FourShadowing

So I went to the Four Shadow concert Saturday night. I flew solo because everyone else I could have invited was out of town for Thanksgiving.

I arrived at the venue to discover that the ticket I jumped through numerous hoops to purchase was not waiting at the will-call window as requested. A frantic search of the computer revealed that it's in the mail and I should receive it Monday. Er . . . The bustling boss lady printed me one on the spot, so no problem, really. But considering the challenges I experienced just trying to order the ticket, this snafu left me seriously unimpressed with the box office.

Anyway.

Searching for the bathroom before the show, I ran into half the band: tenor David fluttering around the merch table and bass/vp Stacy noodling at a piano tucked back in a corner near the restrooms. They looked young and small in jeans and sweatshirts. I hoped they were planning to dress up more for the concert. (Some did, some didn't, and I'll tell you what, it makes a difference.) Anyhow, I didn't bother them.

The doors opened at 7:15 for the 7:30 show and the small community theater filled slowly to half capacity; 75 people max. My seat turned out to be center left, on the legally mandated tenor side. (Seriously, is it a musical requirement that basses go stage left and tenors stage right?) Never underestimate the ability of besweatered suburbanites to make a lengthy production of meandering to their seats.

Is it also a rule in the a cappella community that for holiday concerts, the microphone stands must be wrapped in tinsel garlands?

Once the meandering finished, the concert started almost on time. You could tell Four Shadow is used to performing for children: much forced silliness (although the kidlets brought onstage to toss white confetti during "Let It Snow" were genuinely cute). There were several older kids in the audience, including a few tweens in the front rows trying on their first fangirl crushes.

I also heard someone say there were a mother and two daughters present who have seen Four Shadow 147 times. That's . . . a lot. FS is the house band at local amusement park Valleyfair and they perform regularly around town, so it's not that hard to find them. But still. 147? OY.

I suspected the band was tired: a couple voice cracks, a couple shaky notes, not much energy coming from the stage. Mostly they remained very still while singing. Maybe it's not fair to compare these earnest young locals to the big leaguers, but once you've seen Tonic Sol-Fa's modest moves or the new Rockapella dance party, guys who just sit or stand there seem dull. But they still did the best send-up of "The 12 Days of X-Mess" I've ever heard, and the only live performance of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" I'm likely to witness this season. I hope.

I don't mean to imply that they suck or anything. They don't, not by a long shot. At their best, they have four strong voices, which was especially apparent during the obligatory off-mic encore. The singing is good; the showy part of the show needs work. And they need a good sound engineer on their side. Right now their studio albums sound considerably better than their live blend, and most of that probably isn't their fault.

Favorite A: baritone Kevin. Excellent dark curls — much cuter than his publicity photo! — red nerd specs, and a fine rendition of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." He filled in a little vocal percussion as well. I like his voice but not his delivery; too American Idol.

Favorite B: Stacy, who did an admirable job of blending warm bass with decent vocal percussion. He also belted out a supremely Elvisized "Blue Christmas" that I quite enjoyed.

Wish I'd heard more of: second tenor David.

Guy I've avoided mentioning, which is a Minnesota-nice way of saying "nice voice, but the dungeon master look just didn't work for a holiday concert:" high tenor Drew.

Overall grade: B. I was not inspired to stick around for the m&g. In fact, I was the first one out of the building.

Would I see Four Shadow again? Yes, if it were within 20 miles, under $20, and didn't conflict with a T'ai Chi class. I suspect they have some funnier shtick than they felt free to express in a family-friendly holiday concert, so I'll make a point of seeing one of their regular shows before rendering a final verdict.