A little while back, some of us got together and went to sing karaoke. My friend GirlDog invited us and so she had pick of the venue. This is the first time in Seattle that I’ve gone singing karaoke and so I didn’t really know any places to do it. (That’s not completely true but the first time didn’t really count because I didn’t set out to go sing. I just went to a seedy little dive that happened to have karaoke going on. Same difference? Meh. I’d like to think there’s distinction in the choice.) 

The place we went was called The Royal Unicorn. It’s a little place in Shoreline that couples as a Chinese restaurant/lounge. I’m sure that at one time, this combination would have sent me reeling (as did the aforementioned tuna and rice combination from my last post) but I think I’ve grown numb to the monumental clashes the Asian people can produce over the years. My mother is especially adept at this sort of thing. 

The Unicorn itself was a small place and it was clear that most of the people there were regulars. It didn’t have that oppressive miasma that some places acquire though. This miasma that I refer to is the one where you may drop dead for even daring to intrude on territory that clearly isn’t where you belong. This is something that I’ve seen in Seattle more that anywhere else in my life– this being a sort of cliquey public isolation. 

We all had some $3.50 well drinks which is a not too bad deal. I did a couple songs alone and a couple with others. It was fun but I think I would choose a different venue next time. The selection of songs were somewhat limited. I think already after just one night, I exhausted the songs that I would want to do. The timing was off on some of the songs too. I hear that Seattle’s Best Karaoke or SBK is pretty good. Not just because you’re spared the embarassment of belting out drunken tunes to complete strangers but on it’s own merits as well.

-J