Archive for April 28th, 2007

Ah. . . The hunt for the perfect karaoke. . . An arduous task, yes.

See, the city is rich with microphones and TV screens filled with highlighted lyrics. And with the wide variety of work schedules we all contend with, finding the right venue, at the right time, date, and location for your rock-star fix can be a challenge.

For nearly a year, Sid and Buddy karaoke filled that desperate longing need within me to awaken the “karaoke whore”, as Sid (aka Matt) lovingly refers to his charges.

It was at Galapagos, in Williamsburg, every Sunday night. It was an addiction. Deeply. Madly. Truly. I would rock Aerosmith when I had no voice to give. I’d stay for the “end of the night Bohemian Rhapsody medley” in which everyone who lasted until 4 in the morning was compelled to join.

But all good things do come to an end, and Sid and Buddy ended their Sunday night run, and I was lost without a stage to seranade.

I found a surrogate at Smiths Times Square, which of course is in a very inconvenient location, and is hit or miss (but the on nights are ON!)

Then I found that Sid was BACK! This time, at The Grand Saloon on E.23rd st. So I decked myself out in my snazzy khaki suit and got ready to rock out some Big Bad Voodoo Daddy!

And although, all my favorite karaoke buddies from the Sunday night days of yore were all there to welcome me back, sadly, the magic just wasn’t there.

Probably becuase of the bland, lifeless, dull-as-dull-can-get atmosphere of Murray Hill (the neighborhood, not the burlesque MC)

And Grand Saloon, like many pubs in the area, seems like a lovely place to order hot wings and Coors light and watch the game, (if thats yer thing) but not so much for the weekend rock stars.

Either way, Sid does have THE most comprehensive song list of any karaoke host I’ve ever seen! (Over 10,000 songs!!) so if you’re looking for that rare tune that no other karaokian seems to be able to supply, maybe you should head to the Saloon one Friday night and check the scene for yerself.

Even though it was advertised as being on Catherine and Cherry St [it wasn’t], I still managed to stumble upon the East Side Polo Invite earlier today. (It’s really in Sara D Roosevelt Park on Christie between Delancy and Broome).

Think upper- crust- Ralph- Lauren- wearing- tea- drinking jockeys riding properly upon horses. But replace the jockeys with punk-rock bike messengers, and replace the horses with banged up bikes, and replace the tea with Red Bull (plus. . . ).

In the time I was there I saw six guys fall off their bikes, one guy who loved throwing elbows, three guys dressed up like Mexican Wrestlers, one guy flip completely over his bike, one mallet get smashed to pieces, two instances of ironic facial hair, a token black guy, a token asian guy and a partridge in a pear tree.

Are they great athletes? No.

Is it completely exciting the whole time? No.

Did anybody get into a fight? No.

If you live in the neighborhood, should you swing by and check it out?

Definitely.

Sitting in the park is always a good idea, and it’s only enhanced by watching the players riding back and forth. Even I (usually anti-sports) got into it, and picked my favorite teams to root for, based on their awesome striped shirts.

Plus it’s one of those sports where something dangerous could happen, and those are the best ones to watch (the adult in me kept wanting to yell out that they should be wearing helmets).

Maybe if you go, you’ll get to see one instance of flying over handelbars, two punches thrown and one bike messenger brawl.

The East Side Polo Invite continues thru tomorrow (10am-Dusk) and regular games are played every Sunday at Noon.

UNCOOLKIDS Slideshow of Saturday’s game

“If pain is comedy than high school was hilarious”- So states the tagline for this improvised homage to everything for which John Hughes stood.  Teen Movie High is an hour long improvised tour de force of ridiculousness.  And for anyone who considers Sixteen Candles and Weird Science timeless classics- this show will blow your fragile little mind!

The evening started out with director, Karen Herr, greeting the audience.  Then the cast brought out the Wheel of Sub Genres.  They picked an audience member to come up and spin the wheel to determine what sub genre the evening’s performance would be based on. 

Bonus:  they actually picked my girlfriend to spin the wheel!  As a special treat they gave her a six pack of Budweiser tall boys to enjoy during the show. It was like Christmas and my birthday all rolled up in one beery package! 

The sub genre we were treated to was, ”A day in the Life.”  Think:  Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Can’t Hardly Wait, etc…  The show started out as the valedictorian, who for 4 years had been crushing on the hot, Big Man On Campus, declares that at tonight’s graduation party she’ll finally get her man! 

From there it was a carousel of clichés reinvented on the spot to side splitting effect:  There was an “accidental” lesbian moment; stoners getting’ lit up and crying as they watch The Land Before Time; a streaking scene that ended badly in a corn field; much beer drinking and light vomiting. 

Each of the six performers were obviously skilled improvisers.  Even though they occasionally cracked each other up, none of them ever broke character. 

They kept the action moving forward even while incorporating the unexpected, like working performer, Mark Lampert’s, constant stream of sweat into a makeout scene.  Trust me it was gross, but it totally worked. 

Period perfect music cues, like “Don’t You Forget About Me” and “Afternoon Delight” added an extra layer to the surreal hilarity of the performance.   

In the end the girl got the boy, the boy grew as a person and I got to drink free beers.  It was a happy ending for all. 

For $10 (3$ for students) you can’t go wrong.  It shows every Friday at Gotham City Improv,on 21st street, at 8:30pm.  It’s perfectly timed between happy hour and a late night supper.  AND… they’ve just been extended through June!  So go check ‘em out. 

For tickets call- 646.258.6727 or click here.