The atmosphere was heavy last Saturday as Spur of the Moment took the stage in Schwartz auditorium for their 13th annual "Boot" ceremony, appropriately dubbed "the Bar Mitzvah."The celebration marked the end of road for seniors Anne Emerson, James Yeaton, Robert Tanenbaum and Shana Zell, each of whom helped guide Spur to through four years of International Championships of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), the recording of their best album Word, and performing for former President Clinton.

This year's show was especially emotional because of the virtual disintegration of the group at the end of the fall semester. The group persevered through their line up changes and was able to compete in the ICCA, a feat that the graduating seniors attribute to the familial ties the group has.

"We do function as a family and it's unconditional love for one another. It's unfortunate that we lost a lot of people and still had to go to competition, but we still stayed a family, I don't think of practice as a music thing, I think of it as a family obligation," Zell said.

The show, whose set list was loaded with crowd favorites, was kicked off with Yeaton singing "This Love," arranged by Greg Vikingstad '05, to a frantic crowd response. The audience, which was filled with family, friends, alumi and former members, contributed to the highly emotional atmosphere of the show.

Following Yeaton was Tamar Friedman '07 performing "Sorta Fairytale," arranged by Aaron Fischlowitz-Roberts '03, and Andres Roman '06 performing "3 x 5," arranged by Tanenbaum. Friedman especially brought a different approach to one of Spur's older songs, while Roman delivered a great performance on a song that has become a staple of Spur performances.

Zell followed them up with "Forgiven," which she also arranged, and as usual, she did a great job on, along with the complementary vocals of Hannah Goldstein '06. Following Zell was Tanenbaum, with another Spur classic "Superman's Song," arranged by Fischlo-Roberts.

To close the first act, Keren Salamon '05 performed "Objection (Tango)," arranged by Vikingstad, and Goldstein delivered the always energetic "What a Feeling," arranged by Zell, which was made even better by synchronized choreography and an enthusiastic audience that was completely taken by the song.

The second act kicked off with Spur looking a little different than when they took the stage the first time. Sporting new costumes, they performed "Good Day," arranged by Zell, featuring Jonathan Schwartz '06. While not the most vocally powerful song of the evening, it was the cleanest and the best performance overall.

Emerson closed the concert portion of the evening with "Leaving Town," arranged by Zell. This is a new song to the Spur repertoire and hopefully will remain a constant in their set lists even after Emerson graduates.
The "Boot" ceremony has two parts for each graduating senior: First, they are given a pitch pipe and a boot presented to them by a special member of the group. Secondly, they perform either a song taken from the Spur repertoire during their time in the group or any song that has special meaning to them.

Yeaton was presented with his pipe and boot first. Friedman gave him a touching send off recalling a memorable moment when Yeaton asked her if they were close enough for him to grab her butt.

In a moving moment for many of the Spur members his boot was presented to him from over 1,300 miles away by Kira Baillargeon '06, who wished that she could be there to make a crack about "James and his Speedo." For his Boot solo, Yeaton performed "Mad Season," arranged by Fischlo-Roberts, and lit up the audience with his charismatic stage presence and impeccable delivery.

Zell received her pitch pipe from protg Goldstein, who will take over as music director for the group next year. In another heartfelt address Goldstein and Roman, who presented Zell with her boot, gave sincere testimonies about how much of a friend Zell has been to them during their time in Spur.

Zell performed "Song for the Beloved," which was the first time that any member of Spur performed a piece that they wrote themselves.
Roman also told us about how much he has learned from Emerson about natural blondes. He told the audience stories about how blondes have seasons and have some unique experiences.

Solomon continued Roman's sentiments and reemphasized the love that Spur has between its members. For her solo, Emerson went back to her freshman year and performed her first solo "Shimmer," arranged by Chris Wells '99, that ended up being a personal highlight of the night.
Lastly, Tanenbaum received his pitch pipe from Schwartz, who talked about how Tanenbaum gave all he had to the group and helped lead them as president for two years.

Solomon recited a poem for Tanenbaum when she presented him with his boot. Tanenbaum sang "AM Radio," arranged by Lex Friedman '02, which got the entire group and the audience pumped up for the closing song.

To close, Spur sang the traditional "Seven Bridges Road" with all of the alumni, who combines to give the group such a rich dynamic from its past, present and future.

"[Spur] is such a seemingly random and diverse group of people who have one thing in common, which is music, and they build long lasting friendships off it," Tanenbaum said.