2008 Woodie Awards
Karaoke a.k.a. a Britney Spears "live" concert
Margo Huennekens
Issue date: 9/25/02 Section: News
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by Margo Huennekens
Loud, smoky, and absolutely hilarious are perfect words to describe Café Japoné, a Japanese karaoke restaurant. Even past midnight, the place is jumping with crowds of people wailing their favorite songs. If you are prepared for a night of raucous fun, Café Japoné is for you, but do not expect a quiet evening with your significant other: the singing of a large group of drunk people is deafening, and it is difficult to carry on any sort of conversation. The good news is that there is no need for conversation at all because the restaurant is so inherently fun.
Café Japoné offers a wide range of musical choices, and although the wait is sometimes lengthy, any number of requests are played. The best part of the karaoke atmosphere is that one person or an entire group can take the microphone and start singing, but most of the restaurant joins in as well. The effect of this camaraderie is overpowering, and the small size of the restaurant adds to the energetic feeling. No matter where you sit, you will undoubtedly be in the center of the action, and you will soon find yourself dancing in your seat. The restaurant is so loud that you can sing at the top of your lungs from your seat and no one will have to endure your horrible voice. Even if you would never subject anyone to your singing skills, you will be shouting along with the best of them and having a blast in the process.
Much of the experience of Café Japoné rests with your fellow restaurant-goers. Café Japoné has no stage, and so the singer is one with the audience. Another interesting feature of the restaurant is its rather odd choice of background video footage for the words. While one would expect a music video for the current song to be playing, Café Japoné instead sports random video clips, including a guy dancing in the street, a barn, a suburban house and a bikini-clad woman on a beach that borders on soft-core porn. While at first odd and rather unsettling, the video footage soon becomes just plain hilarious and an integral part of the experience.
Loud, smoky, and absolutely hilarious are perfect words to describe Café Japoné, a Japanese karaoke restaurant. Even past midnight, the place is jumping with crowds of people wailing their favorite songs. If you are prepared for a night of raucous fun, Café Japoné is for you, but do not expect a quiet evening with your significant other: the singing of a large group of drunk people is deafening, and it is difficult to carry on any sort of conversation. The good news is that there is no need for conversation at all because the restaurant is so inherently fun.
Café Japoné offers a wide range of musical choices, and although the wait is sometimes lengthy, any number of requests are played. The best part of the karaoke atmosphere is that one person or an entire group can take the microphone and start singing, but most of the restaurant joins in as well. The effect of this camaraderie is overpowering, and the small size of the restaurant adds to the energetic feeling. No matter where you sit, you will undoubtedly be in the center of the action, and you will soon find yourself dancing in your seat. The restaurant is so loud that you can sing at the top of your lungs from your seat and no one will have to endure your horrible voice. Even if you would never subject anyone to your singing skills, you will be shouting along with the best of them and having a blast in the process.
Much of the experience of Café Japoné rests with your fellow restaurant-goers. Café Japoné has no stage, and so the singer is one with the audience. Another interesting feature of the restaurant is its rather odd choice of background video footage for the words. While one would expect a music video for the current song to be playing, Café Japoné instead sports random video clips, including a guy dancing in the street, a barn, a suburban house and a bikini-clad woman on a beach that borders on soft-core porn. While at first odd and rather unsettling, the video footage soon becomes just plain hilarious and an integral part of the experience.