CAIRO - On Monday, July 16, I attended a one-hour concert by the Whiffenpoofs at Cairo Opera House's Open Air Theatre. Getting there took me about two hours and it took me another hour to return to Heliopolis afterwards. By the time I got to the venue I was already exhausted, but still I didn't want to miss a performance recommended by my wonderful friend Howaida Eid. I can hear you asking, “Who is Howaida Eid?" and that's why I want to yell at you! I can also hear you asking, “Who are the Whiffenpoofs?" So let me write some kind of an introduction – Whiffenpoofs, meet my friend who is reading this article now; my friend, meet the Whiffenpoofs, who are the A cappella choir of Yale University. The Whiffenpoofs happen to be the oldest A cappella group in the United States. It was formed in 1909, which makes it even older than the Rolling Stones! This group consists of college senior men, who compete in the spring of their junior year for 14 spots... yes the lineup only consists of 14 members. Probably the most famous and most talented person ever to be a Whiffenpoofs member was the one and only Cole Porter, who sang in the 1913 lineup of the Whiffenpoofs when he was a student at Yale. Nowadays, the group frequently includes one of his songs in its concerts. The Whiffenpoofs don't only perform all over the States, but the guys have also been to many other countries. I think they'd arrived from Madagascar early on the morning of the day they performed here. Knowing that they only had one day to spend in Egypt, the guys went straight from the airport to see the Pyramids. It must have been really exhausting to stand on stage on the evening of the very same day to perform. After this lengthy introduction, I guess it's time for us to move to the concert review. I will start by saying that the singing talents of these 14 guys are quite impressive for people who have relatively little experience as proper singers and stage performers. I also think the way they harmonise together is quite impressive. An A cappella group means a group that sings without music at all. Of course being unaccompanied by any instruments makes it harder for singers to sing in key, let alone to harmonise properly. I must admit that the guys don't need to worry about these two points – they had everything under control. By the time I got there, they were already singing the second number. Wearing black tuxedos and white shirts, the 14 guys stood on stage giving their rendition of the Beatles' ‘Got to Get You into My Life'. I liked it a lot but... it was one of the very few songs that I really enjoyed throughout the concert! One of the numbers I didn't appreciate was their cover of Simon & Garfunkel's ‘The Boxer'. This version didn't have the soul of the original and without the famous guitar it sounded totally different. What was originally meant to be an anthem of survival turned more into a bedtime lullaby. This wasn't the only problem we faced... the choice of numbers performed that evening left me wondering about the criteria the Whiffenpoofs use for selecting their list for every show. Most of the songs were unknown to the audience and some were even unsuitable for an Egyptian crowd – how could they expect to impress Egyptians with Celtic tracks? Besides, some of the songs were quite boring, especially with no music at all. We all know that there is a huge difference between a singer and a standup comedian and many people will find it strange that, in between songs, one of the members stepped forward to tell a joke about two Egyptian crocodiles! Not only was it inappropriate, but neither was it funny. Frankly, I didn't get to listen to it, because I was a bit far from the speakers to hear the words properly and by the time I got up and got close it was over. Judging by the crowd's reaction I know it wasn't amusing – no-one laughed except other members who I'm sure must have heard it before and they were only trying to persuade the crowd to laugh too, but it didn't work. If I were them I wouldn't take the risk of telling a joke in English to a crowd in a non-English-speaking country, not knowing if people would understand the joke or not. Another attempt to be funny by the guys could be regarded as a fatal mistake here – two guys stepped down off the stage, approached a girl in the first row, had her stand up and started serenading her while two other members stood on the edge of the stage and did the same. What is funny in some countries could be offensive in a relatively conservative country and someone might have been provoked by such an attitude – a husband or fiancée. If I were in their place I would have studied the market briefly before visiting. Lucky for them, the crowd found this serenading thing amusing. After the concert I had a chat with one of the members, a gentleman by the name Raphael Shapiro, who answered my questions with a smile. Please introduce the Whiffenpoofs. “We are the world's oldest A cappella group. We perform all over the States throughout the year and at the end of every August group members change completely because the group comprises only senior members and once they graduate others replace them." According to which criteria do you select songs? “We don't stick to specific criteria and we can sing whatever genre we want. We have a music library that stretches back to the days we were founded. Although these numbers have different backgrounds and some have even come from other countries, we feel as if they are our own songs. We leave it entirely to the discretion of our Music Director to choose what we'll sing at any particular concert." Keep the singers, shoot the Music Director and set me free now. Send me away to: thisisamrhussien@gmail.com
