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Dance groups collaborate with BC bOp! for terrific show

By Robert Rossi, Managing Editor, on May 2, 2010 8:22 PM

By Robert Rossi, Assoc. Culture Editor – (Photography: Eliza Duggan)

“Dancing with bOp!” brought together Boston College’s award-winning jazz ensemble and many of the University’s dance groups.   Inside the closed-off tent at O’Neill Plaza, BC bOp! took the stage to a near-capacity crowd.

The band opened with the instrumental “Sing Sing Sing,”written by Louis Prima and made famous in 1937 by Benny Goodman.  The performance featured solos by saxophonist Rachel Schmidt, CSOM ’12, and trumpeter Steve Bass, A&S ‘11.   Next was a rendition of the Eartha Kitt song “My Discarded Men,” accompanied by a dance performed by the Boston College Dance Ensemble.  The first vocal performance of the night was handled entirely by Jeanette Hall, A&S ’10, who half-sung, half-snarled her way through the song with the perfect amount of attitude.  The song also featured a trombone solo by Alex Stewart, A&S ’10.

The next piece was a medley of “Steppin’ Out” and “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” and featured all five of the bOp! vocalists beautifully harmonizing over the song’s various tempo changes.  “You Make It Real” was the next song, and featured Nathan Walkowicz, LSOE ’13, handling the vocals.  The Dance Organization of BC (DOBC) accompanied the acoustic-rock tune.

bOp! followed up with a masterful rendition of Sonny Rollins’ “Tenor Madness,” which featured a battle between Greg Fortunato, A&S ‘11, Patrick Andrea, CSOM ’13, and Bass, each logically on the tenor sax.  The song also boasted a jaw-dropping solo by pianist Matt Gibbons, CSOM ’11.  The Swing Kids joined the ensemble for the next tune, “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree.” After performing earlier in the day to Muse’s “Supermassive Black Hole,” the Swing Kids clearly enjoyed dancing to the live band.

The seventh piece was an instrumental entitled “Stoned Soul Picnic.”  The show hit one of its high moments (though there were certainly many) during Bill Withers’  “Ain’t No Sunshine,” which featured an accompanying tap dance by the DOBC.  Brendan Quinn, CSOM ’11, elicited wild reactions from the audience during his vocal performance, which outshone even Aaron Kelly’s rendition on this season’s  American Idol.

The next piece was another instrumental, Charles Mingus’ “Better Get Hit In Your Soul,” and featured another terrific solo from Gibbons.  The tenth piece was a medley of Indian tunes and supported a dance routine from four members of Masti, who gave one of the best performances of the night among the dancers.

After a performance of Rodgers and Hart’s “I Could Write a Book,” bOp! hit another high with a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.” Playing on the most straight-up rock and roll song of the night, guitarist Chris Daley, A&S ’13, delivered three straight minutes of ear-splitting, remarkable guitar, all while the Swing Kids returned to the dance floor and one-upped their previous routine.

The next tune, the instrumental “Groove Merchant,” featured yet another solo from Bass and was followed by “Right as Rain,” which again had Hall and the DOBC taking center stage.  “Around the World” had the five bOp! vocalists once again sharing the spotlight, while “Trop C’est Trop/C’est Pas Complique” and “Drum Piece” both supported a dance by PATU.

Jon Tveit, A&S ’10, took on the vocals for “Ain’t Nothing Wrong…” while the DOBC gave its final performance of the night.  The instrumental “Roll ‘Em” followed, and then a performance of “Dance Above the Rainbow” with BC Irish Dance.  The instrumental “Los Gatos” was next, and featured another solo by Fortunato.

The last performance of the night was a medley of hip-hop and pop songs supporting the dance group PHAYMUS.  The five vocalists drew strong reactions from the crowd while donning sunglasses and delivering the lyrics to Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop”  and Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” with straight faces.  PHAYMUS’ routine impressed the audience as well.

The one negative about the whole night was the location of the dance stage below the eye level of most of the audience.  Many audience members left their seats after the first dance performance to stand at the side of the tent in order to see the dancers for the rest of the night.  The dancers and musicians themselves, however, were terrific.  After the tour de force performance delivered by bOp!, it would be difficult to argue that the group is not the strongest collection of musicians currently at BC.