No, it's not in The Onion, it's fo' real:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070110/en ... 0110163008

Yale barbershop singers recovering after ambush

Wed Jan 10, 11:30 AM ET

Members of a close-harmony group from Yale University are recovering after being ambushed and beaten up while on tour in California.

Members of the a cappella Baker's Dozen were performing at a party in San Francisco at the new year when their rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" apparently sparked taunts and threats from fellow partygoers.

As the group left the house, they were attacked by dozens of assailants, suffering scrapes, black eyes and concussions, said Connecticut's News Channel 8.

"Besides any bruising or scrapes to the face, the main injury I suffered was I broke my jaw in two places," one of the singers, 18-year-old Sharyar Aziz, was quoted as saying.

Maybe it was because they were from Yale more than anything else?

NEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRDS

Did they do a version of Irving Berlin's "Thank You, Kind Sir" while getting the crap beaten out of them?

[img][392:500]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ee/Homers_Barbershop_Quartet.gif[/img]

My guess is that it didn't have much to do with them being from Yale.

This is becoming a major issue in SF. They were singing at a former Mayoral bodyguard's house -- his daughter threw a New Year's party and had them sing at it. Uninvited guests were calling them names like "faggot" and "homo" and they knew they should get out of there ASAP. As they were walking down the street, a van pulls up and all these guys come out and start beating the sh- out of them. It ended up being like 20 guys beating these guys up.

Now, a lot of the controversy is around how the police didn't care about it. They detained four of the attackers but let them go, and didn't collect evidence -- not even photos of the victims' wounds.

http://www.sfist.com/archives/2007/01/09/new_years_bash.php

That's cuz they BARBERSHOPPERS. Barbershoppin' ain't natural.

UPDATE: Apparently, the parents of the girl whose house it was are both former cops (in addition to the dad being a former mayoral bodyguard) and they are both strongly disliked by the SFPD because they were very helpful in an investigation that dealt with police corruption years ago. In addition, one of the assailants is from a very wealthy family that are major players in sf...

That aint right. Nerds shmerds. Beatin' up on folks for nothing aint right.

It might not be right, but it is still quite humorous. You just don't expect acapella groups to be the target of someone violent and full of rage. Maybe it was someone out to steal their musical instruments.

Let's have a Patrick Swayze Christmas this year
Or we'll tear your throw out and kick you in the ear

He was pissed because he couldn't get into Yale. Off to Pepperdine, son.