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Toxic Audio's performance:
Intoxicating The human boombox “Toxic Audio” showed off their killer a cappella chops that had the audience intoxicated with sound at the Peace Concert Hall on Saturday night. But before the irrepressible quintet took to rocking the house, the audience was given a chance to create some of its own peculiar noises prompted by a series of slides with instructions to bark, meow and quack. By the time the unique, mixed-voice ensemble hit the stage with the title song from ’Til Tuesday’s debut album “Voices Carry” — the audience was more than ready to be carried away. It’s not easy to describe the many-hued soundscape these talented singers — baritone Jeremy James, alto Shalisa James, soprano Michelle Valines, basso Rene Ruiz and tenor Paul Sperrazza — sculpt with their voices. They combined pop and rock covers with original songs from the funky to the sublime backing it all up with tight vocals mimicking percussion, guitars and wind instruments. Suffice to say the Toxins’ display a mind-boggling range that push the a cappella envelope with innovative arrangements, flawless harmonies and finger-snapping rhythms from funk to pop to alt, to techno and retro. Add to that their particularly crazed humor and you have an evening of unforgettable entertainment whose many highlights included Valines scatting through “Route 66,” Ruiz’s double bass solo, the ensemble’s salsa-flavored (Put the Lime in the) “Coconut,” Sperrazza’s manic version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” James’ rowdy version of the Lennon/McCartney “Why Don’t We Do It In the Road,” plus the hilarious mix of television themes from “Star Track” to “Bonanza.” If they did nothing else — although they did much more — the Toxins proved the power of the human voice is almost infinite and in the process must have gained a multitude of new fans in the Upstate.
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