On Saturday Oct. 22, Sturges Auditorium was full to the point of standing room only as the Southside Boys hosted their first ever "Fall-Cappella" Invitational.
Junior Cory Young, president of Southside Boys, started the night by introducing the guest performers: Much More Chill, an all-male group from SUNY Fredonia, and The Chordials, a co-ed group from Cornell.
Much More Chill took the stage first. They lived up to their name with an easygoing style, complemented by their obvious enjoyment in performing together. After a cover of Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never," which included an original rap, the group transitioned into a slower Linkin Park ballad. Next, they sang an original piece that told the story of how Much More Chill came to be, referring to themselves as a "band of brothers." Their fourth piece was a cover of the Beatles classic "Yesterday." The most applause, however, came for their final song: a cover of Cee Lo Green's "Forget You" led by member Rey DeGuzman.
The Chordials performed next. While the mood shifted from upbeat to more serious, The Chordials kept up the energy with Cee Lo Green tunes, singing both "The Other Side" and "Love Gun." The latter featured the impressively powerful vocals of member Shaye Torres. Next, they performed the soulful ballad, "Skipping Stone," by Amos Lee, followed by the Mumford & Son's hit, "The Cave." Finally, member Carolyn Rogers performed a rendition of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep," which had the crowd clapping along and received an overwhelming applause.
Geneseo's own Southside Boys took the stage last, lined up with their backs to the audience. Turning around intermittently, they began an energetic performance of Bon Jovi's "It's My Life," which even included an air guitar solo. Their second performance – a Star Wars-themed John Williams medley originally performed by comedy a cappella group Moosebutter – was perhaps the most entertaining. The Boys sang about going "far, far away," wookies, Luke's father and the force.
The Star Wars tribute left the audience laughing in amusement, but the group then moved on to a more solemn note, with a song that included an introduction – written by a former member – in honor of Sept. 11 first-response workers
Switching once again to comical, they performed what Young referred to as the "silliest song" – Mika's "Grace Kelly" – before transitioning into Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence." The final selection was "Eye to Eye" from Disney's "A Goofy Movie," which featured freshman John Turner hitting some impressively high notes.
Both serious and silly, the first Fall-Cappella Invitational made for an enjoyable evening and, if the audience's final applause was any indication, a great success.