Anti-Karaoke BCN: August 22nd, 2011

By Jo Ashez.

Asking me to chose the A.K. performance that was my favorite from the evening of August 22nd is like making me pick which child I love most or which dessert is the most delicious. It’s simply impossible. Each performance has its own special charm and each performer brings something unique to the few moments they have on stage. For an incredible summer night at Anti-Karaoke, we expect nothing less than an astonishing show with an enthusiastic crowd and a few surprises. No better or worse, just three solid hours of awesome.

A great start to the madness tonight. Rachel, proudly rocking her Native American headdress, gave us a majestic interpretation of Paul Revere & the Raiders’ “Indian Reservation”.

I don’t know when I’ve seen a crowd surrender so completely during a song as this evening with Jen’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. Looking out at the almost 400 people in the club, all with their hands in the air, was an image I won’t soon forget. Definitely a highlight in her A.K. career.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” is a tried and true A.K. hit but tonight, Dani Metal brought his magical voice to Queen’s greatest hit and had the crowd in the palm of his hand. We’ve come to expect excellence from this Anti-Karaokean star and he delivered in full.

Another great vocal performance this week came from the lovely Lady Peonza. Her appearances at A.K. always stand out but she did an especially great job this Monday with my favorite Gossip song: “Standing in the Way of Control”.

I was completely floored this week by Solo’s song choice; it’s not every day that one of the Anti-Karaoke crooners picks a Nirvana cover to sing. He was very moving with his rendition of Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World”.

In a completely different register but equally impressive tonight was Drowning Pool’s “Bodies” provided by Lady Mouth. This lady is usually all performance art, costume and shock but this time she gave us a clean and straightforward performance that was brutal in its simplicity and in my opinion, one of her best at A.K.

Jade lightened up the mood in the club with her brilliant “Walking on Sunshine”. She’s what I like to call a “total performer”, offering not just her great voice, but also some booty shaking and that charming connection with the audience everytime she sings.

Rocko is another Anti-Karaokean star who is capable of showing us his soul on stage. Just when we think we’ve seen it all, he finds a new way to delight us. This time, it was with E.L.O.’s “Don’t Bring Me Down” that he made us fall in love with him.

In a slightly heavier register, Jordi Halford Català offered one of his best performances with Judas Priest’s “Hell Bent For Leather”.

And even heavier still, Prades gave a killer interpretation of System Of A Down’s “B.Y.O.B.”

Our favorite busty country singer/painter made an appearance tonight. Salvador Dalí Parton (Rachel) graced the stage with a brilliant interpretation of “Ring of Fire”, and unfurled her breasts the whole length of the club. Where else can you see something so absurd and sexy?

Los Célibes brought some sacrilege to the Apolo 2 stage with their performance of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”, starting with a passionate kiss, leading to a sassy dual striptease and an incredibly entertaining number.

I was thrilled to hear Blimunda singing “Angry Inch” this week. The diehard Hedwig fans couldn’t help singing along with her.

This evening, José Maria contributed an intense “Show Must Go On”.

The beautiful Marina made her Anti-Karaokean debut tonight with a great performance of The Killers’ “Somebody Told Me”. We hope to see you back at the show soon!

With the rock simmering within, Robert also debuted on the Apolo 2 stage with David Bowie’s “Heroes”. Next time, we’ll be ready for reckless abandon.

Mr. Eddie Harris is an A.K. performer who never holds anything back. On this occasion, he got the crowd going with Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name”.

At the halfway point of the show, Rachel delighted us with our weekly Jack Daniels shower and sang “New York, New York”.

Hana Monk gave a great vocal performance this evening with Black Crowes’ version of “Hard to Handle”.

Also impressing us with his voice tonight was Xavi Dimoni and his lively “Take On Me” by A-Ha.

We were happy to welcome Pauli back to Anti-Karaoke this week. She made her big comeback with Joan Jett’s cover of “Crimson and Clover”. She’s such a sweet performer and really knows how to connect with her audience. Great job tonight.

On the flip side of the A.K. coin was Whiplash with his massive “Chop Suey!” by System Of A Down. This was one of the first moments of complete chaos in the show and the crowd was ready for it.

Oscarzombie gave us another heavy metal moment with a powerful performance of Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People”.

Lion King surprised us tonight with his song choice: Janis Joplin’s intense hit, “Piece of My Heart”. We were not disappointed and we love it when he keep us guessing what his next performance will be.

The crowd went wild tonight for Johnny Destiny’s passionate version of Guns’ “My Michelle”. Killer performance.

The always irresistible Sevillanita got the whole club singing along with her dynamite “I Was Made For Loving You”.

Jorge debuted this evening with Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt”. It was a heartfelt moment in the show.

For some kitschy 80′s fun, Ennio From Rome danced his way into our hearts yet again with Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”.

Also bringing us back to the 80′s tonight was Luke & Leia, a spirited pair, who joined up to offer an entertaining performance of Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me Baby”.

Another great duet this evening was The Luxettes with “Hot Stuff”. Great voices and a fun performance, ladies.

Samurai Xavi brought some attitude with an A.K. favorite: Foo Fighters’ “The Pretender”.

Also a big crowd pleaser this Monday was Pirata del Caribe’s performance of Buckcherry’s “Lit Up”. He’s one of the best performers to sing this song.

One of my personal favorites in an evening with so many great moments, was Kenta’s “Whole Lotta Rosie”. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I know he’s got it. Amazing performance.

The show was nearing its end when Rachel hit us with an enormous “The Kids Aren’t Alright”, throwing out slices of Bimbo bread and revving up the crowd with the chorus.

The audience was ready for anything when Duro de Oído took to the stage with an energetic “Do You Remember Rock’n'Roll Radio?” by the Ramones.

Nearly inciting a riot tonight was El Idolo de Argentina with “Should I Stay or Should I Go”, sung half on stage and half while slamming into shocked crowd members. Anarchy in Apolo!