A cappella final concerts

The Night Owls

The Night Owls, Vassar’s oldest a cappella group and the nation’s oldest continually run all-female group, will kick off the performances with warm drinks and candles.

The group will premier songs such as Ray Charles’ “Unchain My Heart” and Peggy Lee’s “Fever,” in addition to ensemble jazz pieces that the group has performed since its inception in 1945 in an attempt to entertain students during a polio epidemic.

As usual, the Night Owls will sport their signature all-black outfits in a nod to the original members, who had to wear all black in order to sneak out of their quarantined dorms.

“We always grapple year after year with how to preserve the traditions that have been handed down to us, and how to keep things fresh as the group changes and years go by,” said business manager Amanda Bell ’08.
Dec. 6, 9 p.m. Aula, Ely Hall

The Axies

Colloquially known as the Axies, the Accidentals were founded in 1980 and are Vassar’s oldest all-male a cappella group. Their sound is more modern, featuring classic rock.

“We tend to shy away from the more modern, poppy songs that really draw audiences because they’re really recognizable today,” said pitch Eric Gersen ’09. “We tend to go for older, ’60s and ’70s stuff.”

The Axies will premier The Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset,” Queen’s “I Wanna Break Free” and Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” among others. Audiences can also enjoy The Cranberries’ “Dreams,” an Axies-fan favorite.

The energy at an Axies’ concert can usually be described as rambunctious and interactive. At intermission during a past show, the Axies invited audience members to come onstage and rap using a Casio keyboard. “We want the audience to feel like they’re part of the Axies,” said Gersen.
Dec. 6, 9 p.m. Rockefeller Hall 300

Matthew’s Minstrels

Sticking with tradition, Vassar’s oldest co-ed a cappella group performs on Friday as the alliteration-adept Matthew’s Minstrels present “AlCappella Anonymous.”

Adding to their repertoire of Motown to the ’80s to contemporary pop, the Minstrels will premier Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” and perform past favorites such as Diana Ross’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and George Michael’s “Jitterbug.”

The Minstrels successfully found a niche for themselves back in 1978 that later groups have since replicated. “I think the tradition of being the fact that we are the oldest co-ed a cappella group, we kind of found our genres and have stuck to them, and kind of have branched out from them, but everything grew from that,” said co-pitch Robertino Lim ’08.
Dec. 7, 7 p.m. Rockefeller Hall 300

Vastards

Their name derives from a high school student’s dismay that she was losing a friend to Vassar after graduation. These days, the Vastards cannot help but inflect their shows with this same cheesy tongue-in-cheek fun, performing pop songs from the ’80s and ’90s.

“We sing the songs that you’re embarrassed you loved from middle school,” said Vastards President Sophie Laird ’10.

Founded in 2002, the Vastards is one of Vassar’s youngest a cappella groups, and demonstrates its youth in its musical selection and concert organization, which never follows a set theme. During one concert, the audience developed a running joke that whenever someone heard an “oral sex” reference, they would raise their hands, and that casual, come-as-you-will mentality pervades Vastards’ concerts.

The concert will premier Soul Decision’s “Faded” and Meredith Brooks’ “Bitch,” while still giving audiences the joys of fan-favorites such as ’N Sync’s “Tearin’ Up My Heart.”
Dec. 7, 9 p.m. Taylor Hall 102

Measure 4 Measure

Vassar’s other all-female a cappella group, Measure 4 Measure, gives the audience a taste of contemporary rock and pop.

The concert will premier Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man” and Pete Townsend’s “Let My Love Open the Door,” along with fan favorites by The Beatles and Pat Benatar, according to pitch Sarah Rogers ’08.

The women will dress up as usual for the concert, but they are keeping their costumes under wraps. In previous concerts, they have appeared as Clue characters, Disney princesses and aphrodisiacs.
Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m. Rockefeller 200

The Vassar Devils

Named for the traditional Vassar dessert, the co-ed Devils sing pop songs from the ’80s, ’90s and today.

Known for spotlighting their seniors, the concert will highlight Reed Handley’s rendition of “Change,” Elizabeth Birkhead’s “Ugly Girl” and Ben Demers’ “The Fray.”

Co-business manager Dana Van Brunt ’09 explained that although the group’s repertoire pulls from several decades, people tend to associate the group with one of its more famous covers: Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way.”

“We sing it seriously because we still try to keep the musicality of it, but generally when we perform it, it’s a little bit hokier,” said Van Brunt. “The boys in our group tend to go crazy, and there’s all these hand movements and sometimes dance moves that come out. It’s a beautiful song when it’s sung correctly.”
Dec. 10, 9 p.m. Taylor Hall 102

AirCappella

AirCappella, Vassar’s only all-whistling a cappella group, gives pop songs a unique twist.

“We’re the black sheep of the a cappella groups, but I don’t think that comes across in a negative way,” said President Ben Creed ’09. “We’re unique, and we’ve certainly garnered respect.”

The co-ed group, founded in Spring 2005, will premier Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood” and Disney’s “A Whole New World,” and fans of the group can rest assured that the beats of Britney’s “Toxic” will fill the air once again.
Dec. 11, 8 p.m. Rockefeller Hall 300

Broadway A Cappella

Only one semester old, Vassar’s youngest a cappella group gives the Sondheim tunes and “Wicked” a breath of fresh air.

“We like to cater to a lot of voices that don’t fit the niche of other a cappella groups: people with jazzier, brassier voices. We like the blend of the ensemble pieces,” said Co-President Jillian Shaw ’09.

The concert will premiere “Muddy Water” and Ben Harper’s “By My Side.” Broadway fans can also expect songs from “The Lion King” and “Rent,” such as “I’ll Cover You.”

“We compromise in the songs we sing because we get everyone from die-hard Rogers and Hammerstein fans to friends who just need a break from classes,” said Shaw.
Dec. 11, 9 p.m. Rockefeller Hall 200

Premium Brew

Rounding out the end-of-semester concerts, the all-male Premium Brew, founded in 2002, is Vassar’s only barbershop style group, singing doo-wop. Their repertoire boasts tunes such as “No, No, A Thousand Times No,” as well as a rip on Tenacious D.

“Barbershop is fun; it’s one of the oldest and most traditional kinds of fun a cappella,” said pitch Steve Madeja ’08. Amid all the pop-centric groups, “[barbershop] was kind of lacking on campus,” he added.

The concert’s theme is “superheroes,” and all the characters will derive from a common stereotype about Vassar students. Members will don mock superhero outfits, such as a “pot-smoking hippie.”

“It’s fun to just be with a bunch of guys, especially on this campus with our male-to-female ratio,” said Madeja. “We get all of our fart jokes out.”
Dec. 12, 8 p.m. Taylor Hall 102