The holidays are a time for joy and gathering, both of which were encapsulated in last night’s sold-out performance by Pentatonix during their Hallelujah! It’s a Christmas Tour stop at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse! Each seat was occupied by folk dressed in their finest attire. The holiday concert had family, friends, and couples transfixed by the covers and original music primarily created by the voices of the a cappella quintet.
Opening with a countdown to “Carol of the Bells,” the group entered with festive delight. Being the largest Christmas show they’ve had yet, the energy in the arena and on stage played into each other, creating an atmosphere of mutual awe. Throughout the night, Christmas classics populated the setlist– Felix Mendelssohn’s “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, Vaughn Monroe’s “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”, “12 Days of Christmas,” and “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” warmed the crowd up with holiday spirit.
Pentatonix, formed in 2011 on the NBC competition show “The Sing-Off” after many years of friendship, has had a successful run in the music industry, winning three Grammy Awards and having two #1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart. This trek marks their third Christmas tour. They have not only reached a point of perfect harmony outside of songs (which they gave an example of humorously through conversation) but also have found ways of making their show special and new despite performing familiar tunes. Comprised of baritone Scott Hoying–who is known as the initiator in the group’s formation–Mitch Grassi (tenor), Kirstin Maldonado (mezzo-soprano), Matt Sallee (bass), and Kevin Olusola (beatboxer), each member demonstrated their full vocal range, body percussion abilities, and spontaneity.
The relationships of the group and their comfort performing together were especially clear when the “Wheel of Christmas” was brought out on stage. The homage to “Wheel of Fortune”, accompanied by the harmonized tune, allowed performing snippets of the songs the arrow landed on that didn’t make the setlist, including“Sleigh Ride,” Danny Elfman’s “Making Christmas” (from ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’), and” Thurl Ravenscroft’s “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” all which gave the crowd a delight and the artists a fun but pressured challenge. The exciting catch? One of the options on the wheel was a question mark, and when it was landed on, Pentatonix created a song from scratch, building upon each member. Scott led the lyricism and “Mr. Grinch – The Other Side of the Story” was brought to life.
Before a brief intermission, Kevin showcased the journey of his beatbox abilities, going through levels one to four, then skipping ahead to level ten, where he performed “Mary, Did You Know?” and Stevie Wonder’s “What Christmas Means to Me.”
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The audience for Pentatonix was respectfully invested as opposed to the rowdy and rambunctious that traditionally take place at this venue. However, during the intermission, everyone was on their feet. Rarely does an artist receive a ‘flashlight song’ without being on stage. But alas, the sea of fans had their phones in the air and started a wave around the arena.
When the group returned, they encouraged the crowd to get back on their feet for Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” After announcing the new Netflix feature film Meet Me Next Christmas (which stars Pentatonix), they enlightened the audience with their original song of the same name. It was no secret that–being “theater girlies,” as Kirstin put it–the Wicked film was a source of excitement, with Scott having mentioned it a number of times throughout the night. And so, “What is This Feeling” from Wicked was covered by the quintet with purple and green dominating their stage lights and backdrop. As expected from an immersive experience, crowd participation became a must as Scott shared his childhood (and teenage) dream of having superpowers. He split the audience into sections and instructed them to become his ice beams using their phone lights on cue as he became Elsa for “Let it Go,” the original hit from Disney’s Frozen. To surprising success, the crowd was on beat, and not a single person missed their cue…(Well, for the most part!)
One of Pentatonix’s most renowned covers, “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” was reimagined on stage with an electric cello and drums played by Kevin and Matt, respectively. Their talent and vibrant stage presence earned them the night’s first standing ovation.
Pentatonix resumed their group performance on the second stage in the center of the room, facing out toward each section of the arena. There, they performed another one of their most popular songs, Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” with all of the expected bravado and elegance. Fleet Foxes’ “White Winter Hymnal,” “I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In),” “That’s Christmas to Me,” and in dedication to the mothers in the audience, “Evergreen” was earnestly sung to the audience before the members made their way back to the main stage. As they wove through the crowd, giving out high fives and fist bumps, they performed“O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
Ending with “Kid on Christmas,” Pentatonix gave each audience member a night to remember. Luckily, the end was not so! They returned for a mashup of “Pure Imagination” and “Christmas Time Is Here,” followed by “Joyful, Joyful.” Going down the line, each performer gave a pose before joining each other for a bow. The last words? A classic call of “O-H” from Kevin with a response of “I-O” from the Ohio crowd.
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