Sheightsmen, an a capella co-ed mixer

At 7 p.m. Friday, the seats of Devlin 008 were jam-packed with an audience anticipating the traditional annual Sheightsmen show where the musical talents of two of Boston College's a cappella groups join as one. The all-male group the Heightsmen and the all-female group the Sharps came together to perform 15 crowd-rocking songs, including "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman and "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners.

The Heightsmen, founded in 1990, pride themselves on dedication to musical excellence and brotherhood, maintaining a diverse musical repertoire including jazz, pop, rock, R&B, disco, and other genres. Each class is equally represented in the group. The Sharps are known for their stellar ability to combine their creative vocal abilities with a unique brand of humor and a wide range of music from groovy disco tunes to jazz standards.

With only four strategically placed microphones and five glowing desk lights, the groups circled up, preparing to entertain. The show started off with the boys and girls alternating two songs each, dressed to impress in suits and ties and dresses with heels. The males' vocal quality was remarkable and the girls reminded me of my vocally-talented friends singing along to the radio while driving with the windows down.

The high energy and team chemistry was absolutely visible and made for an amazing performance. I could tell that there was such a strong trust among the members because each voice was so influential in the outcome of the whole song. The reason that the show was so fun to watch was that you can definitely tell that the performers were enjoying themselves and loving every minute of their time on stage.

"We just have so much fun up there!" said Sarah Popper, newcomer to the BC Sharps and A&S '10.

The performers weren't the only ones enjoying the show though, as witnessed by the outbursts of enthusiastic applause after each song. When looking into the crowd, the majority were proud friends and a surprising amount of parental support, beaming widely throughout every tune. The whole audience became so involved in the melodies, clapping along. Embarrassingly enough I was definitely singing full-on in my seat.

After a brief intermission with a short presentation on a charity relating to Uganda, the girls prepared to steal one of the boys' songs ("Steal My Kisses" by Ben Harper) with a little bit of cross-dressing in ties and button downs. The boys dressed more casually and performed "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia; the new freshmen additions to the Heightsmen rocked the stage dressed in Halloween costumes as the featured soloists and made the crowd crack up laughing.

I would without a doubt recommend attending a BC a cappella show! Basically the concert made me want to perform with the Sheightsmen, be best friends with all of the singers, and/or be permanently serenaded by the boys.