Straight No Chaser intoxicates Fort Smith audience

FORT SMITH — Straight No Chaser, a 10-member male a capella group, brought its traditional stage humor and love of performance to Fort Smith Tuesday (April 10) at the Arkansas Best Corp. Performing Arts Center.

The show opened with a short video about the band which also cited several likely fictitious origins for the group's name, including that of an encounter with a Ouija board. More appropriately, the name Straight No Chaser could be compared to a fine spirit — carefully distilled, very enjoyable and free of impurities such as backup music.

The group takes its music very seriously but has a great sense of humor about its stage presence and dance routines. In the case of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," members bobbed up and down to the beat as they sang. They then put a spin on a lyric from Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl"  by saying "Brown Skinned Eye Girl" instead.

So what do "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and “Brown Eyed Girl" have to do with each other? Straight No Chaser has a unique way of combining and intertwining different songs into a cohesive piece with tight harmonies and clean solos. Such was the case with a tribute to the British invasion with "Help" by the Beatles sharing the stage with The Rolling Stones’ "Satisfaction" and "Beast of Burden." Later in the show, they mixed the Bee Gees’ "Stayin' Alive" with Stevie Wonder's "Superstition."

As impressive as the harmonies and solos are, Straight No Chaser’s use of voice to provide musical accompaniment to the lyrics stand out. A capella by definition means without instrumental accompaniment but on numerous occasions throughout the show, it was hard to believe that the beats were not coming from drums or bass from a soundtrack.

Most of all, Straight No Chaser has a knack for connecting with its audience. This was clear from the onset of the show when the group encouraged audience members to tweet, facebook and/or take pictures throughout the show — quite a departure from other mainstream acts who keep tight control over recordings of their performances.

Perhaps it’s because the members are in their thirties and part of the social media generation or because it was online media, specifically YouTube, that brought the group fame when a video caught the eye of Atlantic Records Chairman/CEO Craig Kallman in 2006. That viewing by Kallman spawned a recording contract for the group.

Lighting effects added another dimension to the show. Beams of light danced around the stage in a manner that supported the music both in mood and intensity but also extended from the stage into the audience and swept across the crowd like a handshake of electrons.

Most in the audience were first-timers to a Straight No Chaser show, and by all indications, they weren’t disappointed.

Karen Dineen of Rogers said, “[It's] really cool how they can perform as they do without any instruments; it's amazing."

Mike Jones, a retired band director from Van Buren, came to the show with his wife, son and daughter-in-law. Jones said he has been to a Straight No Chaser concert in Tulsa two years ago.

"They're very good. They're outstanding. So musical and so comical too. It's a great show," he said.