Spring Break
TestFest passes with flying colors
by Ross Brown
Arts | 5/22/07
Posted online at 1:40 AM EST on 5/22/07
/ Last updated at 8:02 PM EST on 5/22/07
VoiceMale, Brandeis' all-male a cappella group, performed its semester show, TestFest, to a packed house in Golding Auditorium on Saturday, April 25. The group, which is renowned for its energetic live performances, did not disappoint the fans.
VoiceMale is well known for tight harmonies and a strong stage presence. The three sets included songs by The Fray, Boyz II Men, Bush, Rascal Flatts and even the fathers of modern a cappella, Rockapella.
While much of the performance was highly entertaining, a few songs stuck out as highlights. The first of these was "Over My Head (Cable Car)" by The Fray, sung by Adam Barish '09. While his voice may not have been a perfect match for Isaac Slade (the original singer of the song), his smooth baritone voice made it just as enjoyable as the original, if not more so. VoiceMale's recording of this song was selected to be on this year's Best of College A Cappella album.
Possibly the best performance of the night was the group's rendition of "Here It Goes Again," originally by Ok Go, sung masterfully by Noah Schnoll '09. Now, I don't know if you have encountered a singer, assigned them a voice type in your head, and had him open his mouth and completely surprise you, but this is the experience I had watching Schnoll. His energy, voice and style were the perfect combination to make the song the standout performance of the night.
While the vast majority of the show was very well performed, there were a few low points. The only song where VoiceMale seemed to perform below its normal level was Rockapella's "Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego?" Since the song is a Rockapella original, the bar was set high. While VoiceMale's arrangement was quite close to the original, the lack of a powerful low bass, something crucial to the song, hurt their performance. Still, high tenor Jon Weinstein '07 managed to shine, hitting the excruciatingly high notes of the song with ease.
The other low points of the night came in between VoiceMale's second and third sets, during the guest performance of the MIT Muses, an all-female a cappella group, who seemed to have been there simply to make VoiceMale look good. The Muses had clearly not gone through the same pains as VoiceMale to perfect their vocal blending and projection. The sopranos were shrill, the low altos were inaudible and the soloists were less than impressive when they were loud enough to be heard. This group was enough to turn anyone off female a cappella.
The other guest group, Jelly Jam, was significantly more entertaining than the Muses, and performed a number of very well-done covers. All members were highly proficient at their respective instruments, and the only negative of the performance were the somewhat soft vocals. Overall, their set was quite good. One of the important parts of TestFest seems to be the heartfelt goodbyes to the graduating seniors of VoiceMale. The only senior was Jon Weinstein, and the rest of the group put on a few skits satirizing some of his more entertaining mannerisms. Despite the jibes, it was clear that Jon Weinstein will be missed by his group-mates. By the end of these skits, however, the night began to stretch on a bit too long, eventually totaling a little over two hours. But length aside, the show was a great success.
VoiceMale is well known for tight harmonies and a strong stage presence. The three sets included songs by The Fray, Boyz II Men, Bush, Rascal Flatts and even the fathers of modern a cappella, Rockapella.
While much of the performance was highly entertaining, a few songs stuck out as highlights. The first of these was "Over My Head (Cable Car)" by The Fray, sung by Adam Barish '09. While his voice may not have been a perfect match for Isaac Slade (the original singer of the song), his smooth baritone voice made it just as enjoyable as the original, if not more so. VoiceMale's recording of this song was selected to be on this year's Best of College A Cappella album.
Possibly the best performance of the night was the group's rendition of "Here It Goes Again," originally by Ok Go, sung masterfully by Noah Schnoll '09. Now, I don't know if you have encountered a singer, assigned them a voice type in your head, and had him open his mouth and completely surprise you, but this is the experience I had watching Schnoll. His energy, voice and style were the perfect combination to make the song the standout performance of the night.
While the vast majority of the show was very well performed, there were a few low points. The only song where VoiceMale seemed to perform below its normal level was Rockapella's "Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego?" Since the song is a Rockapella original, the bar was set high. While VoiceMale's arrangement was quite close to the original, the lack of a powerful low bass, something crucial to the song, hurt their performance. Still, high tenor Jon Weinstein '07 managed to shine, hitting the excruciatingly high notes of the song with ease.
The other low points of the night came in between VoiceMale's second and third sets, during the guest performance of the MIT Muses, an all-female a cappella group, who seemed to have been there simply to make VoiceMale look good. The Muses had clearly not gone through the same pains as VoiceMale to perfect their vocal blending and projection. The sopranos were shrill, the low altos were inaudible and the soloists were less than impressive when they were loud enough to be heard. This group was enough to turn anyone off female a cappella.
The other guest group, Jelly Jam, was significantly more entertaining than the Muses, and performed a number of very well-done covers. All members were highly proficient at their respective instruments, and the only negative of the performance were the somewhat soft vocals. Overall, their set was quite good. One of the important parts of TestFest seems to be the heartfelt goodbyes to the graduating seniors of VoiceMale. The only senior was Jon Weinstein, and the rest of the group put on a few skits satirizing some of his more entertaining mannerisms. Despite the jibes, it was clear that Jon Weinstein will be missed by his group-mates. By the end of these skits, however, the night began to stretch on a bit too long, eventually totaling a little over two hours. But length aside, the show was a great success.
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