Wedding Karaoke: The Final Frontier
Rachel and I attended a wedding at bar this weekend. Not the usual kind of bar wedding we attend - no hogs parked outside or tequila drinking contests involving the bride - but a rather nice affair. There were cab rides home at the end of the night stemming from the in-house microbrews and generous Sapphire & tonics, and nobody’s car was stolen while sleeping off the festivities. The food was quite possibly the best buffet ever spread at a wedding, and I can honestly say that I had good friends old and new to talk to all night. It was awesome on many levels.
But this, my friends, is not the primary reason for today’s entry. Scheduled for 9pm that evening was a Karaoke Hour. The news spread far and wide and my closest friends first thought of me and tales of the LAST wedding karaoke at which I stepped up, belting out - respectably, I might add - Ring of Fire. I was notified, I made preparations. I had committed to singing this song. It was my tribute to the happily married couple, the song of course being the June Carter ballad that Cash (with Carter Family Singers) took to new mariachi heights.
DJ to crowd: “Okay, Karaoke time is appraching. I’ll need about 21 people to fill the hour… at least 15…” (I didn’t understand this part.)
Me to bar-neighbor: “Well, time to finish this and go sign…”
DJ: “You know… Johnny Cash wouldn’t be appropriate, but anything else…”
Me: “[sigh]“
Was this a coincidence? Had the excited communications about Ring of Fire made their way to somebody in charge of such things as Karaoke Hour??? To my discredit (or not), I did not pursue. This was a wedding, after all, and the new couple deserved whatever time they wished to have. But damn.
After that, some arrangements for a minivan-cab were being made, and we had a timeframe to work within. Drinks were finished, belonging were found, goodbyes were said… The song playing the last time I walked past the Karaoke Hour stage? Jay-Z’s 99 Problems. If “I got 99 problem but a bitch ain’t one…” is an appropriate tribute, but “Love is a burnin’ thing… It makes a firey ring…” isn’t, then I give up. I may as have been intending to sing Cocaine Blues.
In any case, World, you are on notice: Expect a Ring of Fire when this Wedding Karaoke concept is revisited. It is, after all, the only song that celebrates my limited vocal range.
