I have always prattled on about how the Fringe is all about stepping out of your comfort zone and embracing new experiences. Well, I was so far out of my comfort zone here I might as well have been in another dimension.
The Massaoke, as it is more commonly known, is something of a Fringe institution for the late-night/drunk crowd. It's basically a big karaoke/disco party. A band plays, lyrics are projected and the crowd belts their lungs out while doing their worst 70s and 80s dance moves ...
Very much not my sort of thing, but very much m'pal's thing. We were late getting out of Tape Face so I was worried we weren't going to get there for the start - a mortal sin in my book - but fortunately they were running late too. We shuffle in ...
I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It helped I was with someone who was into it so that enthusiasm rubs off. I found myself singing along and EVEN DANCING (well, shuffling in place a bit). We sang the Grease Megamix and I did my best Danny Zuko impression. Lots of others ... quite good fun. Clearly there were plenty of people around us having a much better/drunker time but that's fine.
A word on the band - they were excellent. Clearly veterans at this sort of thing, the lead singer was dressed like Dave Lee Roth while the lead guitarist looked like Kiss but without the make-up. They were a very tight unit and highly entertaining.
A word on the bar - for a venue this moderate size, and the Spiegeltent isn't enormous but fills up when it's standing room only, a tiny bar squeezed into the back is just no good at all. I stood for over thirty minutes, missing half-a-dozen track and had only just managed to get close to the front when m'pal pulled me away. Put a damper on things.
Anyway, half a show just before the interval was enough for me so we left for a drink elsewhere.
It was good fun. It would be a blast if you were half my age, reasonably fit, pretty drunk and in a group of similar friends. As it was I enjoyed the bits I took part in and am pleased I experienced it. I won't be rushing back, certainly not on my own, but at least I did it and I'll take my victories, however small, where I can find them.
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