Rotunda Dinner with AVP

Approaching the Rotunda’s Dome room through the bowels of the arcade, the ascent to the highly acclaimed Dome room only heightened our excitement and curiosity for what was to come. Dressed formally, we were greeted at the “front door” lined wall to wall with taupe carpeting, and were escorted upstairs to the dining area.

The atmosphere was of refinement and mature sophistication. Being the first time for many to have been inside the Rotunda, cameras were quickly pulled out and gatherings forming in front of the many columns and ambulatory colonnade. The most distinct memorable sounds to resonate for the first fifteen minutes remained to be the echo of high heel shoes against the floor, and constant requests for others to snap photos of themselves.

One by one people took their seats at the round tables set with linen and dinner service began. The room filled with quiet chatter, and within thirty minutes Jon Ohmart announced the Academical Village People’s arrival.

That in and of itself was an out of ordinary act for AVP. The Academical Village People is an all male a cappella group that usually runs out onto their stages in a hap hazard and comical manner. In both dorm and Rotunda sings, the group’s signature technique is to wildly run around humping columns screaming and then proceed to line in formation to sing. So to be in a formal setting and have AVP perform meant they had to sacrifice part of their personality. The announcement of their arrival was not something I expected but in retrospect, it would have probably scared us if they had run up the stairs and in and around our tables.

Although in the Rotunda, the boys didn’t disappoint in that they still found girls in the crowd to serenade, and still comically danced around. Although, their usual high energy was absent as the group didn’t have all members in attendance. They usually feed off each other’s energy and have much more space than they did tonight.

Musically, I was skeptical of the acoustic qualities of the dome room, being concave instead of convex, the quality of sound was still better than in most of their venues-being outside. The heavy materials of the Rotunda allowed their unamplified sound to reverberate longer which provided a richer quality.

While AVP is always a blast to watch, and is usually guaranteed for a good laugh, the formal venue of the Rotunda was not fitting. They are much more suited for a more relaxed and probably outdoor setting.

The Hullabahoos: The Guys in Robes

On the surface, the Hullabahoos looked like the typical “band” that emerged when Rock n Roll became Rock. The group consists of all males, and male bonding was readily evident among the members with their interactions throughout the performance. During songs, the singers would dance and sway with each other and display encouraging gestures towards the soloist. Their bonding had a frat boy feel to it but with a musical twist. Like rock bands, the Hullabahoos have their so-called female “groupies.” Not one song went by without adoring female fans professing their love (in excruciatingly high-pitched voices) for the particular soloist. But other than this visual image of an all-male band, the Hullabahoos aren’t the typical male group from the Rock era. Its ethnic make-up is very diverse, consisting of members of Asian, African American and Afghani descent. Also, being an a cappella group, the band only covered songs but that most certainly did not take away from the group’s raw talent.
Many of the songs in their set list were examples of crossover. Their rendition of Kanye West’s Heartless is an instance of rap music crossing over to the pop charts. The soloist who rapped Kanye’s part in the song did an amazing job, and the group transitioned a rap song into a cappella very well. They also sang Brass Bed by Josh Gracin; this is an example of a country song crossing over to pop. The ‘bahoos really chose a set list with an extensive range of genre and time. They did a great cover of one of Bill Wither’s classic R&B songs, Ain’t No Sunshine. They also sang their versions of recent popular songs such as Matt Nathanson’s Come on Get Higher and Jason Derulo’s Whatcha Say.
A cappella performances never cease to amaze me because, with the exception of microphones, these singers use nothing but their voices to create the harmonies, melodies, beats, and rhythms of the songs. The beatboxers in the group were very skilled in producing the purely vocal percussions, effectively imitating the work of a drum. There was never a need for musical instruments during the performance because the voices of the Hullabahoos were more than sufficient in recreating the music, as evidenced by the audience’s enthusiastic cheers and sing-a-longs with the group.
One of the most enjoyable (though non-musical) parts of the show was the Hullabahoos’ sense of humor. Their choice of attire was very distinct. Along with the typical UVa gentleman uniform of a shirt, tie and khakis, each member of the group sported a robe with different loud colors and patterns. This uniqueness has become a signature Hullabahoos style. Also, the group is known for showing a comedic video during the intermission. They didn’t disappoint this past concert. The newly joined Hullabahoos were put against UVa varsity athletes, amusingly competing against one another in the respective sports.
The show also featured a guest performance by an all-female a cappella group, The Sil’hooettes. The Sils are also ethnically diverse and performed gender through their attire and song selections. The girls in the group were dressed in all black with silver or gold jewelry and all the members wore pants and heels. They projected a feminine image but of a strong, independent type. In addition to their attire, their song choices such as Jazmine Sullivan’s Bust Your Window furthered the feminine theme. The soloist, though small in stature, had such a big voice that expressed the passion behind the lyrics of Bust Your Window, which portrayed a woman who had been cheated on and was seeking revenge.
Though only a student performance, the concert showcased such raw talent and musical abilities. For those interested, there are videos of the concert online at www.hullabahoos.com.

RIGABAMBOO: AN A CAPPELLA CONCERT

Recently, I was able to sample a select few of UVa’s a cappella groups at Rigabamboo: An A cappella Concert, which benefited Camp Kasem at UVa, a student organization that runs a free week of summer camp for kids whose parents have cancer. The A cappella groups on grounds that performed were New Dominions, Remix, Hoos in Treble, and the Academical Village People.

The first group to perform was the New Dominions, the University’s oldest co-ed a cappella group; they consisted of equal parts men and women. Overall, their performance lacked audience participation; in fact they made no effort to engage the audience. The clothing choice of the group related to this lack of audience enthusiasm, for the women were dressed in cocktail dresses, and the men in shirts and ties, just as their dress the performance was very uptight and formal. Their appearance called a lot of attention to the imminent gender dichotomy within the group. The only other stimulation coming from this performance besides auditory from the singing, was the bobbing of the gentlemen, up and down to the beat of the song, and the sensual hip sway of the ladies, which emphasized their already apparent femininity.

This a cappella group is distinct from the rest of the a cappella groups that performed because it was the only group with a female beat-boxer, in which an individual emulates drum beats, rhythm and musical sound with their mouth, tongues, lips, and voice. It is a common misconception that beat-boxing is a male vocal effect, and that females will not be able to produce the necessary sounds, but the female beat-boxer of New Dominions does a great job carrying the percussion of the groups singing arrangement. This is the only instance in which New Dominions challenges the male/ female gender dichotomy by blurring gender boundaries of what is misconceived as a masculine activity.

The next a cappella group was Remix, the University’s first hip hop a cappella group on grounds. There was a member of each major ethic category represented in Remix, from Asian, to East Indian, to Caucasian, to West Indian, and to African American. This is significant because most individuals believe that hip hop is tailored to an Black audience, but like discussed in class, the major consumers of hip hop are not Blacks, but Caucasian individuals which shows the diversity within hip hop to cross genres and ethnicities. This is seen in the diversity of song selection by remix, who performed a mix of pop, reggae, and old school hip hop songs. Just like hip-hop, this group was focused on hybridization, pouring their own touch of hip-hop into different genres.

Remix performed City High’s hit record, “What Would You Do?”, a song about the culture of poverty, and how it leads female teenagers into the realm of prostitution in order to survive. The audience involvement and the mood created as we all sang along to the lyrics, reminded me of Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” that pushed for social change just as the lyrics and tone of City High’s song does. Also, the audience participation was most interactive during the Remix performance, the group asked the audience to clap, and sing along, wanting them to be more involved in the performance than the other a cappella groups. Remix also used the call and response technique to get the audience more involved in songs that were recognizable, similar to the call and response used in African American gospel music.

After Remix, there was Hoos in Treble, the youngest all female a cappella group on grounds. The Hoos in Treble sing all of their song selections in the treble clef, which is the highest singing voice in a musical composition, a clef gendered feminine. Most of the song selections of Hoos in Treble, were soft and devoted the feminine quest to find love. The last song of their set however, the one that received the most enthusiasm from the crowd, told the story of a women who broke free from the confines of femininity. As the soloist belted out the strongest female vocal performance of the night, she sang: “I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun/Wait by the door and light a cigarette/ If he wants a fight well now he's got one/ And he ain't seen me crazy yet/ He slap my face and he shook me like a rag doll/ Don't that sound like a real man/ I'm going to show him what a little girls made of/ Gunpowder and lead”. The lyrics, along with the bravado in her vocal performance, challenged the feminine values placed upon women.

Following Hoos in Treble, was the Academical Village People, a group of young men of the University. The male singers of this group sang in a higher key than the gentlemen of both Remix and New Dominions, which struck me as a play on the gender barriers that the Village People group discussed in class also seek to cross. The Academical Village People also wanted audience participation, but most of this was directed toward female audience members, who they sang to and held hands with. Consistent with the Disco era that the Village People stemmed from, the Academical Village People performed an Earth, Wind, and Fire song compilation as the last song of the concert. The compilations started off slow with their hit, “Boogie Wonderland”, and ended with the upbeat falsetto “September”. Overall, I felt that AVP played with the similarities between themselves and the Village People, and attacked gender performance in many different ways.

Concert Report 2

RIGABAMBOO?!?!

“RIGABAMBOO: An A Capella Concert” was a fundraiser event for Camp Kesem, a CIO that plans a week of summer camp for kids whose parents have cancer. There were four a capella groups performing: The New Dominions, The Academical Village People (AVP), ReMiX, and Hoos in Treble. Of these groups, I was only familir with ReMiX so this was something different for me and I was not sure what to expect from the other three groups.

A capella is an all vocal performance without instrumental accompaniment. This means you only see a group of people singing, with one or two people providing the backbeat and also a lot of harmonizing which brings a different texture to the performance in place of the instruments. Anything can be performed a capella, from rock to hip hop so I expected to see varying musical genres at the concert. There was one group that was especially interesting, the New Dominions. New Dominions is the oldest a capella at UVA, predominantly white and female. In terms of appearance, the New Dominions was coordinated like the other groups, wearing black and blue colors, but more formally, as girls wore dresses and skirts while the guys wore slacks and ties. Though I did not expect classical music or such from the group, I felt as though I would not be familiar with the artists or songs they would perform. The songs performed sounded very pop to me but I was not familiar with them. I actually had to write bits of the lyrics and come home to look them up. They performed “Melody” from Kate Earl, “Right as Rain” from Adele, “Almost Honest” from Josh Kelley, and “Devils and Angels” from Toby Lightman. What really struck me about the performance was the difference in performance styles between 2 female lead singers. The first performed “Melody” and throughout the performance I kept thinking she looked shy and a bit uneasy. Her voice was really soft and I could barely hear her but I chalked it up to her being nervous. Then another girl performed “Right as Rain” and it was completely different; she seemed confident, had some attitude, and at times it seemed she played up her sexuality. This could have been due to individual differences but, “Right as Rain” is a pop song with a heavy soul influence with power behind it and when looking at women in soul, it can be associated with confidence, sex appeal, and attitude. “Melody” on the other hand, sounds fresh and happy, with a bit of innocence that “Right as Rain” lacks. It seems both girls were playing two sides of female sexuality that the songs seem to carry: the silent and understated and the bold and assured. Not only did their mannerisms play to these qualities, so did their appearance. The first girl wore a blue tank top, black skirt and black opaque tights while the second girl wore a black cocktail dress with a low neckline. It made me wonder if the girls were performing these qualities to associate with the songs or if those are their actual personalities? If the first girl is normally a timid person and the other girl normally exudes confidence, did they select those songs to play to their strengths? Why did the first girl not perform “Right as Rain” instead? It causes you to wonder if the song molds the person or if the person is the song.

The audience at the concert was predominantly white females. Most of the a capella performed pop songs except ReMiX and AVP. ReMiX is UVA’s only hip-hop capella group so it performed mostly hip-hop and R&B songs. AVP on the other hand did not stick to one genre; it performed songs from rock to R&B. This may be why the audience responded to AVP more than any of the other groups. But aside from their variety in genre choices, they had a lot of interaction with the audience and their antics during the performance gave them a certain charm. They kept the performance very informal and the audience engaged. Girls were laughing and singing along with them while cheering. If the audience had been predominantly male or to a lesser extent, a minority race, you wonder if they would responded the same way. If AVP had performed strictly pop songs how would the audience have responded?

I went to the concert not knowing what I would have to discuss for this report but now it raises may questions about gender and race and how it shapes or is shaped by the music. But I also wonder if I would have this question if issues like race did not arise in the bigger setting of UVA. Would I have so much or something different to discuss if the concert was at a relatively diverse school like Rutgers University or predominantly black school such as Howard University?

http://www.avpmusic.com/

http://www.newdominions.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IbXdsmU_6U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrMVJuDMBM4

Camp Kesem A Cappella Concert

On November 6, 2009, Camp Kesem, a student organization at UVA that provides a free week of summer camp for children whose parents have cancer, hosted a fundraising concert featuring four of the university’s best a cappella groups. The featured groups were the New Dominions, the Academical Village People (AVP), Hoos in Treble, and Remix (however, for sake of space, I will only address the first three groups). Because each one of the featured groups was so different regarding gender composition and genre preference, the concert provided a unique framework for the study of gender performance in popular music. The gender performance of these very diverse groups is apparent through their body movements, dress, and song choice.

The New Dominions are a co-ed a capella group with varied musical tastes as expressed on their website: “No genre is too wild if you can pull it off.” Although I was not familiar with any of the songs that the group performed, gender was clearly expressed through the group’s body movements and dress. For example, men and women of the New Dominions had differing body movements. While the girls swayed from side to side as they sang, the boys energetically bounced up and down. These differences suggest that gender can be performed through body movements as the movements seemed to coincide with societal norms. For example, because femininity is often associated with gracefulness, swaying would be more gender appropriate for women than bouncing up and down. Similarly, masculinity is often associated with activeness. Thus, bouncing up and down would be considered more appropriate for men in our society. Gender was also performed through the group’s choice of attire. While the girls were all dressed in beautiful black cocktail dresses, many with accents of royal blue; the boys wore dress pants and button down shirts. Perhaps because the group was mixed-sex, they chose to make gender distinctions clearer by sticking to traditional formal attire rather than wearing jeans and tees which would make gender less obvious.

Hoos in Treble is an all female a capella group whose body movements, dress, and song choice reflect the group’s gender composition. Regarding song selection, the four songs the group chose to sing for the Camp Kesem concert were all about love and girl power. The group sang Evanescence’s “Wake Me Up Inside,” Maroon 5’s “Secret,” Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me,” and Miranda Lambert’s “Gunpowder and Lead.” While the first three focused on love, a topic with which girls are often obsessed, “Gunpowder and Lead” is an anthem for women who have been abused. The song is about a woman who has been abused by her husband and has decided that she is “gonna show him what little girls are made of/Gunpowder and lead.” The song also attacks aggressive masculinity. For example, the song states: “He slapped my face and he shook me like a rag doll/Don't that sound like a real man?” I enjoyed seeing a group of young women not only address love, but also domestic violence. The group also performed gender through their attire and body movements. While they wore matching tees and jeans, they expressed their femininity by adding accents of hot pink and swaying side to side rather than bouncing up and down.

The Academical Village People (AVP) is an all male a capella group that “combines top-class singing and bumping vocal percussion with rock-star performance technique and endless enthusiasm” as noted on their website. They sang all styles of music ranging from “Sing a Song” to “Never Say Never” to “Tears in Heaven.” However, no matter what song the group sang, their energy was undeniable. The group ran to the stage, jumped consistently throughout the performance, and interacted with both the audience and each other. The group’s energetic performance can be associated with the physical ability of men. However, when singing The Fray’s “Never Say Never,” the group exhibited a more androgynous gender performance. For example, although the lead vocalist exhibited heterosexual masculinity by holding the hand of a female audience member when singing, his male group members suggested a more androgynous gender performance by dancing like ballerinas, grasping for the lead singers hands, and putting their arms over his shoulders during the performance. The lead vocalist also sang very high notes often associated with the feminine range. Thus, AVP was not afraid to perform their gender in various ways and never failed to have fun doing so.

The varied gender compositions of these three groups created a unique opportunity to examine gender performance in popular music. Each group performed gender differently. These differences were most visible through the examination of body movement, dress, and song choice.

Hoos in Treble Concert

On a rainy Saturday night in Charlottesville, there was one place where nothing about the environment was dark and dreary: the Hoos in Treble Concert! Of all types of musical performances, I believe a cappella demonstrates the largest amount of raw talent and perfected vocal skills. As a result of this natural talent found in groups like Hoos in Treble, it is absolutely amazing to attend an a cappella concert.

One part of the concert that stood out was the way the group fulfilled the concept of gender performance. As an all girl group, Hoos in Treble had no problem displaying their feminine side. All the girls were wearing black dresses and many wore high heel shoes. Each group member displayed their uniqueness by adding a splash of pink to their outfit in various ways including pink shoes, pink jewelry, and pink headbands. In our society and culture, there is nothing that shouts “girl” more than dresses, high heels, and the color pink. However, there were a few minor exceptions in their performance of gender. As stated, not all girls wore high heel and instead a few rocked stylish sneakers. Also, when performing a song about fraternities, the group completely ditched their feminine side and stepped on stage dressed completely in clothes considered to be the “typical” male attire at the University of Virginia: khaki pants, polo shirts, boat shoes, minimal jewelry, etc. This cross-dressing performance further supports the idea that gender is a social construction in which people develop definitions used to categorize things as feminine or masculine.

Another part of the concert that was interesting to me was the musical performances themselves. First, it is amazing that one or two people sing while the rest of the group makes the background music and with the combination of the two parts, the music sounds remarkable. Being able to beat-box and harmonize as a group is just as important as singing the solo of a song. If any part was missing, the performance would not be as good. Second, it was great how Hoos in Treble performed songs from a variety of artists and genres. The performance of Taylor Swifts’ “You Belong With Me” brought a little country pop to the concert and Maroon 5’s “Secret” added some pop rock. In addition to country pop and pop rock, R&B was represented in the performance of Beyonce’s “Halo”. To end the night of great music, the encore performance was a mixture of Michael Jackson hits. Ending the evening with songs by the “King of Pop” was an excellent and memorable way to conclude the concert.

This a cappella concert was truly an awesome experience and there was never a dull moment. Each and every performance by Hoos in Treble was wonderful and entertaining and including music from a variety of artists and genres only contributed to greatness of the concert. There is no doubt that this is one talented group of girls!