the closest I got was actually right at the beginning, with Vocal Rush's lead singer.

Very glad the Footnotes are gone, honestly--they really sat poorly with me.

[joeyhemlock.livejournal.com]

Jewel was a little stiff, but she got better as the show went on. It was also a little weird that her snaggle tooth was literally the first thing she talked about. I'm glad that she embraces it as part of her, and oh yes boy howdy do I think she's beautiful, but that was just weird and forced. By the time the dude from Filharmonic was gyrating in front of her, though, she seemed to have loosened up a bit.

Yeah, I'm not going to miss the Princeton dudes.