UNBSJ’s Got Talent! (No, really!)

Rafal Szymanski for the first weekly UNBSJ’s Got Talent! show and likes what he finds.

In comparison to other Canadian university cities, Saint John is small, and as a result, our campus is small.  One would assume that the more people to choose from, the richer the talent of students from which to choose from.  UNBSJ’s relatively small population suggests a shortage of talent, but a small campus does not necessarily mean a small talent pool from which to choose from.  This is what UNBSJ revealed on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 in the first ever UNBSJ’s Got Talent.

Being the debut show, certain technical problems did arise, but as soon as the talent on stage was seen and heard, no technical difficulties would deter the first act, a band called “Shinjuku mad,” from playing their music.  Even a mix of repeated mispronunciations of their name by the Master of Ceremonies in their introduction or a forced restart as a result of faulty special effects pedals did not prevent them from putting on a show.

So what if the show began one hour late?  It allowed for the latecomers to arrive, and built suspense for the audience who, soon after seating themselves, began to hum with excitement.

It was nice to see familiar faces on stage.  Former SRC president, Nigel Wiles served as Master of Ceremonies and provided a light, comedic and entertaining ambience to the event.

The level of talent and professionalism was at first shocking and unexpected.  UNBSJ students were indeed extremely talented and the audience soon became enthralled with the strong voices, creative harmonies, and guitars.

In all, nine talented students participated: Shinjuku Mad, Patricia Harrity, Shelly Clark, Thomas Vautour, Kendra Nadj-Breeveld, Jordan Kennedy, Camdon Buckley, Mellissa Colwell, and Lyndsay Barron.

UNBSJ SRC president Melissa Colwell was a welcome surprise to the show.  Dressed in sixties schoolgirl attire and hairspray in hand, sang “Good Morning Baltimore” from the musical Hairspray.  She captured the spirit of the song, became immersed in her character, and looked like she was enjoying her time in the spot light.  Even after making a few blunders, she apologized, according to the judges, “got back into it”, and took her criticism in full stride.

Jordan Kennedy captivated the crowd with his talent.  Through his song, Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol, Jordan added a different mood of the evening, one of melancholy and retrospect.

One of the guitarists, Thomas Vautour, was very entertaining, skilled, and talented.  The song was thoroughly practiced and an instant hit among the audience.  The judges, on the other hand, decided to unload what seemed like four artists’ worth of criticism on the person with the most talent on stage yet.

However, the judges (which included Brian Cleveland from CFMH, record producer Clinton Charlton, and Dan Chamberlain) mostly limited their criticisms to the constructive end of the spectrum, which found disappointing. Themes of “you nailed it”, “excellent control”, “amazing”, “emerging out of your shell”, “you really brought it”, and (the most popular) “you have great stage presence” were common.

Do not get me wrong, I’m not calling for the harsh, oppressive, or mean-spirited slander that is Simon Cowell’s specialty.  But in the future, a bit more criticism might be more useful to artists seeking to improve.

No night is perfect, but it is the effort in not giving up and persevering that makes the difference between future success and failure.  One thing is for sure, this writer will be at next Tuesdays performance once again: ready to enjoy the splendid talent of UNBSJ.  Saint John’s size does not hinder its ability to produce a multitude of talented young people.  Our Student Representative Council certainly deserves credit for organizing a fun an interesting forum to show their talent.

Rafal Szymanski is a staff writer with the Baron.