On Feb. 22, over 80 members of the Buffalo Chips took the stage in Slee Hall to commemorate 30 years since the founding of the all-male a cappella group. The event was held both in celebration of three decades worth of their activities and to honor the memory of Erich Kraus, one of the early members of the group.
The Buffalo Chips had never had this large a gathering of alumni before. Senior biological sciences major Matthew Beebe and many others took on the ambitious task of coordinating and planning every logistic aspect of this event, fromRSVPs to rehearsals.
“The most we’ve ever gotten to sing with us is, like, maybe four or five alumni, but now there’s 80,” Beebe said. “It’s like a splash of cold water,” Chips member and senior biomedical sciences Jaden Lombardo added.
On the night of the show, the bustling voices of families, friends and students bounced off the walls of Slee Hall’s magnificent performance hall. The performance started with the current members of the Buffalo Chips performing Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting),” arranged and soloed by senior musical theater major Jeremy Meyers, the current music director. Everything from the harmonies down to the song’s percussion came from their voices alone.
Soon, about 70 more men joined the performers on stage, and after some brief readjustments in formation, they were ready to perform “Good Old A Cappella” by The Nylons. Despite a large and diverse ensemble, the singers were unified by their experiences in the Buffalo Chips and their goal to reach the hearts of the audience with song.
Captivated by the group’s buttery vocal runs, pitch-perfect falsettos and addictive beatboxing, onlookers’ eyes and ears were glued to the stage. By the end of the second song, there was not a single person in the crowd who wasn’t hooked. The applause in the room was almost deafening.The rest of the night saw a cappella covers of songs like “King of Spain” by Moxy Früvous, “Fireflies” by Owl City, “You Should See Me in a Crown” by Billie Eilish and “Sweet Disposition” by Temper Trap, among many more performed by each era of the Chips. Era one brought many of the original members of the Chips on stage and the show neared its end when Era seven, the current standing members of the Chips, took the stage.
The night ended with a final song, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen. Once again, the Chips, old and young, gathered to sing together, a perfectly fitting song to represent the enduring legacy of the beloved a cappella group.
Beebe and Lombardo explained that singing this final song is important because it is “deeply rooted in tradition.” The current members of the Chips honor their musical predecessors by arranging their own rendition of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” each year, entirely based on what their seniors had taught them before graduating in a sort of longstanding game of telephone.
“‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ is our alumni song, which means the original guys did it and we’d teach it every single year so everyone that has ever been in the Chips knows their part for this,” Beebe said.
“It really is just the best way that I possibly could have made friends, especially in college. In a school with so many people, I have a nice tight-knit friend group of, like, 13 guys. I’m very fortunate to be a part of it,” Lombardo said.
The next big performance the Buffalo Chips will be appearing at is their annual Spring Concert on May 11, 2025, Mother’s Day.
“It’ll be a perfect Mother’s Day gift,” Lombardo said.
The Chips will be releasing a professionally produced EP of the set they performed at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella some time this year on Spotify. The two also shouted out other UB a cappella groups The Royal Pitches and The Enchords.
If you’d like to support the Buffalo Chips, their social media pages are linked below:
https://www.instagram.com/thebuffalochips/
https://www.youtube.com/@TheBuffaloChips
The arts desk can be reached at arts@ubspectrum.com
