Wednesday, October 12, 10 p.m. Unless you spent your formative years running with the Rat Pack, the lethal combination of drinking and singing should be left to the professionals, say Courtney Love or the Pogues.
"You don't like it? Tough shit! Right kids? Whooohooo!" Some people take their karaoke pretty seriously. A Bon Jovi fan stands on a riser behind the DJ, never once glancing to the monitor at his feet. "Shot through the heart," he sings "and you're to blame. Baby, you give love a bad name. Yeah!" I sip on a mango margarita; it's quite like licking a tanning bed. I order another. It is so loud inside the Pink Taco that I'm forced to point at my drink of choice and give the server an enthusiastic nod. "Maybe we could move back?" I have my eye on a table a bit further away, like across the Hard Rock at Simon Kitchen and Bar. "There are speakers everywhere," our server points out, "so really it won't make a difference."
The concert du jour gets out of the Joint around 11 p.m. and fills the Taco with fresh meat, all the better to absorb the sound. Whether you've never sung without the aid of a running shower or whether you need five minutes warming up before taking center stage, all are welcome to peruse the voluminous song menu. No cover is charged for this party, which starts at 9 p.m. and ends around 2 a.m. Emcee Larry of 2 Tons Of Fun Karaoke has been gathering crowds for Yo Quiero Karaoke for more than nine months. "A good host makes sure that the singer is having a good time." Along with DJ B.C., Larry sings backup and sometimes even showboats a little with his spot-on Tom Jones and Lou Rawls, not to mention his masculine take on the Pussycat Dolls' "Don't Cha."
In tiara and curls, a birthday girl gives a pretty good Tina Turner with her rendition of "Proud Mary." I either must be getting superiorly drunk or really into the spirit of things because I assist with the doot-doot-doot part. Next up, a young gal demonstrates that the bouncing ball on the monitor is merely a suggestion while killing both me and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)."
Green Day's "Basket Case" is getting surprisingly fair treatment by a frat-boyish gentleman, as does Whitney Houston's "I'm Every Woman." But the best karaoke moment arrives to cheers in the form of karaoke Jedi master Geoff Garrett. A professional singer, Garrett steps up and suddenly Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" sends everyone right back to the early '80s, which for many here means birth. His Steve Perry-like nasal twang and manipulation of the tricky high notes have me in ecstasy.
While a rocker with a tattooed neck shows us how to go "Kung Foo Fighting," I find Garrett. He tells me without actually telling me that he may soon be replacing Steve Augeri as Journey's lead vocalist. I will later be laughed off of the Journey chat forum for even suggesting such a coup. Still, even if he is lying, his ability to sound like Steve-Augeri-trying-to-sound-like-Steve-Perry keeps me believin'.
Monday, October 17, 11:30 p.m. If karaoke wasn't already regarded as a cult, doubters should visit the House of Blues on a Monday night. Rockstar Karaoke thumbs its nose at the very meaning of karaoke ("empty orchestra") by providing singers with a live, three-piece rock band. Hell, I bet I wouldn't sound too bad if I had a drummer, guitarist and bassist backing me up. Hiding in the crowd, I am surprised to find some high-profile nightclub personalities eager to reminisce about the time before they had a reputation to uphold. I would never rat them out—it's just too cute.
The HOB's Denise Speetzen crinkles her nose when she looks out over the 400 or so people who've turned out to sing, gawk, dance and drink in the Courtyard. Apparently the weather has kept home some of the usual 500 to 600 fans. The doors open at 10 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays for the free show and songs are performed on a first-come, first-served basis with a strict no-repeat policy enforced by the hostess. She's gorgeous but I bet her Barry White can't even touch Larry's.
This time, the best moment comes wearing leather pants. Kevin is the regular according to Speetzen. Dressed like Axl Rose, Kevin would have brought the house down with his customary "Welcome to the Jungle" had someone else not already gotten to it. Still, his "Photograph" by Def Leppard is a tough act to follow. As Speezen finishes telling me about the other regulars—"You'll get the bachelorette girls up there singing 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' ..."—a posse of ladies does just that, though not as well as one would hope.
Xania Woodman thinks globally and parties locally. And frequently. E-mail her at
[email protected].
Xania's Hot Spots for October 20 – October 23
Thursday, October 20
Light: Bounce Thursday with Brandi Williams of The Vegas Minute and Vegas.com
Tao: Worship Thursday with guest DJ Dig Dug
Friday, October 21
Krave: Grand opening of Metamorphosis
OPM: ClubPlanet.com presents Fall Session No. 5 with DJs Andy Gil and Masterweb
Saturday, October 22
Empire Ballroom: Premiere of Late Night Empire
Ice: Godskitchen with DJ Faarsheed
Sunday, October 23
Light: Body Doubles party and casting call
Body English: Sunday School: ladies in costume drink free until midnight
For more Hot Spots and weekly parties visit
www.TheCircuitLV.com and sign up for Xania's free weekly newsletter.