Here at Neoco we likes us some Karaoke. So when Benn stumbled upon (in the real sense of the word, not the online sense of the word) a new Karaoke bar near Soho (that shall remain nameless) we had to check it out – especially since it was substantially cheaper than our favourite haunt Lucky Voice.
So down we all go on a Friday after work, looking forward to seeing what was on offer. On arrival we were ushered into the basement, and into our booth… bristling with anticipation.
The owners seemed unsure exactly how the Karaoke machine worked, but eventually got it up and running – admittedly with a huge amount of echo on the mics and the hilarious disco ball on the ceiling (this turned on for each song and then turned off at the end).
The graphics were inspired. A bit like a tour of industrialised Eastern Europe, with some bad Holiday snaps and random animals thrown in for good measure. Drinks were ordered and brought to us. A bottle of white wine with six small plastic beakers (the disposable kind you would have on sports’ day when you were 8 years old). One of the cups actually had a hole in the bottom and swiftly leaked it’s contents all over the table.
And then there was the actual Karaoke machine. Now I’m no Frank Sinatra, but I like to think I can sing. But not here, no way, not today. The backing consisted of a slightly cheery MIDI song, usually with a few extra instruments thrown in for good measure (think pipes / mouth organ). This was the same for all songs – regardless of genre. My favourite was Rage Against The Machine: Killing In The Name – rendered utterly absurd by the cheery sound track. And my god, if you didn’t know the song 100%, you were in trouble. Unforgiving would perhaps be the best single word to describe the system. Or crap. Depending on your view point.
The simple lesson to learn from this experience is: you get what you pay for..
And on that note… we’re all off to Lucky Voice tonight for the real thing.