Vocal Evolution, a much-awarded male vocal harmony chorus, is off to represent Australia in international competition again, this time in Toronto, Canada. Before heading overseas, Taking on the World! played two performances in Perth, giving local fans a chance to appreciate the skills that have taken Vocal Evolution to the top.
Opening the show, the main event gave us a taster of the choral skill and performance antics that make them such a pleasure to watch. ‘Paint Your Wagon’ and ‘Beyond the Sea’ were classic eyes and teeth spectaculars hitting strong chords, but ‘Aquarius’ saw a striking change from disciplined be-suited ranks to free-wheeling hippies among the singers.
Leaving us wanting more, award-winning quartets Lockout and TLA then demonstrated the depth of harmonic talent and skill running through the larger group. Songs such as ‘Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart’ and ‘Hello, My Baby’ showed fluent familiarity with barbershop standards, while TLA stepped out some more with a refreshing yet gentle treatment of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ .
The second half opened, surprisingly, with ‘some friends of [the MC]’s’, Adam and Jess, performing soulful covers with a guitar and two very fine voices. Jess’ rendition of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ sent shivers along the skin, but more impressively, the duo’s cover of ‘Big Jet Plane’ by Angus and Julia Stone was not the puling dirge of the original. While the selection seemed rather influenced by Triple J’s playlist, it was a pleasant way to avoid potential close harmony overload.
The finale, featuring Vocal Evolution, again showed why this group has twice been named champions at Barbershop Harmony Australia National Open Chorus Championships as well as 2012 Pan Pacific Champions, and gives confidence that Australia will be well-represented in Toronto.
From a richly rolling ‘Shenandoah’, a sharp change in mood saw a crisply-delivered, snappily-paced comic delight, urging tourists to come to Australia for the variety of ways in which they may possibly (accidentally) get killed.
The competition songs impressed, with the first being performed ‘straight’, focussing on the singing, and the other featuring some remarkable choreography, which should cause a stir in Toronto. All melodies were executed with the charm and precise skill expected from this talented group of men.
With calls for one more song, we were treated to a fresh performance of ‘Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho’, with musical and visual elements combining to make the familiar melody a rousing spectacle, a feast for eyes and ears.
Ably assisted by the technical staff at John Inverarity Music & Drama Centre, with superb acoustics and a creative lighting display, Vocal Evolution displayed the results of intense rehearsal combined with strongly competitive determination and impressive individual talent and skill.
Rating: 4 ½ stars out of 5
Taking on the World!
Performed by Vocal Evolution, Lockout, TLA, Adam Hofer and Jess Nottle
John Inverarity Music & Drama Centre, Hale School, Wembley Downs
22 June
