The University's first all-male a cappella group, the Clef Hangers, will open the curtains Sunday on one the fall season's more anticipated performances. The group's annual fall concert is scheduled to begin 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Memorial Hall. Tickets went on sale the morning of Oct. 11, and were sold out three days later. "After the second day, I went to Memorial and got a printout of ticket sales," said junior Pablo Vega, concert manager and member of the group. "I was completely shocked - I thought there had to be some kind of mistake." The Clefs were worried about attendance for the fall show, as they were forced to schedule it on a Sunday. The shows have traditionally been performed on Saturdays in the past. "We were really worried about not selling enough tickets," Vega said, "because of people having class the next day, not wanting to come out." The tickets went on sale at the same day as tickets for the Homecoming act, The Roots, which may have had something to do with the high demand. "People in that line were also in line for our tickets, I guess," said junior David Mikush, president of the Clef Hangers. "We sold about 530 on the first day, which was huge." Offering block-seating to sororities might have been another cause for the success in ticket sales. With the concert on Sunday night, there were no conflicts with sorority functions, Mikush said. Before the tickets went on sale, however, the group was unsure about attendance. Faced with the possibility of sparsely-attended show, the group put extra effort into publicity. "We went around early in the semester and visited dorms," said Daniel David, a senior member of the Clef Hangers and director of the video interlude for the show, a tradition that began in 2003. The video allows the group to show their other talents, he said. "It's a fun way to rest our voices and to show our comedic sides. We don't just sing." The video will feature three fictional movie previews to follow the concert's theme of "Movie Night." The Clefs, who typically visit South Campus dorms and sing to listeners on outdoor balconies, expanded their publicity by knocking on doors and drawing crowds at indoor locales such as Joyner, and Cobb residence halls and Granville Towers. The visits have other benefits in addition to getting the word out. "It's a good experience for the new guys to be right in front of an audience right away," he said. "They show their commitment - to still have energy (after practice) to go down and put on a good show for 30 to 40 people sitting in their dorms and studying." While these visits are not new to the Clefs, the group never has made this many visits, David said. David encouraged those who didn't get tickets for the fall show to attend a free holiday show at 5 p.m. on Dec. 6 at the Old Well. The Clefs typically spend the week before the show trying to sell remaining tickets, but with the unprecedented demand, they were able to focus more on practicing. David said he hasn't seen a group as prepared as this one in his time as a Clef. Vega agreed, saying he thought this year's group is especially well-versed. "It's going to be a great show." Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
