Face at Nissi's

On Ginny’s 50th Birthday I had the incredible fortune to be invited back to Nissi’s to hear a Colorado-based a capella men’s singing group called Face. Go here to hear a sample from Face and understand that everything you hear is done with their voices alone, each holding a mike on the stage. There are no instruments.

They were incredible, and I enjoyed every minute of it. They provide all percussion and other instruments via their voices alone (a fact that was dubiously received by at least one member of our party because they were so good at it). They also have a strong musical, choreographic and rhythmic sense with their entire bodies that made their performance a joy to watch. Each of the seven members of this troupe is hugely talented in his own way and contributed strongly to the whole. Additionally, given comments they made they do at least some of their own original arrangements, which lends another angle of creativity.

I especially enjoyed their version of John Lennon’s “Let it Be,” which they said was a brand new arrangement they were only performing for the second time, and also their version of Paul Simon’s “An American Tune,” which they related back to a classic choral piece by Bach, I believe, which they said had been the basis for Simon’s tune. You know this Paul Simon song if you hear the lyrics:

Oh, but I'm all right,
I'm all right
I'm just weary to my bones
Still, you don't expect to be bright and bon vivant
So far away from home
So far away from home

They began with the German classic, sung in (possibly fake?) German with many jokes about their ability to pronounce it, and them morphed it into the Paul Simon piece seamlessly, and with great emotion and insight.

In a rendition of Mancini’s “The Pink Panther,” they requested a random animal sound from the audience before the song began, and then ended up breaking up not only the crowd but the performers, as a hilarious attempt was made toward the end to introduce a donkey to the panther. They said that they had had a request for a monkey the night before, which I can only imagine.

Their percussion expert did a short set of “drum solos” that included a version of “Wipeout,” just to show his virtuosity with the drums, (actually sounds produced entirely with his own voice).

One of the most entertaining things is how the group occupies the entire stage, obviously enjoying the music as they move to it. You have the urge to move also. Try it, you’ll like it. They also make lots of jokes and clearly have an almost improv sense of humor – I laughed several times, which is definitely good for the soul.

This is a group that appears regularly at Nissi’s, so you will have other opportunities to see them. In fact, you can see them there on July 22 and 23 and again in late August. Recommendation: buy your tickets early at Nissi’s because it was a full house tonight. Once again I have to implore the population of Boulder County, and particularly Lafayette for heaven’s sake since they are right in your neighborhood, to check out Nissi’s and give them the support they deserve for their own support of live music in this area.

Face also mentioned they would be at Boulder’s new 29th Street Mall Friday night July 6 at 6:00 pm.