Ménage a cappella:

Packed to the rafters with eager a cappella fans last Saturday, the Kirkland House Junior Common Room provided a refuge for hundreds of brave souls from the oppressive cold.

The Leap Year Jam was the second annual concert to bring together Harvard-Radcliffe's three co-ed a cappella groups, the Veritones, Call-backs and Opportunes.

The concert did not have any illustrious emcees, so the audience had to settle for the three groups. Though the concert lacked cohesion between groups as a result of this brevity, it was nevertheless a grand success for a cappella music lovers.

Never mind that there was hardly any space to breathe. Never mind that you couldn't hear many of the soloists. Never mind that there was a great folk concert at Sanders Theatre the very same night. Each group gave equally fine performances (of course, some were more equal than others).

The first group, the Callbacks, opened with a crowd-pleasing--but very hokey--tap-dance routine that included a barely audible scat solo. The group's musical selection improved markedly with their second song, the Rolling Stones' "As Tears Go By," ending on an "ooooooh" that seemed to last a good half hour.

The highlight of the Callbacks' program was the first skit, a parody of "Beverly Hills 90210," complete with three-inch sideburns and oneliners like "Am I being too sensitive?"

After two upbeat numbers like "California Dreamin'" by the Mamas and the Papas and a swing-filled rendition of the old Broadway tune "Ain't Misbehavin," the Callbacks announced that they were going to do one of their more traditional numbers, "The Old Irish Blessing." Just as they lulled the audience into a deep sleep, the song broke out in a furiously obnoxious rap, only to finish one minute later in ballad form.

The second phase of comic relief occurred when the Callbacks reenacted National Lampoon's Griswold family competing for the gold medal in nothing less than the luge. The ever-present and irksome Scott Hamilton asked the predictable "Where are you folks going now that you've won the gold?" The audience gave the only appropriate response--Wallyworld.

To close their program, the Callbacks did a humorous melange of TV theme songs that included The Muppet Show, Wonder Woman, Laverne and Shirley, Happy Days and Cheers (with the requisite "Sit Ubu Sit. Good dog.")

The Veritones went on next, and like their wardrobe choices, their music selection and presentation was a little more staid and traditional.

Their first number was "Working at the Carwash Blues," followed by a mellow version of "Blue Bayou."

The group geared their first skit to fast-track toddlers interested in learning to spell the hard way (e.g., sigh + chic = psychic, shoot + pa = chutzpah). The Veritones' second break was a lame plug for their auditions, starring no one other than Roseanne Rosannadanna. Eminently forgettable. The one skit that did show some originality was the commercial for the perfume "Insecure," the fragrance that says "You Suck."

The Veritones' questionable choice of songs was helped somewhat by the great Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young harmony "Helplessly Hoping," and their encore piece, "Something About You." Unfortunately, much of the group's remaining program was rather uninspiring.

The final group, the Opportunes, was a welcome relief. Bouncing out from behind stage, the Opportunes expressed vitality and fun. Their second piece was Elvis Costello's "Everyday I Write the Book," a choice that gave them lots of room to play with. The third tune, "She's Got Her Ticket" by Tracy Chapman, had a strong soloist, but was some what marred by the inappropriate rap noises in the background.

The Opportunes' first skit was a hilarious theater game in which four actors act out the same scene in slow, fast, melodramatic and positively jubilant variations. These change-ups can do wonders to a line like "But I really wanted some soup."

Following a wonderful rendition of the ballad "Breathe," the group closed in its humorous path with an original rap called the "PC Blues." This satire poked fun at the prevailing Thought Police and their tired debate about the correct usage of "vertically challenged" versus "short." You be the judge.

Their encore was the group's signature piece, a familiar montage with "Let the Music Play" as its framework. The Opportunes declined to do a second encore, much to the disappointment of the audience; like a flash, they were gone, disappearing into the thick fog of a cappella music in Kirkland House's Junior Common Room.

This second co-ed jam had all the right elements for a fun evening. With only a few technical faults and some irritating songs, this concert delivered. The audience, as usual with an a cappella concert, tolerated this musical madness with a grimace and a smile.