Blindsided by the laserdiscs!

(Actually, all the songs at karaoke are MP3s.)

This week's karaoke coup d'etat #1 was a stunning duet rendition of "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago. It is indeed meant for six people, not two. We assumed the karaoke version would have the speaking bits as the background, and all we'd have to sing was the very easy and very fun chorus. So we were blindsided, and had to improv the whole thing. Luckily it was a hit. Luckily we'd watched bits of the movie earlier so it was fresh in our minds.

Other duets we've recently discovered are show-stoppers with two female vocals: Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" as a two-part harmony (it's practically a cappella). We've requested the Norah Jones/Dolly Parton duet "Creepin' In" from the host, too.

Karoke coup d'etat #2 was Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," which I stole from The Scot in his absence. With my range I had to go an octave higher, but I managed to hit all the high notes. Plus the song was severely edited, and nowhere near the version I know best. It completely killed my voice for the next few minutes, but there's nothing more satisfying than a gut-busting performance in a half-empty bar on a Monday night.

Damn it! With only two more Mondays left at karaoke, my goal is to find a good karaoke place in Boston by the end of September.

Off to do some online research on venues and create the Google spreadsheet . . .