Friday, January 25, 2013

Karaoke At The Dutchmaid

    Lancaster’s Best Karaoke paid their second visit to the Dutchmaid motel lounge last evening and though it might have been one of the coldest nights in recent history, a hardy group of aficionados braved the brutal weather to participate in a most enjoyable evening of favorite songs.

    Dwayne was at the controls last night and he cheerfully queued up the singers’ selections as soon as they were entered and, probably because the cold weather kept the less hardy souls from appearing, the waiting time between songs was much shorter than usual, an important detail for many experienced singers who, once warmed up, wish to keep the vocal cords limber.

    Some people think that the more relaxed you are by way of cocktails or beer, the better you sound. That, I believe, is a perception by the listener rather than the singer. The lubricated listener may be less able to hear the nuances of a slightly-off-tone singer than a less lubricated listener. Although reduced inhibitions may make it easier for the shy person to get up and sing, the experienced singer can lose some control of their vocal fine tuning the more relaxed they become.

    As far as “lubrication” there was no waiting for anything you desired. Korki did a stupendous job at providing for everyone there. She was so good I had to look three times to determine that she was not triplets she was that fast! I think the word ubiquitous to describe Korki’s performance behind the bar and in the lounge would be apropos. It’s rare when one can be thought of as everywhere-at-once.

    And the singers last night were as good as any I’ve seen at most places, especially the lady who chose a Linda Ronstadt piece and most notably, Kim, whose rendition of Me and Bobby McGee was a hair-raising, spine-tingling nostalgic remembrance of my dear sister, Bonnie, a true Janis Joplin fan. Bonnie died in 1972. She was only 20.

    Several months ago I wrote about another singer (Kristie) who paid tribute to Janis Joplin (Cheers, 11 NOV 2012). To have experienced Janis’ sounds so expertly performed by TWO singers in such a short time is nothing short of amazing. I’m starting to believe that Janis has been reincarnated as Janis Joplin, Opus 2.

    Wouldn’t it be pretty to think so?
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