Real Karaoke Boxes Coming to Portland!

I love Karaoke.

If it's any indication of how much I like Karaoke I went twice when I was in Sapporo this trip. In fact purely by accident I ended up going to the same Karaoke box place on two consecutive days - once with family and once with my gaming friends. And, as usual, I had a blast.

I love getting together with some friends in a private box, drinking Oolong tea and/or alcohol, and singing my heart out to Spitz and Supercar. I have been known to sing some The Who and Queensryche too, but I don't have Geoff Tate or Roger Daltry's vocal cords by any stretch of the imagination. Actually, I'm an awful singer, but I find I don't really care when I'm with a bunch of friends and we're singing songs we like.

Actually, I would probably sing karaoke with any good-hearted person who was into the spirit of the thing. When I was in Tokyo I was seriously considering standing outside a karaoke lounge with a cardboard sign saying "Will pay for box if you sing with me" just to see who would take me up on the offer. Yes, I am almost that crazy. And the beautiful thing about Tokyo is it's quite likely that some cool and interesting people would take me up on the offer...either that or the cops would misinterpret my ploy as some new way of soliciting underage prostitutes and throw me into the depths of the Japanese justice system without parole or appeal. Still, any plan worth executing involves the element of risk.

Anyway, let me qualify my opening statement. I love Karaoke as it exists in Japan. I like the fact that you're only singing for and with friends, and you always get your turn, and you don't have to tip the machine to play the songs you want to sing. From what I've read about Karaoke in the US, none of these things are the norm. You're usually in a noisy, smoky bar, subject to the judgement of strangers, and you have to tip the hell out of a rude DJ who might play your songs. So, no. Not going there. Still, if there's anything missing from my life here in Portland, it's a nice karaoke box. Oh, there are a couple in Beaverton, but they don't serve drinks, and even though I hardly ever drink it's just not quite the same without drinks on tap.

So, I was pretty damn happy to read that they are opening up a more traditional style Karaoke lounge/bar with private boxes right here in Portland next month. They're supposed to open sometime in November, date to be set soon. You can get an 8-person box at $7/hour/person, which is pretty damn good. They're taking reservations up to a year in advance, which I expect to fill up soon if this place takes off.

So...when are we going?

(Yes, I'm serious. When are we going?)