Last weekend was packed full of stuff, and it started off in a most delightfully strange way. We had been invited to our friend, Brendan's birthday party at a local karaoke bar called Lincoln Karaoke. Seeing that it wasn't that far from us (on the map, at least) we decided to meet him and the other guests at the karaoke bar for some birthday celebrations.
Let me pause here to note that karaoke appears to be a thing here in Chicago. Like people have specific karaoke bars that they like to go to. When I mentioned to my co-workers that I was going karaoke-ing last weekend, many were eager to find out where and share their bar preference with me. I had no idea that it was such a big thing. The last karaoke party I went to was in middle school.
Brendan had warned us that the outside of the bar looked like a bail bonds offices, and sure enough we soon found ourselves in front of a rather seedy looking building with glass doors leading into a bare, white hallway. There was no one inside the doors, no front desk, no reservations agent, nothing. Only two doors that led to opposite sides of the building. We chose the door on the right and found ourselves in another bare, white hallway filled with numbered doors. At the far end appeared to be the actual bar with a few people milling about. We checked in at the bar, discovered we were the first ones to arrive, and were led to Room 8, where the lady wished us a good time and closed the door behind her.
Room 8, like all of the rooms, contained plain white walls, each with its own TV showing Korean pop videos. A long, vinyl couch lined two of the walls, and a coffee table sat in the middle of the room. Other than that, there wasn't much, except for the handheld microphones, light-up tambourines, and Korean pop music that was clearly not the same as the videos being shown. It certainly was not what we were expecting.
Michel: It would take only minor changes to the setup for Lincoln Karaoke to become Lincoln Sex Parlor. The couches are even vinyl for easy clean up.
Elizabeth: Even the songbooks were in Korean. It was at this point that we officially figured out that we were at a Korean karaoke bar, distinct from its American counterpart due to it's focus on private rooms for small karaoke parties rather than a stage at the front of a crowded and often already loud bar. Finally, an older gentleman came to tell us that the rest of our group was actually in Room 2. We found them joking with the owner (they are all regulars) and selecting their songs.
Michel: In addition to Korean, there were song catalogs written in Russian, Mongolian, Spanish, and probably Esperanto (unconfirmed). By the time we found one in English, we had figured out how to search for songs electronically via the world's largest remote control.
Brendan serenading us
Michel singing back-up for Matt
Us with the birthday boy!
Elizabeth: Despite all of the weirdness coming in, once everyone was settled in the room and we started singing, it was actually really fun! And Michel, Brendan, and I did a particularly spectacular three-part version of Queen's Somebody to Love. It was amazing.
Michel: While I still feel a certain amount of disdain for the very idea of karaoke, I did have a good time. One of the most amusing elements of the evening was the fact that the footage on the video monitors did not in any way reflect the songs being sung. Primarily, the footage consisted of scenic mountain vistas and sherpas going about their daily business. However, while we sang the BeeGees classic, Stayin' Alive, the screens featured a naked woman pouring honey all over herself. It was profoundly strange.\
Elizabeth: After that we left for the night. It was certainly a new and unique experience for us, one for the books. While I don't think we will become regulars, we ended up having a ton of fun. So if you are in the market for a pretty unique musical experience, we have just the place to take you!
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