Although it’s a predominantly Asian pastime, I think if you did a survey on who loves or hates karaoke, you could probably end up with a 50-50 result and it doesn’t matter where you come from.

But since you’re reading this, you are probably swaying on whether or not to grab that mike and let it rip. You’ve maybe even sat in on a couple of sessions but you’ve resisted singing at all costs.

It’s easier for me to embrace karaoke since I’m Asian and it’s everywhere, but I’ve had to climb over my own hurdles of fear and embarrassment in the beginning. Perhaps I’ve shed a lot of self-consciousness over such things since my awkward teenage years, but I’ve come a long way from being a shy lass to a thick-skinned woman.

So, here’s some advice on how to be brave at karaoke:

Choose familiar songs. It could be a really old tune by The Carpenters or The Beatles, but if you can remember the music and some of the words, you’ve won half the battle. Don’t select cool, new songs because they are really hard to sing. Would you rather look stupid over a rap song or go slightly off-key with an old classic? The choice is obvious.

Have a few drinks. I always hear these stories about people who used to be so reluctant to sing at karaoke, but once they down a few shots, they’re turn into a karaoke animal. Liquid courage is your friend.

Partner up. This will take your shyness away by at least 80 per cent because if you don’t know the words, you can hide your uncertainty behind someone else’s voice. Nobody really knows who flubbed which lines when two people take over the mike. It’s also fun to sing with a buddy.

Laugh at yourself. Though some people are truly good at carrying a tune, most folks are mediocre (like you), so don’t worry too much about not getting it completely right. Joking while you’re singing is fun, but like most things that make you laugh, you can’t plan the punch line. Just go with the flow and relax.

What are you waiting for? Just do it.

Photos: b-chan’s world, stuartbuchanan, Loop’s San

My friends and I were all pumped up at dinner in an izakaya in Shibuya and went onto pocketing chu-his and beers for the train ride to “the middle of nowhere” (which means anywhere outside the JR Yamamote Line or central Tokyo).

Photo: Markiemarc

*These photos were not of the night I went and it was forbidden to bring in cameras. Unfortunately, the camera in my mobile phone kind of sucked, too, so many thanks to the great photographers at Flickr.

UK spinmeister Armin van Burren was spinning the main set and was slated to begin at 330am. The two DJs before him were excellent at working up the crowd to a frenzy.

Photo: switchstyle

The stage was massive and the main dance floor felt like two basketball courts. We did some exploring in the beginning — there were a couple of small rooms with alternative tunes and a spacious poolside bar that was absolutely rocking despite the stinging cold (people just bopped around the huge heaters erected around the water’s edge).

It’s been awhile since I heard such great music blasted from a top-notch sound system so it felt great to dance for hours.

…Till 430am. My body just shut down and I elbowed my way out of the heaving crowd to find a seat. I was kind of like this dude over here.

Photo: soleada

One useful tip for non-nocturnal animals like me: Don’t share a locker with anyone. You can’t return to the premises once you step out and the locker room is outside. I wanted to go home at about 530am but we couldn’t find the last guy who shared a locker with us until much later. With booze-addled brains and half-shut eyes, we stumbled around looking for our equally drunk friend.

Also, if you are clubbing in winter: make sure you bring along a warm coat. It may not look cool but you get to stash in lockers. I, for one, was a little too vain and was decked out in a short dress, a cardi and a thin jacket, which made me shiver my ass off and fall sick after my Ageha escapade.

There are shuttle buses that depart every half hour from Ageha back to Shibuya where most people can catch a train back home. The JR and metro start at 430am from Shin-kiba station so you can take off before dawn if you want to.

My take on Ageha: Fantabulous clubbing experience and you should at least check it out once if you are remotely interested in good electronica.

Last weekend I have been to the great SuperDeluxe club to attend the evening session of Pecha Kucha University Vol.1, a cooperation between the regular Pecha Kucha Night (organised by Klein Dytham Architecture) and Temple University. It was a very interesting night with so much input that I needed some time to get things in my brain in order to write about it. The overall topic of this first Pecha Kucha University was “Youth and Imaginative Labour: East Asia and Beyond”. There were in the fashion of the Pecha Kucha Night several speakers and every one of them had the time of 20 slides à 20 seconds (6min40sec) to present their idea, paper, research, whatever in connection to that topic. Most talked about various efforts to earn money with the internet, some were representing their favourite niche of youthculture and I didn’t really see the connection to the term “labour” all the time. But who cares, most of the prestentations were quite interesting and some very entertaining – like the one by a guy who was costumed as Goku from Dragonball. He came with a dancing crew of mostly male (!) cosplayers dressed in “moe” style who performed their dance two times – because of the great response from the audience… But there were also informative and rather academic lectures, all held by students from abroad (mostly Korea and HongKong). I wonder why there were no Japanese speakers?! Because the speech had to be hold in English, I guess.. the old problem.
After those presentations followed the screening of the fantastic movie Avalon, introduced by THE guru in the field of Japanese cinema, Donald Richie.
And as if all that wasn’t input enough there was a HipHop afterparty hosted by Zulu Nation Japan, with a Spoken Word performance by Marcellus Nealy and live painting by Rinpa Eshidan. I strongly recommend to have a look at their website – their work is amazing and they are something like “youtube celebrities” with one of their videos been watched more than 2 MILLION times.

As I said, this was Pecha Kucha University, not the regular Pecha Kucha Night, which is about architecture and design. If you are interested in that, going to SuperDeluxe club should be your plan for tonight, when young designers, architects and so on meet there again for another round of Pecha Kucha. And for all those of you who are not in Tokyo: Pecha Kucha Night has spread all over the world and you can attend it in more than 80 cities! All of upcoming events are listed on their website.

Come out this Friday night to Harlem in Shibuya !!!
This is a new event with exciting Japanese DJs, performance dancers, and stage dancers!!!

I will be dancing for the first time @ Harlem !!!

Hip Hop, R&B, and Reggae
Us dancers` theme is Miami, so the sexy and gorgeous dancers are up on the stage!

If you wanna have a fun night, come out to Harlem this Friday !!

Photo Courtesy of Seattle_roll

Gyōza is a Chinese dumpling, widely popular in Japan and Korea as well as outside of East Asia. This dumpling consists of a ground meat or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by crimping.

Gyoza is a standalone food. All you need is a bit of soy sauce and　ラー油　(chinese spicy red chili oil).

The Invite

Of course gyoza is even better with a nice hot bowl of rice and friends. So, if you are free on the 8th of July from 19:30 and live near Tachikawa, drop lhuga a line at Lhuga. Our plan is to reserve a table for ten at Gyoza 1059. Hurry, there are only four seats left.

Of course, beer will be consumed.

Technorati Tags: food, tokyo

Come out to the party @ Warehouse this Wed !
This is a weekly event hosted by Luire (women`s fashion magazine) and Def. Magic !

This week`s theme is “Shiny,“ so ladies come and dress shiny ^o^

As this party has become popular, we started to have many boys. That is cool, but Luire is a women`s magazine,
so we want more ladies !!! We will have a first night free for ladies.
If you get here before 1 ( the door opens @11), you will get free make-up, hair-set, and nail and
you will be photographed !!! If you are lucky, you might even be on Luire magazine for next month.

DJ Mayumi is the resident DJ here and we have more suprises for the night !
It is located just outside of the Gate 7 of Azabu 10-ban Oedo-line.
The club is called Warehouse.

Come early and get shiny !!!!

Are you a real party animal??? Don`t wait till the weekend!!! There are tons of exciting events during the week!
I have been helping out Underware from the very beginning. It is a special party that combines fashion, music, and dancing !!! Luire is a fashion magazine that focuses on Black fashion. This month`s key is Miami!!! My home !!!

On Wed 25th, Luire and Def. Magic present Underware collaborates with ANAP.
ANAP is a very popular female fashion brand. It`s cheap, colorful, and fashionable.
If you are one of the first 20 people( possiblly females only) you will get free ANAP nail polish!!
There is also a fashion show by Luire models !!!

The dooor opens at 11.00p.m., and 2,000yen to enter. If you become a memeber of Def. Magic
it is 1,500yen to enter. It is at Warehouse in Azabu10ban, just 3secs from the gate 7.
Azabu10ban is a station next to Roppongi on Oedo line!!

Come and enjoy the night with us !!!!

Please go on to www.defmagic.com/underware for more info( sorry, but all in Japanese ….)

Come out and dance all night @ Warehouse in Ababu10ban !!!!
This is a party that I am helping out^^
This Wed, I will be dancing as a party-up/go go dancer !!!
I won`t tell u, which dancer is me, but there will be a lot of sexy female dancers
on the stage!!!

Dj. Mayumi, the resident Dj of Warehouse is there too!!!

This is an event that takes place weekly on Wed night @ Warehouse.
The event is hosted by Luire and Def Magic.
Luire is a magazine that focuses African American fashion !!!
This is my favorite magazine !!!

It is 2,000yen/ID at the entrance, but if u go to the site below and become a member,
it is will discounted to 1,500yen/ID. It might be all in Japanese… in that case,
ask your Japanese friends to help u ^^

www.defmagic.com/underware
or
from your mobile
http://nalep.jp/defmagic/

If you need mor info, leave a comment and I might give u more discount !!

So I posted a blog last week about this new event on Wed night !
The opening night was pretty crazy.
The first part was only for the business people,
and after 12, general admissions allowed !!!
Even on the weekday, we had 700 people showed up!
The models on the Cat-walk was really exciting to see,
and there are three DJs spinning in the house.
My favorite is DJ. Mayumi and she is the resident DJ there.
Yeap, she is there again tomorrow night !

Tomorrow night is Underware with Carhartt !!!
Yeah, the famous street fashion brand !
The door opens at 11, and the entrance fee is 2,000yen with ID.
If u become a memeber of Def. magic, it is 1,500yen with ID.
U can become a memeber at this mobie site @
http://nalep.jp/defmagic/

If you want to know more about the party…
check at the official def.magic site…

http://www.defmagic.com/underware/index.html

I will be a part of this exciting event that will be new at Ware House.
There are not many parties on Wed nights, so for those people
who are looking for something new… this is the place to be !

It is a combination of events by Luire and Def MAGIC.
The first nights include some fashion shows as well!!

I am super excited, but it`s gonna be a long long night for me….

If anyone is interested… the door opens midnight for the general admission !!

If anybody is interested in this party….

This is @ Warehouse in Roppongi/Azabu10ban.
The first section is invitation only, but the second section is for the general addmission.
The second section starts @ midnight… yeah bit late…..
It is free to get in, but need to pay for your drinks !!!
Check out
PC Site ……www.defmagic.com/underware
Cell Phone Site ….. http://nalep.jp/defmagic/ It is all in Japanese… hope u guys understand some Japanese….

TEL 03-6230-0343
3 seconds from Azabu10ban Oedoline gate 7 on foot
10 mins from Roppongi Cross on foot