A Song, A Pun, and A Beard: A Cappella in Sanders

The Din & Tonics and the Callbacks circled up in traditional a cappella formation on Saturday night in Sanders Theatre to deliver a night of steamy songs and sarcastic puns. The performance, dubbed “Callbacks SnoweDIN: A Jam for Non-Critical Personnel,” marked the final spring concert for the Dins and the Callbacks.

Callbacks underclassmen honored their four graduating seniors with farewell speeches: Trevor J. Byrne ’17 described Kimberly A. Onah ’15, president of the Callbacks, as “Harvard’s Beyoncé” before she took the mic to sing “It Don’t Have To Change,” a John Legend song arranged by fellow Callbacks member Cynthia S. Meng ’15. Other senior solo songs included “Galileo” by the Indigo Girls, performed by Johanna A. Lewis ’15, and a rendition of Adele’s “Turning Tables” by Krystal L. Ortiz ’15. Ortiz and Onah, along with Stephanie M. Johnson ’18, then led the Callbacks in an arrangement of Ella Henderson’s “Ghost.” Such arrangements, in which an individual member carried the bulk of the melody as a soloist, comprised the bulk of the Callbacks’ performance.

In contrast, the Dins emphasized enthusiasm from their singers in the form of group-coordinated pieces, including the appearance of a long-standing Dins’ tradition: Dean Friedman’s “McDonald’s Girl.” One of the group’s most famous numbers, “McDonald’s Girl” includes choreographed dance moves ending in acrobatic golden arches formed from Din members propped on one another’s shoulders. The Dins also showcased their ability to synchronize voice and movement with their encore piece, a jazzy rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” featuring soloist Leon Y. Pan ’18—at times up to three members took the microphones at the front of the stage to sing only a few lyrics each. The songs were interspersed with what the Dins called “DinImpressions,” humorous sketches during which members assembled in formations spelling out puns with their bodies: “WiDiner Library,” “The IDINinterod,” “Dinny Putt Putt,” and “DIN Kardashian.”

In a show filled with traditions, one surprise stood out—the “Sanders Sh’Boom Break” in the middle of the alumni song, in which Dins past and present climbed onstage to perform. During the interlude, Din alumnus John F. Morton had his beard half shaved on stage by another alumnus, to the surprise of the current Dins members and the audience. “It’s our own little way of trying to take the pressure off the performers,” Morton said after the show. “It lets them realize that there is something out of their control going on and they can relax a little.”

Amid the congratulations for graduates of the two groups, freshman Dins shared their approach to performing well as new members. “I think the most important thing is the energy that you bring to [the performance]...and [to] funnel that into what you’re singing: the face, the gestures,” James W. Baskerville ’18 says.

Even with the measured attitude they took to their performance, the new Dins confessed to feeling nervousness and excitement prior to the show, comparing the thrill to being on a concert high. “It’s bright lights. It’s really exciting and a little nerve-wracking,” says Aaron B. Argyres ’18, who soloed in “McDonald’s Girl.”

But Baskerville and Argyres were able to overcome their nerves to put on an enthusiastic performance with the other members and alumni of the Dins and of the Callbacks. As the groups’ seniors bid goodbye in their final swan song performance, the atmosphere inside cavernous Sanders Saturday night felt warm enough to melt Cambridge’s mounds of snow.

–Staff writer Virginia R. Marshall can be reached at virginia.marshall@thecrimson.com.