By Jasmine Putney
[email protected]

COMEDY
What: Dakaboom
When: 10 p.m. Friday
Where: IMU Hawkeye Room
Admission: Free

A cappella and beat box, falsetto and bass, pop and hip-hop. Musical opposites fly in the air, unexpectedly melting together into a single, harmonic rhythm. Going beyond the boundaries, the voices of many are captured by the tongues of two.

Musical-comedy duo Dakaboom will perform Friday at 10 p.m. in the IMU Hawkeye Room. Group members Ben McLain and Paul Peglar said there is not a time when they do not look forward to performing.

“We work in one of the only fields where you get a big standing applause at the end of the work you’ve done,” McLain said. “Graphic designers do not have that luxury. Bank tellers don’t get applauded for doing their job.”

From being friends in high school to roommates in early adulthood, McLain and Peglar realized they had creative chemistry at an early age. Together they embarked on a 16-year-long musical journey, performing in bands, competitions, and even a barbershop quartet. It wasn’t until 2010 that their side project, Dakaboom, became their primary focus.

Today, Dakaboom tours colleges around the country with its self-described “postmodern vaudeville” style. Peglar said the two pay tribute to the original style of vaudeville in their variety.

“It wasn’t just music, and it wasn’t just comedy, and neither are we,” he said. “It’s not just us doing goofy jokes and old-timey gags. It definitely feels resonate with the world we’re in now, as opposed to vaudeville almost 100 years ago.”

Not only did Dakaboom draw inspiration from vaudeville but also from the many comedy duos that came before them, such as Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and the Smothers Bothers. Intrigued by this powerful blend of music and comedy, Campus Activities Board comedy director Yaniv Azriel said he was blown away after seeing the duo perform at the National Association for Campus Activities.

“I was judging them by how well they reached a variety of audience members, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the performance,” he said. “Not only are they funny, but they are incredibly talented singers.”

Between Peglar and McLain, Dakaboom has experience in opera, piano, and beat-boxing. They said these talents, along with other various musical genres, help keep their routines rapid and entertaining, even to those with the shortest of attention spans.

“By virtue of the things we’ve gotten into, we throw everything we know into the mix as opposed to just limiting ourselves to pop or hip-hop or whatever,” Peglar said. “Basically, we just do whatever we want.”

However, despite the fun of performing, the members said life as a music-comedy duo is not all fun and fame; the touring is difficult, and the hours are long, but ultimately, Peglar said, the connection with audiences is well worth it.

“A lot of people have said to us, ‘Wow, I haven’t laughed that hard in so long,’ or ‘I’ve been going through a hard time, and I really needed that, thank you.’ Those kind of reactions, that’s powerful,” he said. “People leave happier than when they show up.”

Check out the 80 Hours online edition to see a video of a Dakaboom performance.