Straight No Chaser says goodbye to seniors

With cameras flashing, lights dimming, hands clapping and people screaming, tuxedo-clad members of Straight No Chaser took their place on stage Tuesday night. \nPeople of all ages filled the Auditorium to see the seniors' last big performance. Even faces from the original Straight No Chaser in 1996 could be found in the crowd. Complete with dried ice, flashing fire and colorful lights, the group was ready to entertain. \nTheir voices joined to create beautiful, powerful sounds. People often looked around and whispered about how they could not believe that voices could sound that way -- that the sounds they heard were simply voices and not instruments.\nSeniors had their share of solos, allowing them to take their place in the spotlight. Although it was the last big concert for the seniors, the atmosphere was not sad. Group members were having fun and seemed to be entertaining even themselves. \nSenior Mark Holloway entertained the audience with his clever improvisations. During each song, Holloway let his personality shine through to entertain the audience and the other group members. Whether he was singing about how guys have sex on the brain or telling people "that's just the way it is," from the moment he opened his mouth and smiled the audience was listening. \nThe tears came when the men called their mothers up on stage for a special rendition of "Song for Momma." While the mothers sat on stools and listened to their sons, there were few dry eyes in the audience. \nThroughout each song, voices entered and left the air together. Each voice had a different job to do, a different note to hit and a different sound to create.\nIn addition to the songs, a special video put together by senior Ben Cohen and alumnus Randy Stine was shown as a comical tribute to the seniors. Set to the background music from "Growing Pains," it joked that Straight No Chaser would be in Little 500 this year. Although the video was a joke, it highlighted the mens' personalities. \nThe video was a great way to show that the members of the group have fun together, and that the meaning of their involvement is more than just singing. It is about friendship and fun; this is obvious when the group enters the room. It is seen in the way they joke with each other, the way they introduce each other and the way they tease Cohen by telling him how short he really is. Those are things only a friend could get away with doing.\nBefore the show was over, Cohen sang Frank Sinatra's, "I've Got You Under My Skin," and audience members could not get enough. A few songs later, the show was over and the group received a standing ovation.\nNext month, the seniors will part ways. Mike Landau will be singing on a cruise ship; Kyle Coffman is going to medical school; Cohen is pursuing a career in entertainment in Chicago and Holloway will be leading expeditions around the world, in hopes of starting his own business.