Last week, the enthusiast in me took a flight to Bangkok for the sole purpose of catching Pentatonix’s World Tour at the GMM Live House at Central World.
PTX featuring Kevin Olusola on cello
Silhouettes of the quintet were casted on a large screen on stage as they opened with Cracked. Pentatonix, champions of the third season of American reality TV show The Sing-Off, came on after opening acts OZMO and Fellow Fellow. The team consists of vocals Kirstin Maldonado, Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Avi Kaplan and vocal percussion Kevin Olusola. Their opening number was met with a thunderous welcome from the crowd that filled close to 90 percent of the mosh-pit-only performance venue. Attention throughout the night was drawn to Pentatonix’s vocal prowess and choreography due to the absence of backing instruments and backup dancers.
The microphones and speakers were a major letdown from the outset, compromising clarity all-around with Kaplan and Olusola in particular. This mishap was made distinct in the layering section in Cheerleader. However, the arrangements that were altered to suit the live performance, coupled with high proficiency in vocal techniques, gave the songs a fresh vibe and an element of surprise to those exceptionally familiar with their recordings. I particularly enjoyed the baroque introduction to Aha! and Olusola’s futuristic transition into Daft Punk. The performance was aided with prompt visuals flashed on a screen on stage, and flamboyant lighting which occasionally went out of sync.
Lights in a myriad of colours
Clad in coordinated monochrome, Pentatonix performed some exclusive covers of popular hits on top of originals from their eponymous album. The five sat on a small flight of stairs on stage as they gave a relaxed and chilled rendition of Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself which transitioned abruptly yet seamlessly into Where Are You Now. They also featured Grassi’s voice, which was a clear favourite amongst the Thai, in Twenty One Pilot’s Ride.
The members took turns filling up time between songs with short interactions with the audience and an abundance of “thank you for coming” and “I love you”.
Photo taken from PTX Facebook Page
The Grammy-winning a cappella group from Arlington, Texas has enjoyed a line-up of achievements from “representing Canada” in Pitch Perfect 2 to performing a viral Star Wars Tribute at the 2015 American Music Awards. These feats did not take away their humbleness as Hoying thanked the crowd with “its really heartwarming to know that people here know our music” at their Thai debut. Their 1.5 hour set was concluded with encores Light in the Hallway and Sing.
Photo taken from PTX Facebook Page
Pentatonix is currently three-quarters into their 2016 World Tour. A little fatigue seems inevitable and was apparent at certain points in Hoying’s voice. Nevertheless, the group delivered an immensely enjoyable and high-energy performance. Having followed them since The Sing-Off, it is fascinating to see Pentatonix burgeon into a world-class act and taking the international stage.
The Freezing Pot 