Mental Notes entertain with British Invasion

The Mental Notes put on another marvelous show Saturday night. 

Senior Andy Weld and sophomore Sarah Azody opened the show with a few quick jokes and commentary about the performances that evening. Azody told the audience to let go of their restraints and that some songs would make them laugh, some would make them cry, but that everyone was in for an incredible adventure into the world of a cappella.

Two songs that The Mental Notes performed really stood out that evening. Soloists junior Lucie Fink and senior Nick Mutsakis tugged at the heartstrings of the audience with their rendition of Dewey Cox’s “Let’s Duet.” Their chemistry on stage left the audience left the audience wondering if they were actually going to “put two and two together.” The audience could relate to the poetic words that were given meaning by these skilled performers. Although simple, the lyrics rang true; Fink and Mutsakis’s duet really had the audience feeling good with their sacred sounds.

Next, senior Cherry Yeung, the president of The Mental Notes, emerged on stage. Audiences expected a song about sex, or the fatalities of a keg stand, or perhaps the mania one succumbs to when spending a night on D level. However, Yeung stood quietly in front of the microphone, and as she began to sing, the audience was taken aback by her incredible vocal control, projection and a fantastic sense of emotion that left them wide-eyed and mouth agape. She was a diamond in a sea of British men, as it were.

Those “British men” were also well-received by the audience. All the King’s Men could have easily just talked about grilled cheese for half an hour and they would still have been applauded into an encore, with their completely matching pressed blue shirts and pants, their luscious dance moves and their sexy, sultry, seductive voices. Their cover of John Mayer’s “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” was unearthly. They were all passionate and had incredible stage presence, and their arrangement of the song was so unique that they really made it their own. Their performance of “Yellow” by Coldplay was also phenomenal, with the soloist earnestly singing seemingly from the depths of his soul. When two other soloists began to sing a medley-like harmony, the effect was almost overhwhelming.

All the King’s Men surely won over the hearts of everyone at the concert — every man, child and at this point every sexually frustrated woman sitting in the seats of Bloomberg.

The beautiful Sirens also made an appearance at the show. They performed two songs: “Home” by Philip Philips with senior Jessica DeBakey as the soloist. They also performed “Shake It Out” by Florence + the Machine which was performed by sophomore Paulina Valderrábano. Although it is pretty daring for any person to try and cover a Florence + the Machine song, Valderrabano managed to hit it out of the park. She had the entire audience on the edge of their seats during her solo. She sang so passionately that it felt like she was telling her own story through Florence Welch’s words. Although many a cappella groups perform this song, Valderrabano was powerful and unrestrained and made this one of the best renditions yet.

Every word was sung with meaning, and it truly made this concert unforgettable.