allyson and bryan

The Karaoke Chronicles: Darwin, Australia /


Once upon a time, it was said that I was unnaturally, and unwaveringly, devoted to karaoke. Indeed, most friends were supportive, and enthused -- karaoke is fun! It's a group activity! You can practice in the car! We spent many a weekend evening at the infamous Mint, in the company of Frank the KJ and others equally addicted to the bright lights of strobe and a crowd that never holds a grudge. Weekend after weekend, we'd let the warm glow of the artificial flame lure us inside, the semi-cordial barkeeps always ready with a pitcher and the management amenable to large groups booked by Allisson. I'd invite out-of-town guests to join our exclusive singing club, hoping to convince them of its undeniable appeal; when visiting other cities I might scope out the karaoke scene there, sometimes swaying the vehemently opposed and even once singing with a live band.

Of course, this signature obsession eventually became more of a reputation and less of a reality, as years went by. I'd certainly attend the random karaoke night, stop by the private room when opportunity knocked, and revisit The Mint on special occasions -- but after a while karaoke became less and less a central part of my life. Other things took center stage: Elaborate party planning, work, our wedding (at which, yes, there was karaoke), and eventually this trip. Which might explain why I didn't make karaoke more of a priority when abroad -- only half-heartedly attempting to attend in Fiji and New Zealand. In truth I'm sort of disappointed in myself, as an in-depth study of karaoke around the world might have made interesting fodder upon my return.

Perhaps there's still time.

The first karaoke of our extensive travels was last weekend, in Darwin, Australia. My Yahoo! pal Mali suggested I may want to coincide our flight up north with the weekly extravaganza attended each Friday by her good friend, Sophie, at a local place called The Parap Tavern. While I quite truly did not arrange our itinerary specifically around it, luck was on our side and we ended up in Darwin during the second half of the week and convinced Sophie to take us out on the town for the night. Before hitting the tavern we stopped at the local waterskiing club for a what Aussies call a "sundowner" -- and rightly so. Moving on, the three of us stopped at a local house party, where I sat by the pool and quietly, anxiously ran through my personal song list. At last! It was 9:30 p.m. and time to make our way to the microphone.

So how was karaoke at Australia's Parap Tavern?

My top-level assessment is that, at its heart, it's just like American karaoke. The KJ wields his power both for good and for evil; the singers range wildly from horrid to near-recording-artist; the crowd is fickle and when they love you, they really really love you. There were moments where the room seemed filled with that certain energy which bands strangers together, supporting the person on stage and joining in for love of the music. Drinks flowed generously and friends were made over songbooks and backup dancing.

There were a few things that were different. For one, the KJ definitely lacked the all-important props and atmosphere: The stage was intimidatingly bare, and the lights intimidatingly bright. A KJ-fueled melee also nearly occurred when he unfairly bumped our very own Sophie down the list time and time again -- refusing to yield to the crowd's impassioned pleas for "JOLENE! JOLENE!" (I mean, a KJ that denies his crowd is not a true master of the art, I feel.) Also, neither Heather, Sue and Sarah nor Jess were there, but I can't really blame the culture gap for that.

On the positive side, you got a free drink coupon for singing (imagine?!) and there was a raffle at the end (of which to win I was one digit off.) Much like an American might do, one of Sophie's friends, after hearing the infamous Bryan "Ring of Fire" story, put his name in. A few hours later Bryan surprised us all with a hugely crowd-pleasing rendition that may just redeem his karaoke soul. Here's a dark clip, but you get the idea:


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We met a bunch of fun people and stayed out past midnight. I mean, overall, it was good times.

Prior to karaoke, we did a few other cool things in Darwin including the famed deckchair cinema and Crocodylus Park, which Andrea tells me was featured on The Amazing Race this season. (Take that, Zorb!) Upon leaving on Saturday we picked up a campervan and drove east to Kakadu, where we spent two nights before moving on to Katherine (another northern Australian town known for its natural beauty.) Van camping has had its ups and downs, but I'll leave that to Bryan to address next.

In the meantime, I'll be here, working on my Kelly Clarkson.

stars, they're just like allyson @ 5:21 PM  

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