Sunday, June 17, 2007

Little Blue Saab, Baby U're Much 2 Fast

Last night we went to my old neighborhood in Russian Hill. The Red Devil Lounge is a two level bar that plays rock concerts for usually formerly known rock stars, or musicians you're just as likely to see on Celebrity Fit Club. Since I know the city best, I directed Leanne up through the Tenderloin, past Nob Hill to Polk Street. After a couple of blocks, Leanne wanted to park the car in a garage. She has self-admitted "parallel parking" issues. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm a parallel parking master. That's what living in San Francisco, navigating your parking brake on a hill while rolling into the parked car beneath you will do.

I also believe in parking karma. I call it Parkma. I was feeling the parkma last night, so Leanne and I Chinese-firedrilled it so that I could get us a parking spot. About four blocks later, just past the parking garage, a wide open space. And the parking? I should offer parallel parking lessons to teenagers.

We ate some decent Pad Thai and some kinda scary Curry Chicken at a restaurant I hadn't seen before. (Thai Spice?) Anyhow, it wasn't as good as Lemongrass, but we would have had to walk six blocks, and I was vetoed by the Leanne's. (Leanne's friend Leanne was with us...) We stopped off at the Red Devil Lounge and saw Pop Rocks, a cover band that was dressed in country outfits with large foam cowboy hats. This getup was misleading, because Pop Rocks plays covers from the 80's and 90's. We got a prime spot on the top level, which was great, except it's sort of isolated (and the floor shakes, which is a little scary).

Two drinks in, we were rocking out with the rest of the crowd. The lead singer often let the audience sing entire sections of songs. As previously mentioned in other posts...I have and even worst voice than American Idol's WIlliam Hung. But, surrounded by other enthusiastic bad singers, I fit right in. You haven't really lived until you've seen (and heard) and entire concert crowd rock out to Journey. Guys were air guitaring and then air guitaring each other's air guitars. These people were seriously into it. Even the air guitaring dude (Tiger Claw) made an appearance. He was wearing an Incredible Hulk shirt, a terrifying version of just the Hulk's eyes, teeth and clenched fists. You know how I feel about the Hulk...

While I lived in New York, my friend and I went to a karaoke bar. I really hate karaoke--doing it, hearing it, watching the karaoke "professionals." I got the bright idea that we should sing "Little Red Corvette" by Prince. We did. It was awful, or better known as "let's go outside for a cigarette" time for the regulars. This isn't the first time this happened to me. When I was 22, I went on a cruise to Alaska with my sister and my mother. I signed my sister and I up for "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." We evacuated an entire room, leaving my mother sitting there clapping enthusiastically. "That's a really tough song," she would tell us as the DJ took out his foam earplugs. That Cyndi Lauper is no joke. The year previously, in college, my roommate Amy and I sang "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch." We were too drunk to understand how bad we were...We actually thought we were the stuff of legends until we realized that the DJ had turned off our mics.

So public singing is not my thing. But screaming cheesy 80's music with other karaokaphobs, apparently is. I sang Little Red Corvette, realizing that "Little Blue Saab" doesn't have the same ring to it. But since everyone was tone deaf with the sound of their own voices, I improvized.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am the KING of air guitar baby. I've been strumming the strings of wind since I was old enough to curl my fingers around an imaginary Fender neck. But even I am awed by the idea of one guy air guitaring another guy's air guitar. That must have been some session, like B.B. King and Eric Clapton in a free jam. I wish I could have seen it.

Jaynel Attolini said...

Lucky for you, I caught some of it on my phone camcorder...

It DID look weird seeing two (or four) guys air guitaring. By the way, I saw Tiger Claw after he got off stage, and he told me about the Air Guitaring Championship at the Independent. He asked if I was going, but I thought I'd ask you first. It's a sold out show right now...so once again, we'd have primo tix!
And besides, I want to see these air guitar skills you say you are the KING of.

http://www.usairguitar.com/