The Tripod

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The cool, stagnant air Friday night awoke to the vocal tones of Trinity's five a cappella groups. The traditional Freshman Concert commenced at 8:30 p.m. in Hamlin Hall, drawing an eager crowd in the hundreds. The weekend started on a good note. Students gathered, sitting on chairs and windowsills, even standing on tables to see the singers. Refreshments in hand, the crowd buzzed with excitement. The first group waded through the crush to reach the stage trailed by eruptions of cheers and applause.

The Accidentals, Trinity's oldest all-male group, opened the night with an appropriate number, Brenda Lee's Good Old a Capella, setting the mood for an entertaining night. At the conclusion of the Accidentals' performance, the Dischords took the stage. The Dischords, a co-ed organization, is one of Trinity's youngest groups, formed in 2005.

They came to the stage with confidence and high energy. Following the Dischords, the Trinitones, Trinity's oldest all-female group, performed. They finished their two-song set with a spoof on Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence." Their performance elicited many laughs and cheers from the crowd as they sang and joked about the Walk of Shame.

The Quirks, Trinity's newest all-female group, were next on stage. Conceived in 2003, they capitalized on their all-female dynamic, arranging a spectrum of tones that highlighted each singer's abilities.

The evening ended with a performance by the oldest, and arguably the favorite, group on campus: the co-ed Trinity Pipes. They polished off the show with a practiced, wholesome sound.

Some precocious first-years appeared at the concert as well. Greg Atamian '13 and Joe Dinnen '13 of the Accidentals rounded out the sound. Malcolm Evans '13 and Spencer McCauley '13 of the Dischords contributed to the electric atmosphere. Perin Adams '13 and Caitlin Crombleholme '13 represented the Quirks. The Trinitones are recording an album this year and did not hold auditions.

The concert was jammed with just under an hour of entertainment, though opinions were not uniformly positive. "The Dischords are an assault on the senses, and their cacophonous caterwaulling should be banned from campus," says Tripod copy editor Anne Gimbel '11. Students feels new talent and a new season will offer opportunity for practice and improvement across the board.

Each group sang two songs, demonstrating their skill and teasing the audience into attending future concerts. The abbreviated performances demonstrated the different kinds of genres each group focuses on. The concert was a balanced mix of a cappella and humor. Each group maintained and projected enthusiasm and passion for their songs, members, and viewers. The audience responded with appreciative applause after every number. Some members of the audience even sang along to some more familiar songs, such as the Pipes' opening number, ABBA's "Take a Chance on Me." Auditions for most groups were held after the concert.

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