“Open Mic” was an aspiration of the all-male ensemble of twenty five to bridge music and theatre on a single platform through song.
The night began on a casual, relaxed note with the seating arrangement of a bar as well as the pastel shaded linen shirts and denim jeans worn by the choristers.
The evening began with Travis, a charismatic patron of the bar challenging his pals to an “Open Mic night” kicking off with a cover of “We Are Young” by F.U.N. The choir set the tone for the evening with the lines, “…our friends are back, so let’s raise the cup, ‘cause I found someone to carry me home!” with the Old Joes’ touch of vocal percussion.
The audience saw a smooth and natural transition into the cavalier tones of “I Get Around” by the Beach Boys IN character where the choir sang as the backdrop to a couple on a date. The choir got the audience toe-tapping with “Boogie Shoes” by KC and the Sunshine Band; Davy’s vocal trumpet took the audience by sweeps, and the choir sang, “I Wanna Boogie!” where feelings were mutual between both the audience and performers.
The night took romantic hues with the ballad “Something about the Way You Look Tonight” by Elton John dedicated to Nicole by Melvyn, a man of reserved nature whose heart was captured by the beauty of Nicole. Feminine tones joined the chorus with “On My Own” from ‘Les Miserables’ performed by guest soloist Safra Deen adorned in blue.
The stage flooded with the blues to enhance the mood on stage. Eshantha Pieris on piano added essence to the reflective mood of the singer whose reality gradually became a mere backdrop. With the blues still lurking with a tinge of red, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” revived the mood of the audience with choristers raising their beer mugs “To live… to laugh… to life” and to love!
The audience was enthralled by an accapella rendition of “If I Could Change the World” with a touch of vocal percussion. A spirited finale to the first half of the concert was marked by the powerful performance of “Eye of the Tiger” by Russell, a man with aspirations to change the world.
The ten year period that served to mould the patrons of the bar was defined by the choir in suspenders, turtle necks, ties and grey hair. The ensemble sang an Accapella version of “This Love” by Maroon 5, which was a reflection of Nigel’s broken relationship. The final minutes of the night were marked by the enthralling performances with stupendous choral arrangements of, “Some Nights” by F.U.N., “Somewhere Only We Know”, “I’ve Gotta Have Faith” and Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.”
To say that the Old Joes did justice to these originals is a mere understatement. These masterpieces were marked with the excellence of the Old Joes through the ingenious arrangements by Eshantha Pieris, Geethika Cooray, Migara Luvis and Nicole Liyanage, not forgetting the inimitable vocal percussion and matchless choreography.
The core story of the concert lay in the words of the songs performed and unless you were listening closely to the words, it was difficult to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. At times, waitresses walking in between the choristers handing beverages together with the relationships that were breaking and mending on one side of the stage, at took away from the singing and caused the audience to be disconnected with the singing.
However, there was never a void in the sound while the choir was on stage; the Wendt resounded with the melodies that served to merge theatre and music on a single platform. It was indeed a revolutionary musical experience!
COMMENTS
“Songs were very inspiring. Acappella numbers were very good. We enjoyed it very much. Some Nights was very powerful!” – Amanda
“Really good. Russel’s beat boxing was good! Some of it was distracting but it was nice.”- Michelle
By Sapthika Jacob
Pics by Samantha Perera
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0 Comments
The Old Joes' Choir says:
Jun 26, 2013 at 12:00 amAppreciate the support extended towards our show ' Open Mic' by Life and Life Online! If you were at the show (or even missed it) and want to keep in touch with The OJC and our future proformances, feel free to 'like' our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/TheOldJoesChoir
Chris says:
Jun 27, 2013 at 12:00 amI was there and it was fantastic!