Degrassi High Note

Saturday night, I headed down to the Rivoli for a show that coincidentally, featured a bunch of performers who went to the Sheridan College music program. I could only stay for two acts. The evening began with Chris Tsujiuchi (and His Straight Boyfriends). This pianist enjoyed being over the top and using his vocal range to sing sassy originals and covers. It's hard to say which was which as he loved to sneak little snippets from pop hits into various numbers. It was essentially like watching Glee live on stage.

Headliner Eh440 came up next. This 5-piece a capella band has an experienced stage presence, especially Stacey Kay. They liked to do straight covers (Crazy, Genie In a Bottle), some mash-ups, and original tunes. The latter often had clever lyrics, as Kay loved fast rap a la Busta Rhymes, and that talent was also reflected in even the pop ballads. The downside, their arrangements were usually simple: beatbox + basic bass line + 3 part harmony. You can't blame that on pop music structure since Retrocity make complex numbers out of 80s songs. But on the upside, the high energy set got everyone dancing and was undoubtedly a lot of fun.