Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 12/11/07 Section: Arts & Society

Media Credit: Jesse DeFloria Senior Callie Goff belted out a solo performance of, "Wake Up Call," pleasing the crowd.

December has officially begun, and for the Loyola College community, that means three things: an overabundance of holiday cheer, cramming for soul-crushing, GPA-centric final projects and exams, and Chordbusters. As a long-standing tradition of the campus, Chordbusters always pulls in a crowd, and the performances this weekend were no exception.

Like in years past, the buzz for the show was everywhere, with lines for tickets stretching to Salsa Rico from the McManus box office --an easy 50-yards-- two hours before the tickets went on sale Wednesday morning. As to be expected, tickets sold out within minutes, leaving many a music fan dejected and scouring the campus for friends to bum tickets off of. Opening night, there were even multiple attempts of people sneaking into the performance, with many on the theatre staff having to round them up and shoo them away.

Why all the crazed behavior over a concert? Unlike many of the shows here on campus, Chordbusters is notoriously unpredictable -- you simply never know what you're going to get when those houselights go down. Featuring the school's a capella singing groups, The Belles and The Chimes, McManus theatre was packed to the brim with at least 400 or so lucky ticket holders, all vying for seats to the hit show. (This reporter was even forced to take shelter in the theatre technician's chair, perched high above the crowd, in order to catch a glimpse of the musical madness that was about to befall McManus and its patrons.)

The show started off with a hilarious skit by The Belles, entitled "How the Grinch Stole Chordbusters," detailing the escapades of the mean, green menace and his dog Max on their quest to purchase Chordbusters tickets. Unfortunately, they are unsuccessful and even resort to kidnapping one Cindy-Lou Belle in order to try and stop the show. Alas, not even a kidnapping can stop The Belles from spreading a little well-needed Christmas cheer, and the Grinch lets her rejoin her friends, but not before proclaiming "Next year, I'll go after The Chimes!" and running off into the night. After the skit, the Belles got down to business with renditions of songs ranging from Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" to Alanis Morrisette's "Hands Clean," much to the crowd's delight. A wonderful performance of India Arie's "The Heart of the Matter" came from junior Stephanie Lenow, while a performance of "Wake Up Call" by senior Callie Goff became an instant crowd favorite.

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