The "IN" Crowd

Or maybe this should be titled, "Is this the crowd we want to be IN?"

Karaoke last night was fantastic. It was one of those nights that makes me glad we go every week.

Matt introduced us to karaoke about three years ago. Before that, I always cringed when someone mentioned the subject. I really did. But then it was decided that after work we'd meet up at this small bar in downtown Saint Paul called, "Wild Tymes". This is where DM and I met Bryan, Liz, and Dean. That first night of karaoke, I finally tried a song at the very end of the night. I tried, "Son of a Preacher Man." This is the song I usually warm up to now. I remember standing up by the equipment and shaking the entire time. Matt talks about the rush he gets from singing and I didn't feel it at first. I was scared and timid and barely made any noise, but then realized I was having a good time.

Long story short, we kept going. We got to know Bryan, Liz, and Dean at Wild Tymes. We didn't go every week, but we had fun every time we went. We found out that Bryan hosted at The Chalet on Thursday nights. This brought us out to The Chalet for karaoke. As times and work schedules changed (everyone's but mine), we started to show up at The Chalet on Sunday nights. The first couple years of going to The Chalet were less regular than now. It was the exception to show up at The Chalet.

Back in September, DM and I had a conversation about karaoke. We made the decision that it should be the exception when we DON'T go to karaoke on Sundays. We haven't missed a week since. We're going to miss one while we're in Portugal, and that's fine - it's a pretty darn good reason to miss a week!

We used to (and still do) get excited when Bryan, Liz, and Dean talk to us. We feel like we're part of the "cool" crowd. They're great people and we enjoy their company. There are other friends of theirs that show up towards the end of the night each Sunday. (This would be James, Barry, and sometimes Stephanie.) This group has started to sit at our table and conversing with us.

Before I get into the conversation from last night that I want to really share, I should explain the rest of karaoke. There are other stories!

When we got to The Chalet last night, Cowboy Joe (I'm going to link the story where he kept asking about the duet, but I can't find it) was there with a group of people. Now, here's the thing. This group makes the Clampetts seem classy. There seemed to be some problem in their lives this week and the group would randomly started bawling. I did my best to avoid looking at their group.

Bryan didn't want them to start becoming regulars and the regulars didn't want them to start as regulars. So the karaoke machine conveniently broke for the first hour of the night. This was fine, DM and I played darts, sat and talked, and listened to our tunes on our iPods.

The show did have to start and the group sang a couple of songs each, but then left, feeling dejected when the crowd didn't give them standing ovations. After they left, they called back and yelled at Bobby because Bryan was a "jerk" (add some other colorful words there too!) to them. All the people in the bar thought he was a hero.

Before Dean, James, Barry, and Liz arrived, DM purchased something that I unfortunately cannot explain at this moment in time. But it lead to a long discussion with the group when they got there. When James, Barry, and Dean are sitting with us, this is the resulting conversation:

Me: [Asking special favor of the guys.]
James (J): Okay, but why?
DM: Because we blog about you. Don't worry, it's all good stuff.
J: Why would you blog about us?
DM: Because you're cool!
Dean (D): But we read comic books.
Me: But we like you guys.
DM: And we feel like we're at the cool table when you join us!

We get very weird stares. We had a fantastic time last night and after the show ended, it was great to sit and talk with the group. They're a cool bunch of people and the interactions are the reason why I love going to karaoke each week.

Here's a picture from the night. It's Bryan and James. This looks scary and I hope everyone understands it is in fun. It's a posed picture, but totally fun! (And maybe the reason why I have the second title...)