The Midnight Ramblers pulled out all the stops for their fall concert, “Election 2002,” this past Friday night in Strong Auditorium.
The Ramblers ? along with the Association for Development of Interest in The Indian subcontinent and Ithaca College’s all-female a cappella group, Premium Blend ? delivered an entertaining and energetic performance that was based on more than just good music, but also being generally well put together..
The Ramblers employed a variety of tactics in order to entertain the crowd, using everything from costumes and candy to acting and audience participation.
The main theme for the night, “Election 2002,” was based on a mock election between Charley Beller and Jay Sperry for the president of the Ramblers.
The skits, based around a newscast covering the last election, were interspersed with the a cappella performances of both the Ramblers and Premium Blend in addition to ADITI.
The skits were both amusing and fun to watch, especially a video of Sperry’s campus campaign and a drill interlude during the song “Army” by Ben Folds Five.
Premium Blend gave an animated and technically sound performance that was very well received by the crowd. They closed with an outstanding renditions of “Video Killed the Radio Star” followed by “How Do You Talk to an Angel?”
ADITI received perhaps the loudest ovation of the night as they left the stage after their bhangra performance ? bhangra is the traditional folk dancing style of the Punjab region of northern India and Pakistan.
Inviting an all-female a cappella group to the performance was a matter of tradition, according to sophomore and Ramblers assistant director Elliot Pennington. The invitation to ADITI was extended because ? according to Pennington ? they are “so cool.”
Pennington also added that the use of skits in their concerts has become a part of the Ramblers tradition ? a tradition that includes inviting group alumni to the stage for their final song, a very high-spirited performance of The Nylons’ “Kiss Him Goodbye.”
The Midnight Ramblers’ new CD, “All Sales Final,” is available now.
For more information on the CD and the Ramblers, visit their website at http://www.midnightramblers.org.
