That was a blast! So, it’s a small world in A Cappella. Your worlds can collide if you look up the performances of Tim Foust and Austin Brown from Home Free with SNC. There are live clips out there, and 3 years ago they did a Song for Mama with them in a Video.
Boy does this bring back memories! I think I heard this first about 15 years ago, when my son was in high school and enjoying being in choir. I still have the 2008 SNC album with this on my Apple Music. The group is still together (I think it's mostly original members?), and doing a big US tour (61 shows Oct-Dec) this fall!
Hi Daniel! I'm emerging from lurkerdom because I remember so well my reaction to hearing this performance for the first time many years ago and how surprised and delighted I was when they launched into the Africa section. Thank you for your reactions to a cappella performances so far and for resurrecting this gem -- and please don't apologize for enjoying it.
One of my favorite acapella groups. I love them. So many of their videos are very low quality as they are recordings from audience members. So glad to see reaction to them, so few pay any attention to their songs and performances that can always have some quirky fun with them. They have a serious and beautiful rendition of Creep that is outstanding that makes me cry. It's a beautiful video.
I had not heard of them before! too funny! Suggestions for future Christmas funny - Home Free does Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.. way funny! and Voice Play has Jinglebell Rock - Mean Girls style [might want to watch the actual Mean Girls version first - i hadn't and missed some of the funnies] Also Elliott Michael Robinson does Not That Mean (A Grinchy Rebuttal) that is so super funny! Loving your reactions!
Thanks for this funny reaction! You should watch Dan Vasc's Hallelujah (Haendel's Messiah) - One Man Choir. He says it was the most insane thing he's ever done. 😄
An iconic performance, major nostalgia. As a product of a Jewish/Catholic household from New England, this is my culture, haha. My dad loved a cappella and we listened to a lot of it growing up, my school and other schools near us had student a cappella groups, the college radio station had weekend time blocks dedicated to a cappella (they still do!), it was just part of life. I do think one reason groups like Pentatonix and VoicePlay function the way they do is that the traditional a cappella style is, as you pretty much said, about a community of practice as much or more than it's about producing/consuming entertainment, and that particular mode of connection doesn't necessarily translate well across large social and geographic distances. So to have these big groups' type of success, you need to be offering something else. It's another reason I mostly don't mind the heavy production on these big pro groups; they're just doing something different from what I used to do with my friends, and they do it extremely well. I feel like I and every one of the many Jewish choir kids I grew up with had that experience of singing so much Christmas music with maybe one token Hanukkah song thrown in, so I've always liked how they poked fun at that here. I do hear some harmonic problems in the base chords on Africa, but I'm not sure it's a pitch issue so much as it's about balancing the chords, which is hard to do with amplification but no in-ears. Like you said, it doesn't take anything away from the performance itself, and the timing truly is impeccable. I also think the opening unison is pretty remarkable, even with the vibrato.
For a personal watch, go through and search every year from 2005 through 2023, there are Fan videos of their tour performances of the song, and every year they change something, so there's a new take and fresh laugh for fans! Walt eventually gets the dreidel song into the end of Africa, which was a build-up of about 5 years, but worth it!
With a song as charming and well done as this, I can forgive Christmas music before Thanksgiving! There isn't really any beatboxing, but with ten (?) voices, they can do things with tones that a beatboxer does today. The first a cappella group I remember seeing (other than traditional barbershop) was called The Kingsmen, I think.... ❤🎶
As a long time Chaser, I was excited to hear your reaction to this. This is where they got their start at Indiana University. I’d love to see you choose one of my two all-time favorites for a reaction - Creep and Marvin Gaye. One beautiful, the other humorous. Can I assume you know to look for their ‘Official Videos’ for reaction? Since they encourage their Chasers to record during concerts and post footage there are SO many clips out there. (And we love to watch them!) But unfortunately the sound quality isn’t what it should be for reactions.
That was a blast! So, it’s a small world in A Cappella. Your worlds can collide if you look up the performances of Tim Foust and Austin Brown from Home Free with SNC. There are live clips out there, and 3 years ago they did a Song for Mama with them in a Video.
What a delight! I haven’t heard these guys in a long time and you just made my day!
Yay! Thank you, Daniel. Love these guys.
Their Christmas Can Can is so fun as well and I like their live shows.
I’ve seen Straight No Chaser live. It was a lot of fun. 👍❤️🙂
Boy does this bring back memories! I think I heard this first about 15 years ago, when my son was in high school and enjoying being in choir. I still have the 2008 SNC album with this on my Apple Music. The group is still together (I think it's mostly original members?), and doing a big US tour (61 shows Oct-Dec) this fall!
Hi Daniel! I'm emerging from lurkerdom because I remember so well my reaction to hearing this performance for the first time many years ago and how surprised and delighted I was when they launched into the Africa section. Thank you for your reactions to a cappella performances so far and for resurrecting this gem -- and please don't apologize for enjoying it.
Fun to revisit this with you. It's been a long time since I listened to them.
One of my favorite acapella groups. I love them. So many of their videos are very low quality as they are recordings from audience members. So glad to see reaction to them, so few pay any attention to their songs and performances that can always have some quirky fun with them.
They have a serious and beautiful rendition of Creep that is outstanding that makes me cry. It's a beautiful video.
I had not heard of them before! too funny! Suggestions for future Christmas funny - Home Free does Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.. way funny! and Voice Play has Jinglebell Rock - Mean Girls style [might want to watch the actual Mean Girls version first - i hadn't and missed some of the funnies] Also Elliott Michael Robinson does Not That Mean (A Grinchy Rebuttal) that is so super funny! Loving your reactions!
Thanks for this funny reaction!
You should watch Dan Vasc's Hallelujah (Haendel's Messiah) - One Man Choir. He says it was the most insane thing he's ever done. 😄
An iconic performance, major nostalgia. As a product of a Jewish/Catholic household from New England, this is my culture, haha. My dad loved a cappella and we listened to a lot of it growing up, my school and other schools near us had student a cappella groups, the college radio station had weekend time blocks dedicated to a cappella (they still do!), it was just part of life. I do think one reason groups like Pentatonix and VoicePlay function the way they do is that the traditional a cappella style is, as you pretty much said, about a community of practice as much or more than it's about producing/consuming entertainment, and that particular mode of connection doesn't necessarily translate well across large social and geographic distances. So to have these big groups' type of success, you need to be offering something else. It's another reason I mostly don't mind the heavy production on these big pro groups; they're just doing something different from what I used to do with my friends, and they do it extremely well.
I feel like I and every one of the many Jewish choir kids I grew up with had that experience of singing so much Christmas music with maybe one token Hanukkah song thrown in, so I've always liked how they poked fun at that here. I do hear some harmonic problems in the base chords on Africa, but I'm not sure it's a pitch issue so much as it's about balancing the chords, which is hard to do with amplification but no in-ears. Like you said, it doesn't take anything away from the performance itself, and the timing truly is impeccable. I also think the opening unison is pretty remarkable, even with the vibrato.
For a personal watch, go through and search every year from 2005 through 2023, there are Fan videos of their tour performances of the song, and every year they change something, so there's a new take and fresh laugh for fans! Walt eventually gets the dreidel song into the end of Africa, which was a build-up of about 5 years, but worth it!
Damn that was hysterical you picked a good one that was very good
I'd completely forgotten about this one. Lol. Thanks for bringing it back. It's so much fun.😊
With a song as charming and well done as this, I can forgive Christmas music before Thanksgiving! There isn't really any beatboxing, but with ten (?) voices, they can do things with tones that a beatboxer does today. The first a cappella group I remember seeing (other than traditional barbershop) was called The Kingsmen, I think.... ❤🎶
As a long time Chaser, I was excited to hear your reaction to this. This is where they got their start at Indiana University.
I’d love to see you choose one of my two all-time favorites for a reaction - Creep and Marvin Gaye. One beautiful, the other humorous.
Can I assume you know to look for their ‘Official Videos’ for reaction? Since they encourage their Chasers to record during concerts and post footage there are SO many clips out there. (And we love to watch them!) But unfortunately the sound quality isn’t what it should be for reactions.
First time hearing this group so thank you Dan 😄
Would love if you can react to Stellenbosch University Chiors rendition of Nkosi Sikelel IAfrika.
PTX do a different take on this standard too