Straight No Chaser: Holiday Road

I had never heard of the male a cappella group Straight No Chaser.  My mother-in-law, who volunteers at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, FL, got my wife and I some tickets for the show this past New Year's Eve.  Not really my kinda thing, but I was fairly certain I would enjoy it.  And, yes, I certainly did.  

The group originated thirty years ago at Indiana University.  Later, when their unusual take on "The 12 Days of Christmas" became a YouTube sensation, they got a record deal with Atlantic.  It was performed near the end of our show.  A marvel of vocal complexity interspersed with Toto's "Africa".  Really clever stuff. 

The second half of SNC's set was loaded with holiday tunes, a nice way to keep the spirit going on that seventh day of Christmas.  Also on tap was "I Heard it Through the Grapevine", "Happy Together", and a cover of Lindsey Buckingham's "Holiday Road", which is also the title of this show.  They even did Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places", accompanied by a silly animated movie.  The guys need to work on their short films, by the way.  The one that opened the show, depicting what they do when their tour bus breaks down (with an appropriate celebrity cameo), and their video for "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" were pretty lame and virtually laughless.

But onstage, they're pure magic.  Even after a few hundred shows performed since October. Crisscrossing the country.  WPB got the final performance, but they were all on point. No fatigue noticed.  Their satiric Disney medley demonstrated a mischievous gusto that never flagged, was probably as energetic as the first performance.  Also very clever.

SNC member Tyler Trepp demonstrated his considerable talents at mimicking musical instruments and creating sound effects.  His percussion sounds as if a drummer is onstage.  Incredible stuff.  He gave a shout out to his inspiration, actor Michael Winslow, who you may remember from the POLICE ACADEMY movies.   

Straight No Chaser also encourages the audience to take stills and video whenever they desire.  It was the Internet that made them famous, after all.

The only all vocal male group I recalled ever seeing was a quartet at church, the one in which my friend's father sang. Back in high school. Tunes like "God's Wonderful People".  I think I even had the cassette.  SNC may not have converted me to an a cappella devotee, but their show is great fun.  If you have an opportunity to see them, don't hesitate.