Austinist Indieroke
Friday, July 25
The Mohawk (912 Red River)
11 p.m., 21+
[info]

Allow us to set the scene: you and your best girlfriends and/or bros are ready to get a liquored up, a little vocal, a little crazy. So you all pile into the van and head down to one of the karaoke rooms on North Lamar, bring in a Heineken mini-keg and hope for the best. The first in a list of disappointments is the song selection – mostly bygone hits, Helloween and chart-toppers from the Far East, and after warbling “Thunder Road” to your pallys, you get the big bill. Ouch. So at the end of the night, you’re right back where you started, which is singing The Smiths into a hairbrush, though you’re now poorer, hoarse, and the melancholy itch of “How Soon is Now” is ever more palatable.

Well, leave it up to us to present the antidote: Austinist Indieroke. Not only is it free, fun, and chock-full of cool folks and rock stars, but the list of tunes is unparalleled. At what other karaoke night can you find Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play,” Cheap Trick’s “She’s Tight,” The Velvet Underground, Built to Spill, The Cure, and yes, Morrissey? In case you were concerned, all of your sing-a-long favorites are here as well, from The Carpenters to Kylie Minogue, and Britney Spears to Sam and Dave. They’ve even got S Club 7 in case someone (god forbid) wants to play that card.

What’s more, prizes will be awarded to winners of Best Female Performance, Best Male Performance, and Best Duet or Group Performance. Golden-throated carolers stand to win everything from beers to free passes to future Mohawk shows, and six lucky runners-up will have their visages splashed across this website. Oh, and the professionals will be out in force, as well. Chris Simpson of Zookeeper and Mike Booher of Zykos are promising a duet that is “equally tough and tender.”

Indieroke starts at 11 p.m. in The Mohawk’s Green Room, but come on out early to catch the wizardry of San Antonio’s own Buttercup and Elsinore at 9 p.m. inside.

Austinist Indieroke: [myspace]
Karaoke Tracklist