Soulstice a Cappella, one of the four a cappella groups on McGill’s downtown campus, performed their spring show, entitled An Old, Sweet Song, on March 30th at Cafe Campus. I had the pleasure of attending but, having arrived only a few minutes past the opening of the doors at 7pm, had to lean by the bar since the crowd of more than two hundred people had already taken up all the seating in the house.
The night began with duo North Country Towers, who performed a beautiful opening setlist with their voices, a guitar, and a cello: the perfect start to what was to be an incredible showcase of musical creativity, risk-taking, teamwork, and passion. Once their setlist had finished, the members of Soulstice a Cappella came on stage, and, in true Soulstice fashion, delivered a short, humorous opening quip to introduce themselves. Already it was apparent that the members of this a cappella group were as outgoing as they were talented, for while surely at least a few of the members must have been nervous singing in front of hundreds of people, the stage emitted nothing but pure, self-assured energy right from the start.
The ladies of the group were first in floral prints, while the gentlemen wore white shirts and dark jeans, a subtle nod at the emerging spring weather despite the snowstorm brewing outside. By the second act, the group had changed into all-black outfits, a classy finish to a successful night, and an aesthetic touch that added to the beauty of the music. As for their sound, Soulstice is made up of two tenors (Gustavo Dam and Hendrik Williams); five altos (Justine Eisenberg, Thoko Phiri, Elena Samuel, Aanya Sagheer, and Sadie Menicanin); three sopranos (Jami Price, Allison Numerow, and Allie Hecht); two mezzos (Sadie Menicanin and Tasha Kara); two basses (Sam Nardi and Jonah Spungin); and two baritones (Thomas Burton and David Dillon-Wang). But despite the remarkability of each unique member’s voice and their particular role within Soulstice, the group didn’t shy from alternating individuals into different roles, such as lead singing or beat-boxing.
What was striking about Soulstice’s music was how confidently they were able to take a song of any genre, from any decade, and turn it into a remarkably modern yet still entirely classic a cappella piece. Some examples to note from the spring concert are Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide, The Andrews’ Sisters’ Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, and Kanye West’s American Boy (which, by the way, was rapped in a fur coat and shutter shades). This is not to dismiss the rest of the setlist, which included (but was not limited to) the opening piece You Shook Me All Night by AC/DC, Bang Bang Down In Mexico from Quentin Tarantino movies, and Skinny Love by Bon Iver. The diversity of the music was not solely based on the variety of songs, but also on the variety of the arrangements, since members Sadie, Henk, Thomas, and Jonah all played a role in arranging various songs for the performance, while Soulstice alumnae had arranged others.
Despite having done around 20 performances this past year, Soulstice a Cappella will be around campus for Discover McGill and Orientation events this upcoming fall. Their next big show is scheduled tentatively to take place next November, when those who have not yet seen the group in action can experience the Soulstice of An Old, Sweet Song for themselves. I had a great night watching this group perform and can’t wait to see what they’ll do next year. To keep up to date with McGill’s Soulstice a Cappella group, visit their Facebook page.
Photographs by Sam Gregory