Fish ‘n’ Chips rock the Broadway Theatre

Fish ‘n’ Chips, an all-male a capella singing group from here at Central Michigan University, had a packed house Nov. 19 for their “Not Quite Winter” concert.

The boys received a warm welcome from their fellow Central students and community members, as audience members laughed and cheered them on at the Broadway Theatre, 216 E. Broadway St. in downtown Mount Pleasant.

Opening for Fish ‘n’ Chips was the only all-female a capella singing group from Michigan State University, who drove down to get everyone excited for the show.

Ladies First formed in 1985 with a repertoire consisting of a wide variety of styles, including pop, classic rock, and Motown favorites.

First-timer at the Broadway and journalism major, Caitlin Clark, enjoyed the opening.

“The Alanis Morisette song they sang was awesome, and the way they were able to sing it without any background music, it was crazy,” Clarks said. “One of the aspects I liked most about the Broadway is the intimacy of it. It’s such a small theatre, but you feel a lot closer to the performers.”

Other audience members, however, did not enjoy the opening act as much.

Amy Shereda, a psychology major who has been a dedicated fan of Fish ‘n’ Chips since her freshman year, found that the ladies weren’t up to par with the group Fish ‘n’ Chips.

“I think the boys just have better stage presence. It’s hard to top them, and the ladies just didn’t do a good job to get me hyped up for the evening,” Shereda said. “I didn’t even recognize a lot of their songs, and so it was hard to really enjoy it.”

However, if there is one thing that audience members all agreed on, it was that Fish ‘n’ Chips did an “amazing job” performing, and the evening was “outstanding.”

The night followed with the boys singing many of their most well-known songs including “Just The Way You Are” by Bruno Mars, “No Woman, No Cry” by Bob Marley, “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind, and “Chariot” by Gavin Degraw.

Some of the newer songs that people responded very well to were “You Got It Bad” by Usher, with newer member Kortez Buckner singing the solo part, and “What Goes Around” by Justin Timberlake, with Tong Kupatavetin singing the solo.

Audience members carried on the applause for quite some time with both of these songs with ladies whistling for the boys the whole time.

The Fish ‘n’ Chips’ “Not Quite Winter” concert proved to be a success. Those who hadn’t heard of them or attended one of their shows before will now never forget them.

“Now that I have finally seen them live, I can’t wait to see them again. I think it’s really important to support student groups here at CMU, and I love concerts,” Clark said.