Bostonians Kick Off Halloween Week

The Bostonian’s Halloween Invitational experience isn’t really complete until about 15 minutes of anticipation, surrounded by monster costumes, rowdy cheerleaders, and half-baked Kurt Cobains. People file in until the last moment (and for several moments after that), before the lecture hall is packed and swaying chaotically to its own expectant rhythm.   

Enter the Bostonians, BC’s oldest a cappella group on campus, the floor lights casting ridiculous shadows of their lobster-suits and greaser-hair on the wall behind them. Sophomore Hayley Paret, CSON ’15, put aside her rainbow light sword and took the mic.  

There’s always an air of anxiety at these events: “I’ve seen the Bostonians before, will they be as good as last time?  Will I like any of the songs they chose? Can that guy in the Slenderman outfit actually see?”  

All doubts (except maybe that last one) melted away the instant the Bostonians started doing what they do best.  The first song was Robyn’s notoriously catchy “Fembot,” which thrived in Paret’s capable hands. A loosely-choreographed Robot Dance took hold of the crew in this shining introduction, and when it was over, senior Nick Zwolinski, A&S ’13, doesn’t need to comment on anything but his own brilliantly-executed Link costume.  The next tune was a wildly enthusiastic cover of Hall & Oates’ “You Make My Dreams Come True,” led by sophomore Michael Scully, A&S ’15, who you would have sworn had been in this group his whole life from his pitch-perfect imitation of Daryl Hall’s “make-a” in the refrain.  

After Link congratulated the sophomores, a talented junior came out to close the set with Timberlake’s “Senorita”, a more-than-stellar performance made infinitely more engaging by his Mitt Romney costume. He even got the crowd to sing along, which is generally unheard of for Romney appearances.

Here the Bostonians let the Boston Univeristy all-girls a cappella group, Aural Fixation, take the stage with four songs and two Dorothy costumes. Junior Sarah Bellardini began with “Go Your Own Way,” a challenging and well-received cover. Sophie Spiers followed with “What’cha Gonna Do,” sassily delivered in an oddly appropriate luau get-up. Then sophomore Ali O’Hare, dressed as a mime, took the mic after a brief “stuck-in-the-box” routine. Just  when one would object that this type of singing violates every principle of mime-dom, they started: it was a cover of Coldplay’s “Paradise” that was so astoundingly good, so superbly backed by the crooning harmony, so perfectly swelling, receding, and finishing with a wordless vocal flourish that this protest was forgotten. O’Hare had a strange, powerful tone that was a tough act to follow, but was managed successfully by President Emma Adders, Dorothy No. 1, who sang “We Are Young” brilliantly as the group’s finale. In addition, senior Anna Petcosky delivered some of the most fervent beat-boxing I’ve ever heard.

At this point in the night, the BU Allegrettos, came out dressed as a zombie mob. The Allegrettos stepped up the competition once more with three blow-you-away covers, starting with tenor Brendan Yekutiel’s startlingly good version of “Crawl.” Tala Khalaf followed, just as everyone had hoped after hearing her phenomenal asides: she performed “Shake It Out” by Florence and the Machine, an already strong choice completed by her incredible energy and poise. They ended with a superb and obscure song, “Wine Red,” led by Jen Bourne. A little choreography went a long way in this strong finisher, and the Allegrettos left the stage with everyone wanting more.

The Bostonians came out to close the show with a whirlwind of music, starting with a fabulous rendition of “Landslide” by Ally Norton, A&S ’13, and transitioning into a flawless medley of “Starships,” “Titanium,” and others.

Long story short, the Bostonians are masters of the trade. It was a blast to see them as well as the two BU groups. This is a talented group that is truly worth seeing in person.