♫ RU A Cappella: No Instruments – Just Voices

This past Friday, four talented a cappella groups filled Hickman Hall's lecture hall on Douglass campus to put on a concert. Yet, the only instruments used during this performance were voices. The lineup consisted of Rutgers University's four a cappella groups, Casual Harmony, Deep Treble, The OrphanSporks and ShockWave. The crowd was fairly large and filled most of the lecture hall's seats creating an energetic aura for each group's four-song performance.

Casual Harmony was the first batch of talent to perform. Consisting of 15 men, they confidently took the stage dressed in '20s gangster attire. Singing songs from various different eras, they began with "Eleanor Rigby" by The Beatles and finished their routine with the more contemporary "Butterfly" by Jason Mraz. Casual Harmony did a fabulous job of incorporating many different members from their group into each song to highlight their vocal strengths.

Second in the lineup was Deep Treble. Dressed as zombies, sporting gashes and fake blood, the 20-member group stuck to covering mostly pop tunes, putting their own spin on songs by Lady Gaga and The Killers. This co-ed group provided the audience with a lot of movement and entertainment that they incorporated into their overall presentation.

Holding down the No. 3 spot at the event was another co-ed group that call themselves The OrphanSporks. This 16-member musical body radiated with vocal talent. Singing songs from different genres, OrphanSporks highlighted the depth of their group's musical ability. Dressed as Harry Potter characters, they exploited their musical magic.

Last up to perform was the all-female group ShockWave, who pranced onto the stage dressed as animals. Like Deep Treble, this a cappella group sang songs mostly from the pop genre. Covering songs by Lady Gaga and Destiny's Child, ShockWave displayed their feminine power. Standing 15 women strong, they were vibrant onstage, adding to their already aesthetically pleasing performance.

To conclude the night's events, all of the group's members took the stage to do one collaborative performance of the song "Monster Mash." The song, festive to the season, emitted a feel-good vibe to the audience and coincided well with the night as a whole. Costing a mere $8 for students, the musical event was well worth attending, so be sure to catch it when it comes around next year.