Review — Rather Be Giraffes hosted “Turkapalooza,” a Thanksgiving-themed a cappella show, last Thursday night. This was the third in a series of “Acapalooza” events at Brandeis, beginning with Acapalooza this past spring and continuing with Spookapalooza in October. Mandel G03, where Turkapalooza was held, was not only decked out in festive Thanksgiving decoration, but also completely packed with excited attendees eager to support their friends and classmates. RBG performed last, preceded by Starving Artists, Voices of Soul, Up the Octave and Company B. 

Eli Wasserman ’20, the business manager of RBG, kicked off the event by introducing the first a cappella group to perform, Starving Artists. Dressed in all black, Starving Artists performed “Nobody Love” by Tori Kelly, featuring soloist Hannah Weiss ’19, and the popular ballad “Love on the Brain” by Rihanna, soloed by Briana Li ’20. 

After Starving Artists, Voices of Soul sang a downtempo rendition of  The Jackson 5’s  hit “I Want You Back.” This was followed by an original arrangement of TLC’s “No Scrubs” by Minnie Norgaisse ’19.  Next to perform was the all-female group Up The Octave. Jeongmi Seo ’18 displayed an impressive combination of skills by holding an adorable little black dog while singing “Death of a Bachelor” by Panic! At The Disco. UTO also sang a Kelly Clarkson medley before Company B took to the stage. Company B, wearing exclusively the color green, performed the classic “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper. The group proceeded to blow the audience away with their rendition of “Moondance” by Van Morrison. 

RBG, in addition to hosting Turkapalooza and performing the last act, also initiated their newest singers into the group during their performance.  Each new member was presented with a different novelty tie, the pattern of which was, in some way, representative of the new member’s personality. The entertaining tie presentation ceremony was sandwiched between Lizzie Koshelev ’18 singing  “Feels Like Coming Home” by Jetta and Denise Nalibotsky ’20 closing the evening with “Greedy” by Ariana Grande. 

 After the show, Wasserman explained that he and the other business managers began organizing “Acapalooza” events as a way to showcase talent and create a space for everyone to perform together. So far, Wasserman said, the series has done that and more, turning out to be a “super cute” way to support “your friendly neighborhood a cappella groups.”  He also assured the Justice that the series is projected to continue into next semester: A cappella fans can look forward to a Valentine’s day show this February!