For those people who happened to catch Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman get the crowd and a local choir going at the Rifflandia festival five years ago, you’ll know what’s in store when Choir! Choir! Choir! returns to Victoria for their first-ever ticketed show here on Jan. 19.
If not, and you enjoy singing loudly and proudly like no one is listening – or you always dreamed of being part of a choir – the Capital Ballroom is the place to be that night. Goldman and Adilman, known collectively as DaBu, provide everyone the lyrics to a popular song, teach them a vocal arrangement and video the end result for posterity.
“The incredible chemistry that is created comes from our love for performance and celebrating music, and allowing people in on the party – and that’s what it is, a big party,” Goldman says. “People feel something from certain songs and they feel connected to people around them. Singing a song can elicit strong reactions and memories, so it doesn’t take much sometimes to make someone feel like, ‘hey I’m not the only one who feels this way.’”
This now-hugely popular concept of assembling a large group of people and teaching them to sing together harmoniously had rather modest beginnings in Toronto for Goldman and Adilman.
Back in 2008, both were asked independently to plan something musical for a mutual friend’s 40th birthday party. Adilman wound up singing and getting the crowd to join in like an impromptu choir, while Goldman accompanied on acoustic guitar.
While it took another two and a half years for the pair to rekindle the fun and camaraderie of that night – they started a weekly drop-in singalong event in February 2011, which continues today – their recipe for success has remained largely unchanged.
In the years since they started, the idea of average everyday people singing together like rock stars has caught on like wildfire. They’ve played to crowds of thousands at large halls, been accompanied by original artists for the songs they play, and become a YouTube sensation, with 174,000-plus regular followers. Their posts of their groups singing have attracted hundreds of thousands of views each (the above video session with Rick Astley, “Never Gonna Give You Up,” is at 1.634 million and counting).
To be sure, this is not karaoke, it’s a grassroots movement where the main instruments are the voices of the crowd.
The Victoria session will be built around the song “Don’t Stop Believin’” as part of an “epic ’80s singalong” that includes hits from that era by such artists as Whitney Houston, Tears for Fears, Peter Gabriel and more.
“People need to prepare to let loose and get ready to sing. This is our funnest show we’re ever done and we’re really excited to be doing it in Victoria,” Goldman says.
Tickets are $24.50 each, available at eventbrite.ca. For more information, visit choirchoirchoir.com.
editor@mondaymag.com
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