Up the Octave's "Finale Note" show Saturday was filled with beautiful music, when the Brandeis female a cappella group was joined by two male ensembles: the Kingsmen of Columbia University and Out of the Blue of the University of Oxford.Out of the Blue was the most energetic ensemble of the evening. Their songs were accentuated with hysterical vocal acclamations and captivating physical expressions. The British group evidently enjoyed their performance; no member felt bashful about jumping around and looking foolish. Their finale, a rendition of the oft-covered "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," was a riot, especially when punctuated the song with wonderfully obnoxious animal sounds.

The Kingsmen also showed no reservation about silly on-stage behavior. Besides having musical talent, their songs were hilarious-especially "The Columbia Drinking Song," a ballad about the joys of partying in college. The group finished with "I Want to Get Laid," a song about why they perform a cappella.

Like the groups before them, Up the Octave hit beautiful notes, yet their performance left something to be desired. They lacked the intense emotions and gestures of the other ensembles' sets, and their rather humorless repertoire failed to balance the other performance. The girls' voices were indeed lyrical and gorgeous, and they did a good job with the songs they chose. However, their good performance was upstaged by the enthusiasm of the guest ensembles.