The Mantiphondrakes a cappella group held a Parents’ Weekend performance in Golden Auditorium on Saturday, October 29. Their “Monster Mash Fall Concert” was performed in front of almost a full house of family, friends and music lovers. The group wore mostly black and purple with orange flowers and some cat ears.  

They opened with the song “What We Have (To Change)”, originally sung by Lucius. They performed the song with two soloists and some great backup singers. Next up, the group sang “Sing It All The Way”, originally performed by Walk Of The Earth. The group’s three “seedlings” (what they call the newest members of their group) performed the solos of the song.  

Next, on par with their “Monster Mash” theme, the group performed “Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf” by Rob Cantor. The Mantiphondrakes performed this song with three soloists, who also had several spoken word pieces. This song garnered lots of laughter from the audience, and the singers appeared to be having a great time performing it.  

“The performers seemed to be having so much fun on stage that it made it even more interesting to watch.  They were so engaged in their music that it amped up the energy in the auditorium and you could see that everyone was excited for more,” sophomore Pauline Silsby said. 

Following this, the Mantiphondrakes performed “The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!” by Sufjan Stevens.  They performed this song with one soloist and lots of back up singers. Next, they sang “Ghosts” by The Head And The Heart with two soloists. After that a soloist  sang “Nantes” by Beirut. Lastly, they announced that their last song would be “Send My Love (To Your New Lover).” They performed this song with one soloist and received a huge round of applause at the end.  

The group took a bow while the audience called for an encore. With barely even a moment to collect the group together, they launched into a rendition of Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep,” much to the audience’s delight.  Almost every group member performed a short solo in this piece, giving friends and family in the audience an opportunity to cheer for specific singers.  

“The encore was the best part of the concert, in my opinion. The group had an amazing energy that drew the audience into the final song. It was also fun to listen to a more widely recognized song, and you could tell that the audience was really into it,” sophomore Emily Jacobs said.

Overall, the Mantiphondrakes’ Monster Mash Fall Concert was definitely a hit. Though this was their biggest concert of the year, the group will have one or two more performances this semester.  Their next event will likely be near finals week and will be a Lord of the Rings themed “study break” performance.