March 13, 2005 - "An Afternoon of A Cappella" - B.B. King's, Universal Citywalk, Burbank, CA

It’s been 4 days since m-pact’s LA debut at B.B. King’s at the Universal Citywalk, I think it’s time for me to write my thoughts about it. The B.B. King’s gig was supposed to be m-pact’s debut performance as an LA-based group. I am quite excited about the fact that one of the best a cappella groups in the world call Los Angeles home. I just hope that Angelenos will catch on and appreciate the phenomenal talents these guys have.

My cousin April, and I arrived around 5:15 p.m., along with April’s boyfriend Jeremy and my friend and fellow Papuri member Marnee, just in time to catch the UCLA Scattertones’ set. Walked in and ran into the guys at the lobby, said “hello” to Jeff Smith (their tenor/alternate vp) and got a hug from him, then proceeded to go to the 2nd level to find seats, since the floor seats were already taken. *sigh* We were reduced to watching the performances on the flat-screen TVs situated right above the stage in order for the people on the 2nd and 3rd levels to see the performers.

After The Scattertones “scattered” so-to-speak (I know, hehe), the incredible vocal jazz a cappella mixed sextet, Sixth Wave, took the stage, along with their new alto, Jennifer, who replaced our friend and fellow CASA ambassador Amy Fogerson just earlier this year. They sounded fab! I have found a new vocal hero in Elin Carlson. What an incredible coloratura soprano! That lady has some pipes! They did about 6 to 7 songs, which included Icarus and Pick Up The Pieces, 2 of my favourite Sixth Wave tunes.

The final act of the night of course, was m-pact. Britt seemed to be a little under the weather. During the opening number, he was not hitting the high notes, on purpose. He was holding back a little. I was a little disappointed at first, but then he just pulled out the stops after the first couple of songs. I love their Stevie Wonder/Chaka Khan medley “I Wish/Ain’t Nobody”. My favorite out of all their pop covers, and Rudy and Britt are just fabulous vocalists! Of course they had to showcase Jake Moulton’s singing and vp skills, so they did both “I Found a Love in You”, a Britt Quentin original (I love that song!), and “What If We Was Cool?” Jake’s just a freak of nature. Such a performer, I love it. It’s one thing for a singer to be able to sing and sing well, it’s another for a singer to perform and have a presence on stage. Jake IS a performer. So are Britt and Rudy. The rest of the guys can hold their own as well, but these 3 are the ones who always catch my attention. They just suck you in. I have to say that Jeff Smith is one heckuva vocal percussionist. I love his exchanges with Jake in “What If We Was Cool?” Oh and did a rendition of Take 6 and Ray Charles’ “My Friend”. Crazy. I’d love to see m-pact perform with Take 6 one of these days.

It was a short set but everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves. This show was actually part of an “Afternoon of A Cappella” concert series, which will hopefully be a regular series at B.B. King’s. So that was quite exciting to know. Maybe we could get Rockapella to be in it one of these days, what say you Boys? ;)

Well, I get to see m-pact again this Sunday evening, March 20th at The Baked Potato in Studio City. It’ll be a night of a cappella music as well. Can’t wait!