elisabeth freligh / NL Arnold Robinson, Garth Mosbaugh, Claude Morrison and Mark Cassius of the Nylons, an a cappella group from Toronto, performed to a sold out show at the Wendy Williamshon Auditorium Saturday night.   elisabeth freligh / NL Nylons group member Claude Morrison at Saturday evening’s concert.   elisabeth freligh / NL The Stanford Harmonics are an a cappella group made up of students from Stanford University.

Working the crowd
The Nylons featured in a cappella line up

By Natalia Korshin
Northern Light

“Open up! Open up!”

These were the chants coming from anxious audience members at the Wendy Williamson Auditorium lobby Saturday night. Hundreds of people gathered at the auditorium for the 10th annual A Cappella Festivella. It was the first sold-out show in the history of the event.

At 7:30 p.m., the lobby was shoulder-to-shoulder, as ticket holders became increasingly disgruntled with the delay. When the house eventually opened, seats filled instantly.

The first group of the night was the Beartones, a local men’s group of five. They had a nervous start with the Alaska Flag Song, but loosened up after the audience started clapping to the beat. The house warmed up fast to an upbeat rendition of “Rockin’ Robin.”

Following the Beartones were the Stanford Harmonics, an ensemble made up of 15 students from Stanford University.

The Stanford Harmonics are an oral orchestra. The two percussionists were the favorites of the set. They used only their voices to reproduce sounds of bass drums, toms, cymbals and turntables.

The full ensemble had a focused sound, but when soloists came to the front, their backup was lackluster and unbalanced.

The vocal talent of the rhythm section provided a full-bodied sound that contributed greatly to the band’s energy. The rest of the Stanford Harmonics’ sounds were inconsistent—some female voices seemed disconnected at times.

Their sound was a playful flavor of pop. They finished their set with a classic performance of Rockapella’s “The Change in My Life.”

The Beartones and the Stanford Harmonics were a prelude to the gem of the evening, The Nylons. The real show began as soon as the four polyester-clad vocalists came running out on stage.

They covered a handful of “oldies, but goodies” with perfect pizzazz: “Up on the Roof,” the requested “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and “So Happy Together.” They knew how to work Saturday night’s crowd.

All four Nylons had a lighthearted sense of humor that wove in and out of every velvet song.

“Everybody always told us it was cold in Alaska, but you are hot!” said tenor Garth Mosbaugh, as he toyed with the cheering crowd. “We’re having way too much fun.”

A whopping set spanning nearly two hours and 17 songs swept the sold-out audience out of their seats and into a standing ovation that lasted fifteen minutes.

The true shining star of the evening was American Sign Language interpreter, Suellen Bahleda, who has interpreted for every A Cappella Festivella. From stage right, her expressive signs and whole-body gusto added a unique visual quality to each song.

From the evening’s rocky start to its smashing end, Bahleda accompanied each act and added wildly enthusiastic and frequently comedic gesticulations throughout. Punctuating the end of the Nylon’s encore was a dancing Bahleda, arm in arm with baritone Mark Cassius.

As for the origin of the Nylon’s name, “We just looked in the closet one day, and there they were hangin’,” tenor Claude Morrison said.

“Speak for yourself,” quipped a grinning Arnold Robinson, in a rumbling bass register.