Hot Breath Karaoke, 17th November

Oh lordy, how can I ever go to normal karaoke again? Well, I probably will but it will be with a heavy heart when there is no prize-bestowing wheel to spin afterwards, or jingles, yes, there is no other word for them, to be played once I have spun the wheel and been awarded my prize.

This is another one from my personal bible – Time Out’s 1000 Things to Do. I’ve been trying to keep an eye out on when these irregular nights happen but always seem to just miss it. I almost did last weekend as well. You may recall that I said I was going to The Blitz party. Alas, it was not to be as I had no one to accompany me and perhaps, just perhaps, fate was dealing me a kind hand in order for me to make Hot Breath Karaoke instead.

Oh-so-fortuitously it was also being held in a pub just up the road from me which I thought looked nice but had never been in, The Lauriston. It said it kicked off at 9 so we got there for about half eight. I expected the pub to be packed but for the karaoke to be happening in a different room so that we might get a seat in there. I was wrong on both counts. The pub was actually only maybe half full and I went to grab a spare table with glee until I noticed some savvy people had reserved them. I know for next time. Also, the karaoke was taking place in the main pub area – there was in fact no other pub area for it to take place in. Just a little stage, with the wheel and Mike (I think that's his name) with his controls beside it.

The prizes this night were all the same – some of Mike's homemade maple syrup pumpkin pie. I’m not normally a fan of pumpkin pie but the addition of maple syrup piqued my interest and the baker also runs Coins Junkyard Snacks, a cart specialising in American type junk food at Netil Market. Having sampled the frosted flakes chicken nuggets from him before, I thought the pie would be worth a try, if only I could win it.

The premise is simple. You put your name down to sing. If you sing, you get the chance to spin the wheel and if you’re lucky it will land on ‘Winner’. Or ‘Free Booze’ (a shot). If you’re not so lucky it may land on ‘True or False’ and you will have to answer a simple question before you get a prize (the pie). If you’re unlucky you’ll land on ‘Loser’ and have to resume your seat empty-handed.

It’s surprising how much fun this addition makes karaoke, on top, of course, of all the silly songs and cringey singers. I probably graced the stage far too much, as I got progressively more drunk. I think my highlight, or perhaps low point, was singing Barbie Girl by Aqua with my friend. Not something I will be repeating, however. But I’m happy to say I did win a slice of pie, complete with whipped cream and it was delicious. I would love to get my hands on some more.

bad photo of good pie

In between songs our esteemed host plays filler music which is more ‘killer’ than ‘filler’ and which got people dancing in their seats, or standing up depending on where in the pub they were, and the pub certainly got pretty busy by the time the karaoke was in full swing. If you didn’t get your name down early, you might have ended up without even a chance at winning some of that pie.

I would love to come back to Hot Breath Karaoke. It’s really good fun – as long as you bring some people who are up for having a laugh and don’t mind making slight fools of themselves in public.

The people behind HBK do other nights as well and I think I’m going to head to the next one that is coming up – the VHS video pub quiz!