Photographs by Lee-Ann Richer.
Pentatonix! Two sold out shows in Toronto at the Sound Academy!
Pentatonix, also known as PTX, formed in 2011. They originated from Arlington, Texas, and is a five member a cappella singing group. They are not new to Toronto as this is their third tour here; however, they are gathering momentum and doing it fast! With a fresh new Grammy under their belt, this band has over 7.5 million subscribers on YouTube. Their 2014 holiday release, “That’s Christmas to Me” went platinum. Incidentally this was the highest charting holiday album by a group since 1962! Much of their success can be attributed to a snowball effect from their winning of season three, of NBC’s “The Sing Off” in 2011
My wife and I (who is a photographer for Live in Limbo) arrived at the Sound Academy an hour before show time. The parking lot was packed. A sure sign of a sold out event! Inside the venue, fans were crammed in like sardines. If you went to the back, you could enjoy a bit of personal space, but it’s not easy to see the band from that vantage point. So kudos to those who endured the coziness of the crowd! The audience was made up of mostly teenagers and those in their early 20’s, however we saw a healthy peppering of an older demographic, too!
Showtime was 8:30 and because the Sound Academy was at capacity, they decided to start the show a bit early. Smart move! The crowd was ready!
Just before the group appeared you would see stage techs walk near the stage to make final adjustments. This would cause the crowd to break into deafening screams. And when you thought those screams couldn’t get any louder the quintet of Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Avi Kaplan, Kirstin Maldonado and Kevin Olusola appeared and proved that theory wrong!
The evening started with the Ariana Grande hit “Problem” and was followed by a Beyoncé medley. Their vocals and the arrangements were spectacular. While a cappella groups and Beatboxing is not new, PTX has wonderfully married the two. Grassi explained to the crowd that they started off as an a cappella trio comprised of Grassi, Hoying and Maldonado and the next song “Telephone” (Lady Gaga cover) was their first song they arranged and posted.
The vocalists took turns showcasing and the crowd responded loudly and passionately. I don’t know who they screamed louder for. It seemed like the two top contenders were when Grassi hit higher than high (think Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Beelzebub has the devil put aside for me, For me, For MEEEEEEE! – and yes, Grassi hit that note perfectly in “Evolution of Music”) notes or when Kaplan shook the place with those lower than low bass notes.
“La La Latch”, “Love You Long Time” and “Rather Be” followed. Afterward, Kaplan explained that Kevin was leaving the stage to go get a surprise for the audience. While we were waiting, he told stories about the original trio and showed clips and photos on the back screen. This filled our waiting time very nicely. The crowd laughed and enjoyed the memorabilia!
Then, Olusola appeared at the top of the stage bleachers with his cello for his solo spot. This was our surprise! It was the only time you heard an instrument during the night. It was a beautiful arrangement of Olusola playing the cello (plucking and chording) and Beatboxing.
The stage design used on their “On My Way Home” tour was a simple but effective. It was a set of bleachers, and a huge rear projection screen. This allowed the band to position themselves in very cool arrangements. The rest of the group joined him in the next song “Papaoutai”.
The crowd hung off every note, every comment and also just about every person was singing the words to every song! Scott Hoying asked how many choir geeks were out there and the place erupted.
As a change in pace they asked for a sexy girl to join them and “Romica” (please forgive me if the spelling is incorrect as our conversation was less than a second) was the lucky lady! They sat her down in a special chair on stage and handed her a video camera to record the event. They took turns serenading her and sitting in her lap during a Marvin Gaye cover “Let’s Get It On”. This was followed by a hug from each member of PTX.
Grassi took a camera and got the crowd to pose for a photo which they uploaded on Facebook for all to see. Another smart entertainment and business move.
Another one of the evening’s highlights was a piece called “Evolution of Music”. They started with an eerie Gregorian chant from the 11th Century, and quickly transitioned through the 1600’s, 1800’s, 1910’s with classical pieces. From that they moved to the 1910’s, 20’s to current music with snippets from artists like The Andrews Sisters, Beatles, Beach Boys, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Queen and MC Hammer. It reminded me of the medley skits that Jimmy Fallon does on his show with guests. It was fast, accurate, professional and flawless!
The amazing evening closed with “Standing By”” and “On My way home” and their encore of “That’s Christmas to Me”, sans microphone! Finally they closed with the party song “Daft Punk”. “Daft Dunk” was the song that won them “Best Arrangement Instrumental or A Cappella” category and sent them home with a Grammy at the 57th annual awards!
PTX is noted for their arrangements and amazing vocals on the many cover tunes they perform. They do also write their own material and Hoying said they want to focus more on that in 2015. Their polyphonic fast paced transitions from person to person and song to song are a talent that has put them where they are today. And last but not least, Kaplan being a walking sub (bass) is something you have to see if you appreciate music, vocals and arrangements. They were nice and genuine on stage to their fans. They are not just a group for teenagers!
