Review: A Cappella Christmas Concert

St Andrews is known for a lot of things: its golf, its history, its university; but it’s also the undisputed capital of a cappella. FACT. Our little old town must be the only place where saying you sing is just as cool (if not cooler) than saying you play sport, harmonising with a group of other men lands you a ticket to meet royalty and singing your fave tunes with your girls means performing at the launch of a blockbuster hit.

With this in mind and my expectations seriously high I set off to Venue One for a night hopefully full, not of the usual Union debauchery but, of Christmas cheer.

The St Andrews Revue were our hosts for the evening and quite cleverly pulled off a Monty Python-esque trope and a Les Mis/Woody Allen sketch. However the spotlight was very much on the actual performers and after a pretty awful pun on the first act’s name, The Accidentals took to the stage.

The girls showcased their voices and ticked the ‘Christmas’ box with a gorgeous ‘Santa Baby’ followed by a hilarious rendition of Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ that made the whole crowd thankful that the union hadn’t banned the song. An actual blurring of lines came next with Tom Odell’s ‘I can’t pretend’ having the girls arranged, somewhat deceptively, in a church choir type formation and a roll call, which was rather a nice way to introduce the group. The finale, an amazingly visual Gorillaz tribute, was very impressive with the girls rapping and stomping, setting the standard perhaps a little too high for the other acts to follow. The Accidentals have just about got the a cappella thing down to a tee; they’ve got the look, the stage presence and fundamentally the voices. A serious triple threat.

The Alleycats, dressed in their classic white shoes and an array of christmas jumpers, took to the stage next. These guys also clearly understand the importance of stage presence and how the visual is almost as important as the sound. Starting with another Xmas classic, ‘Baby it’s cold outside’, and arranged as Santa riding his sleigh, The Alleycats delivered the first of many sleek performances. Mixtures of Ellie Goulding’s ‘Burn’ and Passenger’s ‘Let Her Go’ continued this and a cheeky snippet of Cascada reminded us of their a cappella prowess. The showstopper was surely ‘Home’, with the soloists shining and giving a wonderful end to a wonderful set. (A little note – Santa’s lack of  arm coverage and surprisingly muscular arms was somewhat distracting).

Following these old favourites, we were treated to the BRAND NEW The Belles who certainly made their debut onto the a cappella scene in style. A beautiful ‘Silent Night’ was complemented by a brave (and successful) attempt at ‘Royals’. The highlight had to be their finale, Macklemore’s ‘Same Love’. The performance stunningly suited the song’s rawness and was superb. These girls weren’t quite as tight with their look or their movement as the others (understandable as it was their first gig), but if they get this together they are sure to be strong contenders in the a cappella world.

London’s All The King’s Men were last on stage. Their performance of ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’, while not quite up to T-Swift’s and Prince Will’s performance, was strong and ‘Gimme Some Lovin’ almost certainly tempted half the audience to grant their request. To quote Pitch Perfect, “Nothing makes a woman feel more like a girl than a man who sings like a boy.” Now that’s the truth. (I’m also assuming there’s a direct correlation between the wearing of their trousers so high and tight, and their ability to reach the higher notes.) A beautiful Coldplay/Snowpatrol blend pulled at the heartstrings and their LMC vs U2 and Whitney Houston mash up was a great end. While their cringey dancing wasn’t quite up to The Other Guys’ standard, they showed that St Andrews isn’t the only place who knows how to aca- work it.

The A Cappella Christmas Concert is also on at 7.30pm today, Thursday 28^th November in Venue One of the union. The Other Guys, The Hummingbirds, The Vocal Bandits and Glasgow’s Choral Stimulation will be performing. Some tickets will be available on the door from 7pm.