The Alleycats: a cappella with cattitude
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There's an feeling of dread heading into The Alleycats' performance: what if the St Andrews student group are about to serve up an hour of a cappella music laden with feline punnery? It's a blessed relief, then, when the motif extends only as far as a bit of leopard print in their wardrobe. Silly wordplay aside, the eleven-strong group deliver a dynamic, tightly-drilled performance, closely obeying the cardinal rule of a cappella: it's about the creativity of your vocal arrangements, not note-perfect fidelity to the original song.
Theirs is a slightly unconventional set-list for a vocal group, tracing a winding musical path from Shania Twain to Mumford & Sons, but it's a decision that works in The Alleycats' favour. The arrangements are spotless, with Sixpence None the Richer's 'Kiss Me' and Twain's 'That Don't Impress Me Much' proving early highlights, while a couple of surreal medleys towards the end of the show (Michael Jackson meets Dizzee Rascal) are treated with the requisite lack of seriousness.
Unfortunately, the acoustic nature of their show means that the soloists, especially the sopranos, tend to be drowned out by the ten voices behind them. It's an imbalance that impacts their performance at a very basic level. Rhythmic support is also weak, thanks to some comically bad beatboxing, but this has only a limited impact. The Alleycats give the impression that they're having a whale of a time, and the result is an infectiously entertaining performance.
Comments (6)
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Emma
18:03 on Wednesday 17 August 2011
This is a terribly uninformed review, from someone who obviously knows very little about a cappella. They make some good points about the difficult acoustics in the room, however 'comically bad beatboxing' is ridiculous considering the beatboxer is the ranked the best on the a cappella scene and has won numerous awards.
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George
17:53 on Sunday 21 August 2011
A 'comically bad' judgement here from Mr Kernohan. The Alleycats' beatboxer is one of the finest student vocal percussionists around. His timing and range of sounds is nothing short of impeccable. These students show how pop a cappella should be done and technically rank head over heels above many of their rivals.
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Catherine de Ruelle
20:32 on Monday 29 August 2011
I saw this show by accident, but I agree with what Marcus says - "An infectiously entertaining performance". It seems to me that 'Emma' and 'George' are disgruntled members of Catittude, only picking up on the negatives. Take the criticism on board and stop complaining about your review, its kind of what critics do.
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Emma
11:09 on Wednesday 31 August 2011
Catherine you are incorrect. 'They make some good points'. My only objection regards the beatboxing. I fully appreciate critics who offer good advice and make good points (which this review does), but as someone who follows a cappella, and is in fact not a member of the group, to describe the beatboxer as comically bad, is infact comical itself. Perhaps comment in future after reading the full response first.
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Cat
13:29 on Wednesday 31 August 2011
Dear Emma,
Bite me.
xx
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Emma
19:53 on Wednesday 31 August 2011
Wonderfully mature. All the best Cat.
