Kareoke

I went out for a pub crawl with some friends Friday night. In Canada, a pub crawl means going to a pub, getting a drink, going to another pub and getting drink, etc etc until you can't walk straight to the last pub.

In Romania, this involves us going to a pub and having one of the girls declare she doesn't like it. So we tramp through the cold to the next bar where another girl says the music is too loud. The next pub is too smoky, etc etc. We finally end up at Sinatra, which has a snooty "members-only" feel to it. Actually, it used to be members-only until the boss realised he was getting no business, so now it's open to the public. It's rather nice inside: all brick, low tables and chairs, fluffy drinks and black and white pictures of Frank Sinatra everywhere.

After Sinatra, we went to The Sound. The Sound is Timisoara's kareoke bar. Last time I went, is was full of profesisonal singers warbling out Shania Twain and Celine Dion songs (And I thought one of the perks of coming to Romania was leaving them *behind* in Canada!). Friday night, however, must have been "American Idol Reject Night".

Two girls went up and sang a BoyZone song. They tried to make their voices sound deep like the BoyZone singers. They sounded horrible. I couldn't stop laughing. I had tears running down my face and I smooshed my face into my arm to keep from laughing. Another girl sang No Doubt's "Don't Speak". She would have been good, but I was too distracted by her stomach hanging over the waistband of her jeans.

Then, the performance to end all performances. A guy got up to sing Ricky Martin's "She Bangs". All of us at the table started laughing when we saw the title on the screen because we know how hard it is to sing.

This guy could give William Hung a run for his money. Public Service Announcement: Ricky Martin songs should not be sung with a heavy Romanian accent. They just don't work. And before someone jumps down my throat, Eros Ramazzoti songs should not be sung by Canadians, as we obviously cannot keep up and move our tongues around enough. The Romanians all sang it beautifully.

All in all, a very fun night.