Acapalloza 2005

Anna Tolner / Reporter

Sweet Signatures, Elon's all-girls a cappella group, held their 4th annual Acapalloza on Saturday, Oct. 22 in Whitley Auditorium. Two different shows were performed at 2 and 8 p.m. with a variety of songs from Sweet Signatures and Twisted Measure, Elon's co-ed group. Groups were also hosted from visiting schools including UNC-G, Wake Forest, NC State, Appalachian State, UMD- College Park and Virginia Tech. The groups and songs differed depending on the show.

At 2 p.m., the first group to take the stage was Sweet Signatures. They performed four pieces, including "Rescue Me," "Summer of '69" and "Walking In Memphis" sung by Michele Hammerbacher, which seemed to be a crowd favorite. Once Sweet Sigs finished, transitions between performances comprised of close-to-being-funny jokes to keep the audience smiling and make lead for the following groups.

All-male group Higher Ground from Appalachian State was the second to sing. Standing together in casual blazers, they gave a beautiful rendition of "The Freshman," by The Verve Pipe and "Hear You Me," by Jimmy Eat World. Other songs included "Just the Girl" and "LA" which left parents and students tapping their feet.

The third, and personal favorite of the afternoon, were the Spartones from UNC-G. Being the second all-male group to perform, they flooded the auditorium with a burst of enthusiastic energy with their golden voices, smooth dance moves and sharp matching attire. They opened with a soulful rendition of The Beatles' "I Feel Fine," and later slowed things down with "Cathedrals" by Jump Little Children, which could have easily been the most beautiful song from the entire show. In closing, the Spartones changed moods again with their a cappella version of R&B song "Stutter." Group member Justin Kelly made an impressive opening for the song with his stomp-dance beats that left the audience stunned and mildly amused.

Twisted Measure took the stage in their usual bare feet as the closing group. Katie Olsen sang with poise when performing "What's Going On," and later joined Martha Montross in country hit "God Bless the Broken Road" by the Rascal Flatts. The chemistry between the members of Twisted Measure is hard to miss due to their ever-smiling faces, in sync dancing, eye contact and relaxed attitudes.

The audience responded to the show with only high praise and left everyone in anticipation for the evening show. Parents of Tara Dykes from Sweet Signatures said, "The show was amazing…very enjoyable."

The many friends and family from visiting schools were just as blown away. Chris Walz, father of a Higher Ground member, responded, "Each group was a little different. It's hard to say who was the most talented because they all brought something unique and entertaining." It was Higher Ground's third visit to Elon University, and they hope to return next year.

Contact Anna Tolner at pendulum@elon.edu or 278-7247.

Photos courtesy of Matt Gannon and Anna Tolner

Elon's Twisted Measure and Sweet Signatures perform at Acapallooza saturday in Whitley Auditorium.