A Pitch Perfect evening with Fundamentally Sound

Our Pitch Perfect evening Friday night included all things Chicago – a deep dish pizza, a beat boxing Bear and a spirited A Cappella contest.

Seven teams competed in the ICCA Mid-West Quarterfinals in front of an over-capacity crowd, which included our enthusiastic group of seven rookie fans. As we made our way down to our seats we noticed a cluster of front row veterans all decked out in fan T-shirts with hand-lettered signs.

“We should have made signs!” Katherine said. “We should have worn T-shirts!” I agreed and we both felt bad for a moment that we had let our team, Fundamentally Sound, down. We soon realized how misplaced our pity was when the decked out fans in the front row jumped to their feet to cheer for … Fundamentally Sound.

Hilarious.

We’re connected to the UW-Madison group by blood through Molly’s brother Vinnie, who is a first-year member. We’re also connected by food as we hosted the group earlier this year when they performed at Lawrence University.

The blood and food ties made us very nervous fans, especially since we sat directly behind the time-keeper.

All seven teams put together entertaining sets that included mash-ups, ballads, spirituals, pop and rap songs performed with choreography and creative beats.

Chicago Bear center Edwin Williams, an unlikely though enthusiastic a cappella fan,  jumped on stage to help judge the beatboxing contest that took place while the judges ranked the teams. The top two teams advance to the Semi-Finals in St. Louis, MO.

Just after midnight, the judges awarded the top place to Northwestern University’s Extreme Measures and second place to…wait for it…Fundamentally Sound!

Such excitement! Somebody should write a movie about this.

Here’s a link to their set.

Here they are performing a mashup of Pump Up Kicks and Kids
Here they are performing a mashup of Pump Up Kicks and Kids
Same song, different angle
Same song, different angle
I love this shot because it captures the passion
I love this shot because it captures the passion.
That's our Vinnie. I shot these pictures from my seat. I would have liked to have moved that mic stand, but felt that might have been inappropriate.
That’s our Vinnie. I shot these pictures from my seat. I would have liked to have snuck up to the stage and moved that mic stand that got in the way of every photo, but restrained myself, much to Molly’s relief.
Their tight choreography, creative set and strong vocals won Fundamentally Sound a trip to the ICCA Semi-Finals.
Their tight choreography, creative set and strong vocals won Fundamentally Sound a trip to the ICCA Semi-Finals.
Here's a post-contest, post-midnight shot of our group. Me, Vinnie's Aunt Donna, Vinnie, Tiffany,Katherine, Molly and Aunt Jenny. Woo Hoo!
Here’s a post-contest, post-midnight shot of our group. Me, Vinnie’s Aunt Donna, Vinnie, Tiffany, Katherine, Molly and Aunt Jenny. Woo Hoo!

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