If one must venture out into a blizzard, spending Valentine’s Eve with the Dartmouth Aires is acceptable grounds for doing so.  Newport Opera House hosted the always lively, all-male a cappella group for the evening amidst a surprisingly generous turnout given weather and driving conditions.  (Starting late yesterday afternoon, well over yet another foot of snow fell across most of southern NH – Newport being no exception).

But the mood inside was spirited and the Aires made all forget (at least for a time) about the raging storm, as they regaled us with their own versions of everything from Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” (“A song you’ve probably all heard and don’t like”,  we were cheerfully warned by the group’s leader) to the old classic, “Hanover Winter Song”.   The performance opened with Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” and closed fittingly with “Dartmouth Undying”.  Peppered in-between were delightfully waggish renditions of pop favorites past and present – Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” a particular standout.

Even the individual member introductions held halfway through the performance were appropriately self-deprecating: “I’m currently a sophomore at Dartmouth majoring in Rocket Engineering –  not exactly ‘rocket science’ “, offered one.  “I’m double majoring in Government and ‘Sucking Up’ “, quipped another.

While there, we picked up a copy of “Dartmouth Undying  – A Tribute to our Alma Mater”, which sustained us on the blustery, 20 mph drive back home.  Let It Snow!

The Aires perform weekly on-campus, in addition to a number of venues, mostly across the Northeast.  http://www.dartmouthaires.com is the place to go for up to date information on local events.