(last edited on April 29, 2014 at 1:29 am)
I joined a group of friends at Ryle’s in Cambridge to see Ball in the House last night. They’re an a capella band that generates their own percussion with their mouths. Intrigued, I blew into town to check them out…this dovetailed nicely with my desire to experience more live music.
The opening act was The Jon Frederik Band, or rather Jon the singer/guitar player and Bill the saxaphonist. They could really play, and I was rather amazed how good they sounded…kind of folksy, but very real. It’s been years since I’ve heard live music in any kind of club setting, and even then I’m used to hearing really terrible college bands. But wow…there are people out there who can perform! Duh!
The Ball in the House guys came on stage afterwards and set up their 5 mikes. They then proceeded to explode with incredible energy. Sometimes it was funky, sometimes a little more R&B. They had a lot of original music and some awesome covers; I particularly liked their rendition of Superstition. My face hurt from grinning madly through the entire set.
One parallel that occured to me was that each band was a business unto itself…they’re independent musicians, and the chemistry that the band members have with each other is the very foundation of their success. Wouldn’t it be great to be part of something like that? I was quite inspired. Plus, they were all humble and appreciative of their fans…it was good to see.
Incidentally, Ryle’s has the best sweet potato french fries I’ve ever had in this country. And I’ve been looking. Return visit plans are in the works.
3 Comments
Their is something very raw about accapella which is why I’ve always loved it. No fancy studio, stage effects, or loud music to cover up your sh#tty voice or your inability to appeal to an audience up close and personal. It’s undeniably LIVE.
If you’re interested in this kind of stuff, there exists an incredible range of music to discover. Within the same genre of contemporary acappella, there are ‘commercial’ groups like the Nylons and Rockapella. There is of course an incredibly rich heritage of acappella on college campuses as well. BEWARE, however, there are often 5-10 acapella groups on any given campus. Of which there is usually 1 ‘lead’ male and 1 ‘lead’ female group (on rare occasion, the lead group will be coed). The rest are spinoffs comprised of folks who didn’t make the cut for these groups, often for good reason. Harsh but true. These lead groups are also usually the ones with the longest histories and most colorful traditions on campus. A few notables include:
Dartmouth’s Aires
Tuft’s Beezlebubs
Yale’s Whiffenpoofs
Cornell’s Cayugas Waiters
Beyond contemporary and college acapella, there are other genres with incredible artists you should check out. Again, a few notables include:
Classical – Chanticleer, Woodland Scholars
Jazz – Bobby McFerrin
World – Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Sweet Honey in the Rock
And while a quick search of the internet will lead you to albums for all of the above (and I can loan you some), in this case, it’s worth stating the obvious. Nothing compares to hearing this music in person. Beyond the hundreds of impromptu college accapella performances I ‘witnessed’ in college, perhaps two of the greatest performances I’ve ever experienced in my life were of Chanticleer and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Impossible to describe how good they are. Or to get a real sense from listening to a CD. In short, just find out where they’re performing and GO!
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When I first heard the sound of Ball in the house, I was amazed at how talented they were. All of them had so much energy that the audience loved. I’m very honored and proud to call them some of my good friends now. Not only are they talented, but they are also the sweetest guys you could ever meet in your life. I’m so glad that i got to meet them and hang out with them so i could get to know them. I love you guys:)
When you think of BALL IN THE HOUSE you probably think of this boyband type of group. Well thats what I thought at first when i first heard them. But of course here I was a Nsync fan and a 98 degrees fan and I thought that it would be cool to see what they sounded like. It was totally amazing to see how they make music with no instruments whatsoever. I know of a lot of bands who cant even do what these guys do. I’m so happy that they came into the music business to show the world what they are made of.
Jenna