Trashy karaoke

We all have that one friend. That person that'll call wanting a quiet night of a few drinks, which then turns into multiple shots and sitting in a long wait at the Jack-In-The-Box drive thru at some unholy hour in an unfamiliar town. This buddy has the energy of a six year old on meth and will test your endurance. You love this person for this and many other reasons.

I got a text yesterday afternoon from Amy asking if I wanted to go out for a couple drinks. I respond that I will, but I can't stay out late.

You see where this is going.

I pick her up and head to a bar of her choice. I never have entered this establishment, but as I approached it I noticed the marquee stating that it had karaoke that evening. Amy looked over at me and smiled.

She's a clever one that gal.

We go in and play some darts and catch up as we haven't hung out just the two of us in a long time. After telling stories of drunkenness, work, personal drama, and the like the DJ fires up the karaoke machine and starts the festivities.

In the atmosphere of the strip mall pub there was an eclectic mix of people there. Old men with button up shirts that weren't even cool back in 1987, some guys who looked like the type who cried when they heard the news about Dale Earnhardt, and women who seemed proud to that they once slept with a Journey roadie. Our bartender was a pregnant gal who spent every break outside smoking. Amy and I sat in the corner and people watched, making up stories for each individual. We guessed one older guy was on his third marriage, two kids by his first wife, and one child by the second that he never sees. I have a feeling we were right.

The karaoke screen was unlike any I have set eyes on. The lyrics displayed on the large TV as you would expect, but the background was a screen saver of scantily clad women. It was distracting as you may expect.

Amy and I sat at the end of the bar and started playing one of those video game table top screens that are so popular. We first start off with a game that requires you to find the differences between two similar looking photos, sort of like something you would see in Highlights for Children. What's different about this and the kid's magazine is that it had naked women on it. It was fun though.

Amy got bored with seeing girls without clothing so she choose a match game that had naked men on it. We played for a bit, then the DJ called her name. There I was stuck at the bar by myself with a screen showing a bunch of men displaying their manhood. This did not please me.

My friend is a really good singer and the best in the bar that night, although after hearing wailing renditions of Brooks & Dunn and Metallica it wasn't saying a whole lot. The crowd was having a great time, enjoying their moment to shine amongst the neon and Coors Light advertisements. This bar was their palace of stardom and their glorious moments in front of the mic were golden.

After I don't know how many beers I'm really dragging at work today. Oh well.

"I do, too, most recently while I was singing karaoke in some weird bar." - Radha Mitchell