Pentatonix - 3/28/15

If you don’t know who Pentatonix is, you need to look them up!  They are an amazing a cappella group made up of 5 members – Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstie Maldonado, Avi Kaplan and Kevin Olusola.  They won the show The Sing Off in 2011 and I have been a fan ever since.  They cover a lot of great pop songs but they are starting to venture out into some original songs for their next album.

Last year Renee and I made a last minute decision to go see them at Cain’s Ballroom and were just amazed at their talent.  So this year when they announced they were coming back and playing Brady Theater we were determined to go.  We bought our tickets on pre-sale and decided to take our boys – Cole and Owen.

Now, a little about the boys - my son, Cole (9 years old), knows who they are but only just because I play their music in the car sometimes.  Owen (age 6), on the other hand, is a HUGE fan.  He watches their videos obsessively and knows all the songs.  Renee even has a video of him beatboxing like Kevin.  So Renee decided to make this a surprise for Owen and we kept it a secret for months.

So Saturday comes and we go to dinner.  Owen still doesn't know what we are doing.  Then we got to Brady Theater and he is still clueless.  They were running a Twitter contest for signed posters, so we tweeted the boy’s seat numbers in hopes that we would win the posters.  About 5 minutes before the show some guys came up to us with posters and asked if they were Owen and Cole.  They held the posters out and Owen’s face was priceless!  He was so excited!  He actually held this face for at least a minute or so! 

They took the boy’s picture and actually tweeted it after the show.  We were so excited for them!  Everyone around us was clapping and so happy for the boys.  A few minutes later the show started.

I was a little worried as it started because everyone stayed seated.  Now, I prefer to stand at concerts because I want to dance around.  But it didn't take long before everyone was up out of their seats and dancing and singing along.

I am just in awe of what these guys can do with their voices.  You never miss the instruments.  As a matter of fact, if you didn't know, you would think there were instruments involved.  Avi Kaplan can make your chest vibrate with his bass and Kevin Olusola can beatbox like no one else!  He not only beatboxes but he also plays the cello….while beatboxing!  He did a couple songs off his EP The Renegade and it was beautiful.  The 3 lead singers are equally amazing and can sing anything!  Cole’s favorite was Mitch because he can hit the high notes.

 

I talked about connection with the audience in my last blog and how it was lacking with Maroon 5.  It was definitely not lacking with this group!  They talked to us several times, gave us a little history lesson of their rise to fame along with pictures on the big screen behind them, brought a lady up on stage for a serenade/lap dance (Cover your eyes kids!), and even broke us up into sections so we could sing with them on their song “On My Way Home.”

At one point they even walked through the audience.  As they passed a group of 4 teenage girls, one of them had a delayed reaction.  They passed by them and then we heard this crazy loud scream reminiscent of the way the girls used to scream for The Beatles.  It was so great!

I love how they view themselves as just a group of choir nerds who get to do what they love for a living.  I wasn't a choir nerd myself – I can’t carry a tune in a bucket – but I wish I had half of the talent they have.

So after the show was over Renee and I decided to hang out outside to see if we could get autographs and pictures with the group.  We had heard they were great with their fans.  Renee’s husband, Erik, took the boys home for us.  He had no idea Cole would get sick and throw up all over his car on the way home.  Thank you Erik for being such a great sport! 

We stood outside for about 45 minutes or so and one by one they came out.  We were a little worried we wouldn't get up to see them through the crowd but we all worked together.  I had a marker and one girl needed to use it.  So we traded.  When she was done she let us up to the front to get our pictures.  I like it when fans can bond and help each other out instead of fight.

They were all so kind and stayed so that everyone got autographs and pictures.  Kevin hugged Renee for what seemed like 5 minutes!  We let them know that our boys were the ones that got the posters.  They were all very genuine people and happy that we were there to see them.  No egos whatsoever!

We even got a chance to talk to Jake, their social media director.  He was a hoot!  He was the one who gave the boys their posters.  We talked to him about our love for contests.  He said he won a trip to see Carrie Underwood 2 different times – one was a meet and greet.  We definitely bonded!  He gets us!

Pentatonix played the Brady Theater this time but I have a feeling it won’t be long before they are playing the BOK Center.  These guys are uber talented and deserve every bit of success they are getting!  Go check them out!