Even a torrential rainstorm couldn't dampen the crowd's spirits or the array of entertaining acts at the Brandeis Ensemble Theater (BET) coffeehouse on March 31. The show featured performances from Rebecca Katz '04, improv troupe Bad Grammer, and a cappella groups the Shirley Tempos and Company B. Not only did this coffeehouse showcase some terrific vocal performances, but it also helped to promote BET's upcoming production of Sight Unseen from April 22 -25. Katz, a seasoned coffeehouse performer and crowd favorite, started off the night's acts with a relaxed vocal acoustic guitar performance. Clearly in her element on stage, she made the audience feel comfortable and welcome by constantly taking requests from the crowd as well as asking everyone to sing along. Katz opened with a request, Dar William's "Iowa" and followed with Kerry Newcomer's "Threat." Her peaceful, soothing voice helped create an intimate, cozy atmosphere at the coffeehouse. Katz, responding to the crowd's chants, then performed Radiohead's "High and Dry." While her peaceful voice in itself made her rendition of the song a success, her laid-back improvisations only raised the quality of her performance. She closed with one of her signature covers, Oasis's "Wonderwall," to satisfy all her "Rebecca Katz groupies" in attendance. Her angst attitude only punctuated her wonderful rendition of the song. As the crowd eagerly sang along, Katz looked the most pleased out of anyone in the room to have achieved such great audience interaction.

The 11 sexy sirens of the Shirley Tempos, dressed for the occasion in matching red and black outfits, took to Chum's stage next. The all-girl a cappella group opened with an energetic rendition Madonna's "Like a Prayer," cleverly arranging the song's choral opening. The Shirley Tempos' vocal energy of the song had the whole audience clapping along. The group, on the other hand, most noticeably soloist Lindsay Pfeffer '06, didn't look like they were having any fun. Pheffer's melodic voice, however, was still a pure pleasure to hear. In an interesting choice of song selection for an all-girl group, the Shirley Tempos followed with Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing." The group and soloist Kelly Reed '04 innovatively put a more serious, soulful spin on the popular mood-setting song.

After a fun, upbeat performance of Bryan Ferry's "Wonderful World," the Shirley Tempos debuted their new song, Robbie Williams' "Something Beautiful." While some missed notes and awkward moments during the key change gave away the song's newness to their repertoire, "Something Beautiful" was also the Shirley Tempo's most captivating performance of the night. The song's great arrangement and percussive energy combined with the stunning vocal power of soloist Jessica Perelle '07 is sure make it a hit for the Shirley Tempos for a long time to come. The Shirley Tempos closed with an upbeat rendition Annie Lennox's "Walking on Broken Glass," a perfect signature song for any all-girl group.

Bad Grammer, Brandeis' newest comedy troupe, followed with a set that was unfortunately as awful as their name implied. The group's ineptitude with improv comedy was glaringly obvious in games such as "Scenes from a Hat" where the audience gave troupe members skits to act out, and "Handicap Fairytales," where each character in the fantasy story was given a disability. Even members of Bad Grammar admitted they never perform their game "Case Scenario" in efforts to win back the audience after the crowd initially failed to applaud their skit. While the group did succeed in getting some laughs on games such as "Two Decisions," a take-off of the angel/devil decision-making process, their overall performance at Chum's made their greenness as a improv comedy troupe all too apparent. Ethan Feuer '07, whose quirky, creative ability to come up with one-liners on the spot provided the most consistent, comedic relief.

The a cappella ensemble Company B closed out the night with a special pre-April Fool's Day themed performance. The group opened with a hilarious version of Ella Fitzgerald's "Smooth Sailing," inserting comic interjections about their favorite foods. The group also did a techno robotic remix of James Taylor's "Something in the Way She Moves" where even soloist Edward Greenberg '05 was busting out machine-like dance moves. Later, Company B had everyone, including themselves, laughing hysterically during The King Singers' "Train," when the group replaced the word "train" in the song with "fork." The group finished their set by letting the audience choose the songs they performed, giving funny titles to their repertoire. Etta James's "At Last," for instance, became "At Last, took you long enough you jerk."

Yet, Company B didn't need any extra comedic gimmicks to put on a quality performance, as their vocal strength and great group blend spoke volumes for the ensemble's talent. The group's fantastic rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," which featured a superb performance from soloist Olinde Mandell '04, brought the Chum's house down. Company B's rendition King Harvest's "Dancing in the Moonlight" complete with an a cappella-styled guitar bridge, was just pure fun to watch and listen to. Dave Kaufher's '06 vocals and energy on the song was a textbook performance on how to give a good solo. The crowd at Chum's couldn't get enough of Company B, and wouldn't let the group leave until they gave an encore with Solomon Burke's "Cry to Me." Company B's performance at the BET coffeehouse provided the audience with classic oldies tunes, fantastic singing and even some bonus comedic gimmicks thrown in for April Fool's. If you haven't seen Company B yet this year, the joke is clearly on you.