The “Best of the Midwest” a cappella concert kicked off at Pick-Staiger Saturday night. It included a cappella groups from the University of Illinois, University of Wisconsin, University of Michigan, Indiana University and Northwestern University’s Purple Haze.

The competition took place during Northwestern’s Family Weekend. Northwestern students and parents packed the auditorium for the event, which has sold out for the past five years.

“I’m an orphan [this weekend], so I thought I’d go where the families were,” said Weinberg freshman Chelsea Finger, whose parents were unable to fly in from the East Coast.

The annual a cappella festival hosted by Purple Haze opened with the all-male Xtension Chords from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who wowed the crowd with awesome vocals. The group’s antics also affirmed why it has been called “the oldest group of five-year-olds around.” The Chords’ hilarious depiction of what they were thinking on stage had the crowd in stitches. One even admitted to thinking about “all the pretty Wildcat ladies in the audience tonight.”

For a change of pace, the co-ed Redefined from University of Wisconsin-Madison sang some old favorites. Although the songs were classic, Redefined lacked the charisma that many of the other groups had. The most notable song was “Breaks My Heart”, which was only really memorable because of the catchy tune. In all, Redefined felt like an intermission rather than a performance.

Then the audience got Straight No Chaser. The all-male a cappella group from the University of Indiana left the audience speechless after an amazing rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” intermixed with the Bee Gee’s “Stayin’ Alive.” Corey, the soloist on two of the group’s four selections, actually sounded quite like the legendary R&B star. The most original part of the night came at the end of SNC’s set. They composed a song about Facebook stalking, something students in the audience could relate to. Bravo.

The Harmonettes of the University of Michigan sang a heart-wrenching version of “…And So It Goes.” According to its site, the group is the second oldest all-female a cappella group at U-M, and they were the most vocally advanced of all the groups. But they seemed more like a women’s choir than an a cappella group because they lacked choreographed dance moves or stage presence that one expects from a cappella. Unfortunately, it was impossible to ignore their blindingly turquoise dresses, which made it difficult to concentrate on the music at times.

To cap off the night, Northwestern’s own Purple Haze sang some audience favorites, including the emotional “Samson” and an intense *NSYNC medley. Pick almost felt like Madison Square Garden with the choreographed moves Purple Haze threw down. The mix of “Tearin’ Up My Heart,” “Bye Bye Bye,” and “It’s Gonna Be Me” reminded everyone of the good old days when Britney was dating Justin and we all raced home after school to watch Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel. Those were the days.

In all, it was a fun two hours jam-packed with jokes, applause, and, of course, music.