Worshipping at the ｶﾗｵｹ-神社

I just got back from an incredible weekend that spanned 3 days and 3 prefectures. It was such a good weekend that it actually merits THREE separate posts!

1) The Penis Festival
2) Festival food
3) KARAOKE

Karaoke comes first, because the pictures from that night had me laughing so hard I probably scared the neighbors. They're probably not nearly as funny for anyone that wasn't there though, sorry :-)

The karaoke session that these photos came from just may be the measuring stick by which all future karaoke nights will be judged--!! We were in the city of Nagoya, at a fund raiser being held for a future BC India trip - people paid a flat fee for all the beer, karaoke and arcade games they could cram into 5 hours. Great idea for a fund raiser, right?

My friends and I headed straight for the karaoke rooms. It started off mellow enough, as most sessions usually do, and slowly warmed up. About an hour and a half after we started, a few more people joined us, and then it got wild. There was line dancing, there was hip-hop dancing, there were no more attempts to sound good - in fact, I'll be honest -- at times it pretty much just a screaming contest. (I haven't gotten so enthusiastic about Alanis Morrisette since high school!!) Come 11:45, it was all we could do to drag ourselves out of there - motivated only by the fact that we were going to miss the last train.

These are two friends of friends that helped fuel the wild karaoke maddness. They guy, whose name I forget, wins the award for best pose and expression in almost every photo.

My personal history with Karaoke, which, by the way, is called Noraebang in Korea:Just hearing the word Noraebang used to make my heart start thumping in anxiety. I can't sing, and I don't like to embarrass myself ..... so ..... why would I want to sing in front of others? The problem was - I was stuck in that Western notion where Karaoke means one person singing in front of a whole room, where it actually matters if you sound good or not. I heard repeated assurances from my friends in Korea that Noraebang was totally different from back home - just a group of friends in a small room having a good time. But nothing really convinced me, and I managed to successfully avoid going to Noraebang for my first 8 months there! QUITE A FEAT!!!One night though, I finally went, and realized that everything people had told me was 100% TRUE. Noraebang/Karaoke is FUN. A lot of fun. And now I am a full fledged devotee!

Hong picks a winner with Livin' la Vida Loca.

For those of you that have never lived here --In Korea and Japan, Karaoke places are literally everywhere. It works like this - each group of people gets their own room with a TV, a sound system, couches and two microphones. The fancier places even have voice activated strobe lights and tambourines! Most places will bring food and drinks to the room. There are books with the list of songs available - usually in Japanese, Korean, English and Tagalog. Most places, even in the sticks where I live, have an incredible selection of songs, and we are never at a loss for things to sing. Once someone decides on a song, you punch the number into the remote and let the fun begin. The lyrics appear on the screen along with ridiculous videos that usually have nothing to do with the song you are singing.

Bonus points if you can name that song!

Karaoke sessions can be really different depending on who is there and the mood of the moment. Sometimes it's mellow, and people actually try to sound good when they sing. Other times it can be.... well, absolute craziness. (These session are usually fueled by large amounts of alcohol.)Many sessions progress from the former to the latter.

Nasri, Jessie and Jeff in one of the more mellow moments on our "warm-up" session Friday night.

There is, believe it or not, an *fine art* to picking a good karaoke song. It isn't an exact science though, sort of like teaching. Some fortunate people are born with this talent, but for others, like myself, it takes experience and careful study to learn. LOL, you think I'm joking don't you? I'M NOT!! (This is an off-shoot of my previous fear of karaoke.)

I will spare you non-believers of the long winded explanation of the fine art of Karaoke song picking, and those of you that have already converted already know what I am talking about. Factors that must be taken into consideration include: pitch of song and how your own voice can handle it, how well you know the words, the mood of the moment, the mood you want to create, people present and whether or not they know the song - this will also depend on whether or not you want to be singing alone -, length of the song, difficulty of the song....and so on.

Here is some of my own personal karaoke wisdom--
--Sometimes you THINK you know a song, but you don't! Listening to Manic Monday countless times in the 80's does not mean you will remember it 20 years later.
--Beware songs with "sneaky difficult parts." Sweet Child of Mine starts out easy, but is really hard to sing at the end when Axl just starts screaming. Note that this is not a problem once everyone is drunk.
--Beware songs with really long extended endings, like New York New York.
--If you are going to pick a looooong song, be sure that others in the room are on board with you - good examples are Bohemian Rhapsody or American Pie.
--Those songs that were hits when everyone was drunk may not work when everyone is sober -- Pour Some Sugar on Me, Its Raining Men for example.
--Well-known pop songs are always a hit, because everyone knows the words, and if they don't they can pick it up as the song goes along.
--Sometimes you surprise yourself and are really good with a song that you thought was too hard. With good friends it is a good time to give these songs a try, and if you suck you can cancel half-way through. Shockingly, I can do a totally decent version of Bust a Move, but I only discovered that because I knew Caroline and Mike were understanding friends :-P

Over time, everyone gets their own personl "sure-fire" songs, the ones they KNOW they can sing and wouldn't mind singing alone. As of now, mine are Lucielle by Kenny Rogers, The Boxer or Cecelia by Simon and Garfunkel, and Take Your Mama by Scissor Sisters. Oh, and Yesterday - this is the all-time Karaoke classic. Everyone can sing it. And of course, over time, everyone knows which songs are sure-fire drunken hits!!

Inspired by the power of Ricky Martin.

Jeff and Jessie, two friends from my prefecture, in the only posed photo of the night.

Jessie getting in touch with her Alberta roots, with the help of a little Shania.

This is Simon, who hosted the entire event. Here is is doing a song by Korean super-star band H.O.T.

In light of last post, I have to add that NO THEY DO NOT HAVE BABY'S GOT BACK!!! I know, I know, it's an absolute shame.

You will also notice the lack of embarrassing photos of myself singing. Trust me, they exist, and as soon as someone sends me any I promise I will put them up. Promise!!