There are few things more demoralizing than singing karaoke to an empty room.
Poorly attended paint and sips and wardrobe malfunctions are in the running, but I am not sure either arrive at downright depressing.
We started adding Karaoke to our Heart Gallery event offerings after I realized the only thing better than spontaneous sing-alongs, were sing-a-longs with hot mics and lyrical guidance. All of the patrons we polled expressed excitement about the prospect and promised their attendance.
In reality, our karaoke nights look more like a break up scene in a bad rom-com, replete with a lonely bartender and a DJ dressed up like a wizard. Why a wizard? Because we believed we were bringing magic to Burien. But, I think he might just be making people uncomfortable.
We've tried to drum up interest via social media, but apparently my microphone painting looked like a lovers package product and my posts were ill timed. Your not exactly supposed to avoid traffic on the internet. Our trusty DJ even tried old school flyer distribution. But, apparently walking around in 90 degree weather in a wizard costume, passing out karaoke paraphernalia is frowned upon in these parts. We also tried the Silk Sonic approach of just leaving the door open and singing hard to draw in customers from neighboring businesses. But instead of enticing the Angelos crowd into joining the musical magic...we seemed to repel them. You don't want potential patrons to walk by and feel bad for you.
Last week, I went ahead and just embraced the discomfort--selecting every song about rejection we could think of in an effort to turn humiliation into good humor. Here are some sample.