On November 7, 2009 the lovely women of the acapella group Sil’hooettes rushed the stage of McLeod Hall and sang songs that could quiet the most aggressive lion. I attended the Sil’hooettes Fall concert called “Natural Sil’ection.” The theme was about evolution, evolution of budding, singing divas.
The theme of evolution was such an interesting way to add pizzazz to their concert. When the concert started, the lights dimmed and a slideshow immediately started with a slide of each one of the girls. Each slide had a trail of pictures that had each girl depicted as a child and then progressing to a full fledge DIVA. Each one of the girl's names were changed to fit the theme. There was an obvious show of tradition in the group, seen from the slideshow. The new girls in the group had the word “Homer” in front of their names and are dubbed “Homer” until the end of their first year.
The one thing I love about this concert was that it was about the music. From the song ‘sil’ections,’ to the set up of the stage, the concert was about the music. The stage was set up in a very minimalist fashion. There was high tech microphones set up for each musical vocal part (i.e. Bass, tenor, altos and sopranos). The girls were broken down into their musical parts when they entered the stage.
What added the flair and the individuality to this concert was the apparent gender performance of the girls. The women of the Sil’hooettes embraced their femininity to an extreme degree. Claiming to be the “Hottest acapella group at UVA,” they walked on the stage with almost every girl in stiletto hills, skinny jeans, and a sparkly, silver top. During a speech at the beginning of the performance they said they once wore double-breasted jackets but not have shed that look for a more feminine/sexy look of silver and black color pallet.
The girls performed a set of about 12 songs. There was everything from David Guetta to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The girls’ voices were phenomenal. Song after song with a blow of a pitch whistle, the girls hit the beat and sang their hearts out. Each song had a girl that ‘beat boxed’, a girl that had a solo, and a girl for the harmony. The girls’ voices worked together like a well-oiled machine. The girl who had the solo for each song would show such vocal range and variation. It was so pleasant to listen to. The songs were cut down to the essential parts to make it more authentic and real sounding.
The girls had a special guest guy acapella guy group called ‘The Beelzebubs’ that performed in the middle of the concert. These very attractive men rushed the stage and serenaded the audience. It was great that the girls varied the ‘all women concert’ with a little taste of some boy ‘noise’ on stage. Their energy was so high. They sang very funny and very sexualized songs. It was such a fun break in the concert.
The most interesting thing about the concert was the atmosphere that was created by the girls and the audience. The audience was made up of half college kids and half parents. It was interesting to see that all the college kids and alums sat in the mezzanine and the parents sat in the lower level. The crowd was WILD to say the least. Very provocative and sexual statements were yelled at multiple times during the concert everything from “Have my babies” to “I want your body.” There was no regard that there were ‘older’ adults there at all, but it didn’t seem like the parents minded at all.
Girls it was a success. You plucked my heartstrings in ways I couldn’t have imagined. From the funny short film to the raffle gift give away, the girls of the Sil’hooettes gave not just a concert but also a night of pure entertainment. The Sil’hooettes catered to the audience and the audience catered to the Sil’hooettes. It was as though we all sat down to dinner and shared our emotions, fears, and desires. The show was the best ‘SIL’ECTION’ OF MY SATURDAY NIGHT!
Video Clips
1. 24th Chromosome- The mock-umentary that the girls played during the show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXygcIiyPdA
2. Performance- Jazmine Sullivan Performing: "Bust Your Windows" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-TP055CwfM (Note Outfits/ singing abilities)
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