KARAOKE ON BLOOR WEST

Ryan Rowe
Saturday, October 16th, 2004, 7:35pm
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

I've never really been a fan of karaoke... so last night, when Justina Gardiner (GBC Social Coordinator) suggested we hit a karaoke bar downtown, I wasn't too excited. You see, I'd been looking forward to a Friday night of partying with my bud and case competition teammate Mark Van Wart. We needed to release the stress we'd accumulated after an intense week. Karaoke didn't seem to fit the bill.

But Mark and I hadn't really made any specific plans, so we caved in to the pressure and went along for the ride.  Where we ended up was on the second floor of building on Bloor Street.  I didn't know what to make of it.  It looked like a cheesy little hotel that rents rooms by the hour to couples.  There were black leather couches in the lobby and pictures of Asian celebrities and models on the wall.  The dude at the counter asked us all for ID, luckily he didn't seem to notice I hadn't shown him any (I'd misplaced my license earlier that day).

I'd never been in a place like this.  I've never sung karaoke.  And a karaoke bar is probably the last place I'd choose to spend my Friday night.  Especially when you have to pay by the hour at $25 for a small-sized room, $45 for a medium, and $60 for a large.

We rented a small room off the reception area that was about the size of a broom closet, maybe a little larger. These little rooms are really cozy, though, and you quickly get into the mood. The room's all set up so you can create your own playlist from hundreds and hundreds of songs and keep going for hours on end. Our group of seven was a pretty cool one too, very chill bunch of people, and all of us MBA students from Schulich: Justina, Adam, Mark, Mag (short for Magdalena), Hannah, and Jer-Bear (Jeremy).

We ordered a few drinks and it wasn't long before we were all wailing like alley cats on a fencepost.  What a fantastic way to get comfortable with new people and make new friends!  Some great talent among us, too - especially Mag who I think should audition for Canadian Idol.  She wasn't too flattered by that compliment though, I wonder why?  We went through a lot of old 80's songs, and classic stuff like Hotel California, Brown-eyed Girl, and Billy Jean. The accompanying videos were so cheesy it was hard to keep from cracking up while singing, not to mention the fact that I couldn't keep a tune if it was worth my life. How did you guys put up with me?

Justina - you're a great Social director, count me in for your future parties! :)

The night was a blast and I'm glad I gave it a shot. I'm totally going to suggest this to the IMBA crew - maybe Reading Week, guys?

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