Sympathetic audience helped Vox P
Review
An audience of several hundred graciously encouraged Vox P's a cappella performance last weekend with eager applause, even a standing ovation at ordeal's end.
But it was a lost cause.
Billed as a "professional" quartet of two men and two women, Vox P squeaked as brittle and gray as the North Sea, which nurtures their Danish homeland.
With untrained voices especially weak in the upper range, the quartet of 20-somethings delivered an extra long dose of popular American and Danish tunes as mummified as their lifeless stage show.
Jakob Marstrand managed to pump a little adrenaline and musical variety into the show with an occasional rhythmic piece that depended on his deep, rich bass. But it wasn't enough to rescue the 90-minute-plus show.
Sensing a disaster, the Lakes Area Concert Association's season ticket holders rallied behind the likeable quartet as though the scrubbed-clean performers were the grandchildren appearing on stage for the first time.
And why not? It was easy to pull for these young people who are touring the United States for the first time in their six-year career, although they've performed more than 200 concerts in their native Denmark.
Vox P lacked the musical polish of the many professional performers who have collectively spoiled Lakes Area Concert Association audiences for nearly half a century.
Perhaps, the quartet needs a teacher, someone to train them in the importance of intonation and the musical variety afforded by creative arrangements for a cappella singers with a full range.
They could also use some help in the style department, discarding costumes fit for a high school prom in favor of a little razzmatazz.
Vox P's voices generally blended with one another, but every song seemed a repeat of the one before. Coupled with a stiff and immature stage presence, the monotony of their sound doomed the show.