GACK! (When the Jukebox “Ribbits” Instead of Sings)

You may have noticed a recurring theme of my having a cough and/or chest infection. I wish it were some kind of ploy to excuse crappy singing. It isn't. I am a fantabulous singer regardless of the malady! Just kidding. I did manage to get through two shows this season with said chest infection but Sunday, April 19th finally did me in – or rather I did it in.

Earlier in the week I had planned to cancel but by the middle of the week I was doing much better and the day of I was singing fine. Until I walked onto the stage. Having said that a two-hour show did actually occur and here's what was sung:

Act 1:

Bob Seger – Old Time Rock and Roll (I wore more than underwear)
South Pacific – Wash That Man (Sadly, to me this is always a shampoo commercial)
Dusty Springfield – Son of a Preacher Man (Yup, again)
Frankie Valli – Can't Take My Eyes Off of You (I just have a great memory of three guy friends of mine singing this at the top of a staircase)
Berlin – The Metro (I LOVE TERRI NUNN!!!)
Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes (This is more fun to sing when you picture the audience as hot dogs...and fill them with fear)
Bon Jovi – Livin' on a Prayer (I was almost half way there...ba dum bum!)
Regina Spektor – Fidelity (First time trying this out and I really liked it)
Journey – Don't Stop Believin' (Never, baby!)
Tosca – Vissi d'arte (Kiddies, if you've got a chest infection don't try this at home!)
Sir Mix-A-Lot – Baby Got Back (Yeah, you know it!)

Act 2:

Björk – Joga (Truly a gorgeous song)
Salt-N-Pepa – Shoop (I think they might have actually wanted The "Shoop Shoop" song)
Coolio – Gangsta's Paradise (Yup, ended up with "Amish Paradise")
Frames – Falling Slowly (Love this song)
Family Guy – Theme Song (Love the show - the song doesn't make much sense)
New Order – Bizarre Love Triangle (Just as long as it's not the Frente! version - ick!)
Helena Vondráčková - Sladké mámení (Will my pain never end?)
Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack - Tonight, I Celebrate My Love (I would have preferred to have done my Aaron Neville impression)
Aladdin – A Whole New World (Loved the movie at the time - the song, not so much)
Jesus Christ Superstar – I Don't Know How to Love Him (And I didn't...)

Medley:

Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse of the Heart
Captain & Tennille – Love Will Keep Us Together
Sesame Street – Theme Song
Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You
Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Natalie Imbruglia – Torn
Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
Le Nozze di Figaro – Voi, che sapete
Britney Spears – Hit Me, Baby (One More Time)
U2 – With or Without You
Alanis Morrissette – Ironic
Aneta Langerová – Voda živá
Madonna – Like a Virgin
Evita – Don't Cry for Me Argentina
Peaches – Fuck the Pain Away
Children's Song – Hokey Pokey
Weather Girls – It's Raining Men
Bob Dylan – Like a Rolling Stone
Shania Twain – That Don't Impress Me Much
Wham! - Careless Whisper
Cats – Memory
Christmas Song – Frosty the Snowman
Whitney Houston – How Will I Know
American Hi-Fi – Flavor of the Weak
Madonna – Material Girl
Erasure – A Little Respect
Schubert – Ave Maria
Man of La Mancha – The Impossible Dream
Czech Christmas Song - Půjdem spolu do Betléma
Traditional (American) – God Bless America
Christmas Song – The 12 Days of Christmas
Bananarama – Venus
Beatles – Twist and Shout
Tori Amos – 1,000 Oceans
Damien Rice – The Blower's Daughter
Madonna – Like a Prayer
Bush – Glycerine
Annie Lennox – No More “I Love You's”
Cher – Believe
Annie Lennox – Walking on Broken Glass
Styx – Blue Collar Man
Tina Turner – Simply the Best
Tori Amos – Crucify
Tom Petty & Stevie Nicks – Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
Frank Sinatra – New York, New York
Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven
Alicia Keys – Fallin'
Scorpions – Still Lovin' You
Heart – Alone
Limp Bizkit – Nookie
Salt-N-Pepa – Push It
They Might be Giants – Birdhouse in Your Soul
Dido – Here with Me
Joan Osborne – St. Teresa
Die Walküre – Hojotoho!
Porgy and Bess – Summertime
Traditional (Czech) - Sama královna
Czech Christmas Song – Narodil se Kristus Pan

One more show til end of season!

:-)

THE NIGHT OF THE LONGEST MEDLEY (From an Audience That was WHACK!)

Once again I apologize for taking my sweet time in posting the songs from Sunday, March 22nd's show. My crappy day reached it's nadir when the chair in my dressing room broke as I sat on it tossing me clumsily onto my ass on the cold, unfeeling floor. My butt really hurt :-(

However, the great butts always survive as did mine and the show went as follows:

SIKE!

To be perfectly honest I've managed to lose the sheet of paper on which all of the songs were written. Fortunately, the show was videotaped so depending on when my darling brother-in-law deigns to send me the recording I'll have those. But I'll tell you this – there was a hilarious moment when “Bear Necessities” from The Jungle Book was requested and due to my playing children's movies for my son in his father's native languages I could only sing it in Dutch. This is somewhat unfortunate being that I don't actually speak Dutch so could really only do some approximated version of what sounds like Dutch to me. The Dutch people in the audience assured me that my “interpretation” was not offensive but I am afraid they may have just been being polite :-P

On a positive note I do have the insanely long crazy-ass medley forms. So here's the longest medley I've ever sung:

Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven
Irena Cara – Fame
R.E.M. - Everybody Hurts
Lionel Richie – Hello
Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way
Bon Jovi – Livin' on a Prayer
Ricky Martin – Livin' la Vida Loca
Tosca – Nessun dorma
Meat Loaf – I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)
Weeds Theme Song – Little Boxes
Sesame Street – Theme Song
Cher – It's in His Kiss (Shoop Shoop)
Billy Idol – Dancing with Myself
Stealers Wheel – Stuck in the Middle with You
Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse of the Heart
Duran Duran – Hungry Like the Wolf
Steve Martin – King Tut
King Missile – Detachable Penis
Marvin Gaye – Sexual Healing
Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
Pet Shop Boys – Always on My Mind
Blondie – Call Me
Coolio – Gangsta's Paradise
Limahl – The Neverending Story
R.E.M. - Shiny Happy People
R.E.M. - Shiny Happy Monsters (Sesame Street Version)
Modern English – I'll Melt with You
Evita – Don't Cry for Me Argentina
Flight of the Conchords – Business Time
Aneta Langerová – Voda živá
Andrea Bocelli – Con Te Partirò
Die Zauberflöte – Der Hölle Rache
Johnny Cash – Hurt
Don Giovanni - Opening of Commendatore Scene
Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
La Traviata – Sempre libera
Metallica – Fade to Black
Weird Al Yankovic – Amish Paradise
Radiohead – Karma Police
Blur – Song 2
Michael Jackson – Bad (with Moonwalk)
Andrea Bocelli & Elmo – Time to Say Goodnight
Children's Songs – Mary Had a Little Lamb
Rod Stewart – Maggie May
Phil Collins – Groovy Kind of Love
Traditional (Irish) – The Wild Rover
Air Supply – All Out of Love
Electric Company – 1 – 12
Parisotti – Se tu m'ami
South Park – Uncle Fucker
Madonna – La Isla Bonita
Daniel Powter – Bad Day
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under the Bridge
Meat Loaf – You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)
Third Eye Blind – Semi-Charmed Kind of Life
Survivor – Eye of the Tiger
Jackson 5 – A, B, C
Starship – Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
Police – Every Breath You Take
Madonna – Like a Prayer
Cher – Believe
Billy Joel – Uptown Girl
Jewel – You Were Meant for Me
Damien Rice – The Blower's Daughter
Dido – Here with Me
Culture Club – Karma Chameleon
Chicago – Will You Still Love Me
Patsy Cline – Crazy
Britney Spears – Hit Me, Baby (One More Time)
Cheap Trick – Surrender
Boston – More Than a Feeling
Blondie – Heart of Glass
Erasure – Oh L'amour
Weather Girls – It's Raining Men
Celine Dion – I Drove All Night
Dusty Springfield – Son of a Preacher Man
Spin Doctors – Two Princes
Guns N' Roses – Sweet Child o' Mine
Tom Jones – Sex Bomb
Police – King of Pain
Friends Theme – I'll be There for You
REO Speedwagon – Can't Fight This Feeling
Nabucco – Va, pensiero
Mozart – Requiem (Dies Irae)
Chumbawumba – Tubthumping
Happy Days – Theme
Genesis – I Can't Dance
Children's Song – Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Ramones – I Wanna be Sedated
Kinks – Lola

And so was I tired? Honestly, not a bit. The show ran an extra 45 minutes over and I could have kept on keepin' on. It was a really fun night for me. Thanks! :-)

WHEN IS THE JUKEBOX NOT A JUKEBOX (But Is Still Kind of a Jukebox?)

Monday, March 2nd was a different kind of performance for me. I was asked to fill in for an indisposed featured performer at the Alchemy Reading & Performance Series - www.alchemy-prague.com

My task was to perform for 30 minutes and the rest of the night would be open mic for Prague's myriad talents. I decided that I really wanted to perform again a set I did a number of years ago that was non-HJ-related. I chose to sing five songs in five languages. Being that there would be leftover time and I still wanted to plug my show I thought I'd do an audience-constructed medley to cap the performance.

Here's what I sang (bear in mind I rarely select my own songs to sing so this was really fun for me):

ESPAÑOL – Jarabe de Palo – Romeo y Julieta
ENGLISH – Blues Traveler – Runaround
DEUTSCH – Herbert Grönemeyer – Der Weg
ČESKÝ - Aneta Langerová - Voda živá
ITALIANO – Andrea Bocelli – Con Te Partirò

Before I began I gave my songbook to the befuddled masses and instructed them to make me a medley while I was singing the above. They fantastically complied and here's what they came up with:

Medley:

Modern English - I Melt With You
Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes
They Might Be Giants - Istanbul
Sound of Music - The Lonely Goatherd
O-Zone - Dragostea din tei
Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
Kraftwerk - The Model
George Michael - Faith
Madonna - La Isla Bonita
Frank Sinatra - New York, New York
Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart
Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way
Billy Ocean - Loverboy
Dan Hartman - I can Dream About You
Bon Jovi - Runaway
Denis Leary - Asshole
Eric Carmen - Hungry Eyes
Journey - Open Arms
Metallica - Fade to Black
Das Rheingold - Weiche, Wotan
Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter
Tommy Tutone - 867-5309 (Jenny)
A-ha - Take on Me
Weird Al Yankovic - Amish Paradise
They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse in Your Soul
Irene Cara - Fame
Indigo Girls - Romeo and Juliet
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Don't Come Around Here No More
Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back
Salt-N-Pepa - Push It
Erasure - Bizarre Love Triangle
Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
Counting Crows - Mr. Jones
Black Sabbath - Iron Man
Limahl - The Neverending Story
Cheap Trick - I Want You to Want Me
Journey - Don't Stop Believin'
Porgy and Bess - Summertime
Alicia Keys - Fallin'

I had a fabulous time and was really happy to meet such friendly and enthusiastic people who came to an event expecting something totally different but more than went with the flow. Truly a great night for me.

Many thanks to Ken Nash, Selena Orkwis and Mike Cella for their interest and hospitality.

:-)

THE POST-VALENTINE'S DAY SHOW (For Saps and Haters Alike)

It has taken some time to get the details up for February 15th's show as I have been dying of consumption. OK, perhaps that's a tad hyperbolic but I have been gacking my lungs out for a month. At showtime I was merely mid-gack but somehow managed to make it through.

I was thrilled by the turnout (probably due mostly to Barbara Bindasová's kickass article - see previous post) but also nervous as performing in front of HJ first-timers and passing out is gauche. Fortunately, that didn't happen. Actually, it almost did but I'm not gonna fess up and say when. Suffice it to say the audience wanted the hard stuff and I did my best to deliver.

Here's what went down:

Act 1:

Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive (Had a friend going through a hard time that night - this was for him)
Rod Stewart - Maggie May (My personal fav Stewart song...um...not that's there's many)
Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart (I love getting a group of 5o people to go, "turn around.")
AC/DC - TNT (I have absolutely no idea why on Earth after 15 years of intensive classical training I can do an excellent Bon Scott)
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven (The older my son gets the harder it becomes to sing this)
Alphacat (aka Iman Crossman) - Whatever I Like (Obama parody of T.I's "Whatever You Like") (If you've seen the you tube video then it's the bomb diggity. I had the impression most of them had not seen it. They should rectify that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-yJBsjatW0 )
Irene Cara - Fame (Me: Remember my name: - The Audience: uh...fame)
Sound of Music - The Lonely Goatherd (Have I ever mentioned that I am unable to yodel?)
Hollies - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (I love love love singing this song)
Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacher Man (Two of my brothers-in-law are preachers. I don't want to get with any of their kids. This song is getting harder to do)
Helena Vondráčková - Sladké mámení (Don't EVEN get me started but can I just say...how many háčeks really need to be in every sentence of this song?!?!?!)

Act 2:

Proclaimers - 500 Miles (It's always fun to mock my countrymen)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge (I tried to get my Anthony Kiedis moves on but am afraid to have failed quite dreadfully)
Killers - Mr. Brightside (My friend Alasdair Bouch does a fab acoustic version of this)
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (I do believe that the audience truly wished for me to die in front of them)
Schubert - Ave Maria (Then they felt bad and asked for me to send them into a reverent state)
Whitney Houston - Where Do Broken Hearts Go (I always loved the roses in the video...like anyone cares)
Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back (Doing this in an evening gown never gets old)
Asia - Heat of the Moment (MUST find someone to go to Zlín with me this month to see Asia!!!)

Medley:

Bette Midler -Wind Beneath My Wings
Salt-N-Pepa - Push It
Limp Bizkit - Nookie
Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated
Blondie - Call Me
Salt-N-Pepa - Shoop
Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun
Fugeez - Killing Me Softly
R.E.M. - Nightswimming
Cure - Just Like Heaven
Family Guy - Theme Song
Traditional - Happy Birthday
Monty Python - Brave Sir Robin
Presidents of the United States of America - Peaches
Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
Madonna - Material Girl
Evita - Don't Cry for Me Argentina
Air Supply - All Out of Love
Bon Jovi - Bed of Roses
O-Zone - Dragostea din tei
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
Limahl - The Neverending Story
Journey - Lights
Starland Vocal Band - Afternoon Delight
Disney - It's a Small World
Loverboy - Working for the Weekend
Madonna - Live to Tell
Weezer - Buddy Holly
Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
Elton John - Can You Feel the Love Tonight
Beyoncé - Single Ladies
Tina Turner - What's Love Got to Do With It
Foo Fighters - Everlong
U2 - With or Without You
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Guns-N-Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine
Sound of Music - Doe, a Deer
James Blunt - You're Beautiful
Eddie Money - Take Me Home Tonight
Wham! - Careless Whisper
Madama Butterfly - Un bel dì
Children's Song - Wheels on the Bus
Christmas Song - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Don Giovanni - Opening of Commendatore Scene
Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise
Eric Carmen - Hungry Eyes
Grease - Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee
Phantom of the Opera - Think of Me
Moody Blues - Nights in White Satin
Journey - Don't Stop Believin'
Duran Duran - Rio
Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings
Bette Midler - From a Distance
Andrea Bocelli - Con Te Partiro
Das Rheingold - Weiche, Wotan
Bryan Adams - Summer of '69
Tom Jones - Sex Bomb
Children's Song - Itsy, Bitsy Spider
Erasure - Bizarre Love Triangle
Liza Minnelli - Come On, Get Happy
Bangles - Eternal Flame
Alex Lloyd - Amazing
Tom Petty & Steve Nicks - Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
Frank Sinatra - My Way
Bon Jovi - Living on a Prayer
Aneta Langerová - Voda živá

Many thanks to all who attended and the newbies who took a chance on a bizarre show!

:-)

PRAGUE DAILY MONITOR RECOMMENDS THE SHOW (And Interviews Me, Too)

I was honoured by a journalist from the Prague Daily Monitor at the beginning of February to be interviewed for a section entitled, "Do It." This made my dirty mind chuckle but it also made me really happy to know that an online publication was quasi-ordering people to attend February's show :-)

Heartfelt thanks to Barbara Bindasová for A) Coming to a show B) Enjoying it enough to write about it and C) This fantastic article - here's the link:

http://praguemonitor.com/2009/02/12/do-it-%E2%80%93-human-jukebox-can-she-really-pull-it

And here it is in full text form is you can't be assed to click on the above link:

Do It: The Human Jukebox. Can she really pull it off?

By Barbara Bindasová /

Prague Daily Monitor /

12 February 2009

The Human Jukebox brings more than a thousand songs. (COURTESY)

When onetime opera singer Gail Whitmore moved to Prague, she wanted to find a way to continue singing. She was looking for something that would be fun both for her and the audience, and preferably combining her love of classical pieces with her penchant for quirky 80s songs or rap. Since her friends often took advantage of her voice in combination with her photographic memory for lyrics and asked her to sing a variety of songs that came to their minds at parties, Gail realised this might be the way to go.

She started performing at the café/bookshop Globe about five years ago and last year decided to take her show a step further and opened performances at the Na Zábradlí theatre.

Now, all this might sound rather ordinary, but it really isn't. Gail Whitmore not only has an amazing voice but also takes advantage of her showmanship and bottomless sense of humour, which enables her to ridicule herself on stage, making her show exceptional and entertaining. I will never forget hearing the rap song "Baby Got Back" in her rendering. I didn't know the song before and even after listening to the original I doubt I will ever get enough of requesting it from Gail. So, if you choose to come to the show, the person asking for the "big butt song" is going to be me. Gail is half American and half Scottish, originally from New York City, and she has lived in Prague for the past 5 years. She studied singing at various institutions in the States and later sang with the New York Grand Opera Company for seven years at venues including the Lincoln Centre and Carnegie Hall. When the company performed all the operas ever written by Verdi in chronological order, they were included in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The way her show Human Jukebox show works is very easy: You take your friends, get the pre-show drinks at the theatre bar and discuss the songs you would like to hear. There is technically a list of some hundreds of songs but feel free to ask for anything that springs to mind because, as long as she knows it, she is sure to sing it. The only exception being songs of hate and racism. Gail Whitmore will entertain. (COURTESY)
The Human Jukebox is and is not a one woman show. You should not expect to be sitting down, leaning back and enjoying it. "There's no programme or set list. The audience controls 100% of the show," Gail explains. "For bolder people there are small instruments provided if they'd like to contribute rhythmically. And I'd love to hear more dialogue from people in regard to why they chose the song they did, and what it means to them," she adds. So be ready to interact, you are unlikely to get what you don't ask for. Sometimes you also need to be a bit pushy as many people want to hear their particular song to be sang and then another and then another. Therefore it's good to have the name of the song ready and just shout it out the moment the applause subsides.

And don't forget the medley at the end. During the intermission each member of the audience is required to write down a few songs on separate pieces of paper, and at the end of the show, Gail sings 10-30 seconds of each of the songs in a quick succession. Mozart is followed by Michael Jackson, then a little bit of Jingle Bells and November Rain by Guns'n'Roses.

I asked Gail what she thinks makes her show unique. " I think it's unique because it really does offer something for everyone. If you want legitimate singing - it's there. If you want to see me make an idiot of myself in an evening gown - I'll do it. And doing all of that back to back is just plain funny. Doing the show fulfils me in a way that surprised me at first. After abandoning the opera world I still have the opportunity to sing the pieces that I love so much. I also get to explore my inner rock star. And don't get me started on rap." So I did not ask her about rap. I'm saving that for Sunday.

The next performance of the Human Jukebox is this Sunday 15 February at Divadlo Na Zábradlí, Anenské náměstí 5 at 7pm. If you can't make it there are shows on 22 March, 19 April and 2 May.
Tickets cost CZK 200.
For more information visit www.the-human-jukebox.com or www.lidskyjukebox.cz

Barbara Bindasová is a staff writer and translator at the Monitor. She is a graduate student of literature at Charles University.
You can reach her at barbara@praguemonitor.com

SPIN INTERNATIONAL COVERS THE SHOW (I Know, Right???)

THE SPIN magazine is developing a new online global program asking international correspondents to create pieces consisting of videos, photos and live reports of their local music scenes.

I was ecstatic to have the Human Jukebox be the first of the Prague scene to be chosen. Matt Terrell rocked my world by coming to the show on Sun, Nov 2 and recording this video which can now be found on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-H2iEFyIlc

Thanks Matt!

Keep spreadin' the good word!

AND A FUN TIME WAS HAD BY ALL (Or So It Seemed)

From trying to determine what kind of assholes would mug Ray Davies or shoot Marc Cohn to why Robert Smith doesn't smile even when he's happy and why I'll never be Tawny Kitaen, last night's show was not to be missed. Unless of course you missed it in which case I'll try to catch you up here.

The big comeback after three years was supposed to take place last week but instead occurred last night. I'd been battling a chest infection and hacking cough the whole week and wasn't sure how I was going to pull off two hours of singing. But I was more concerned with re-entering the space where I saw my friend dead on the floor just a week prior. I didn't enter the theater in a good mood but after receiving loving sms's and calls from people who were on their way and snagging a giant Starbucks (I love it and I'm not ashamed...well a little ashamed...but that's neither here nor there) I went to my (kick ass!!!) dressing room and started to sing. After that I was good to go. I think sometime we just need to push ourselves ahead.

The lights were dim so I couldn't see jack. I do know that I don't think there was anyone I knew in the first row. That was cool for me because I don't know where they heard about the show. I was also really stoked that it was the largest Czech/Slovaki/Russian/Ukrainian turnout I've ever had. I asked at the beginning how people would like it to go linguistically - 50/50% EN/CZ or English and translating when it was called for? I got a general grumble (literally) and requests for English. At the end of the night I was informed that the people in the back didn't speak any English so now I know in the future not to ask but instead request a show of hands for those who may be too shy to participate.

The first act was as follows:

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again (I did not have a car as a prop)
Survivor - Eye of the Tiger (Not Jimi Jamison's Survivor but it'll do)
Schubert - Ave Maria (What's to be said about that?)
South Park (Eric Cartman) - Kyle's Mom's a Stupid Bitch in d minor (Yeeeeeaaaahhhhh...)
Journey - Don't Stop Believin' (Steve, I'm always single for you)
Cure - Friday, I'm in Love (It was Sunday so I was decidedly un- in love)
Jane's Addiction - Jane Says (Great one)
Prince - Purple Rain (Feels really weird without the heartbreaking guitar solo but still...)
Tracy Chapman - Talkin' About a Revolution (And damn are we ever!)

The second act went like this:

Aneta Langerova - Voda ziva (One of my favorite Czech songs)
Sir Mix-a-Lot - Baby Got Back (I said I retired it but I lied)
Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child of Mine (Amazing that after all that classical training I actually do a decent Axl)
Marc Cohn - True Companion (The great song I share with my baby daddy)
Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way (Can we just talk about how hot Lindsay Buckingham is?)
The Sound of Music - The Lonely Goatherd (No one wants to go to the zoo with me because every time [EVERY time] I pass the mountain goats I sing this. And don't stop.)
Shakespears Sister - Stay (Freaky ass video but you know I eat that shit up)
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (Probably the most exhausting song of the thousand - but always a blast to do)

And then there was the medley:

Frank Sinatra - My Way
Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You
Starland Vocal Band - Afternoon Delight
Bon Jovi - Livin' on a Prayer
Don McClean - American Pie
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge
No Doubt - Don't Speak (3 requests for this!!!)
Laura Branigan - Gloria
Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
Rolling Stones - Beast of Burden
Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Duran Duran - The Chauffeur
Puccini - Madama Butterfly - Un bel di (2 requests for this)
Alphaville - Forever Young
Andrea Bocelli - Con Te Partiro
Beatles - Twist and Shout
Boney M - Rasputin
AC/DC - TNT
Blondie - One Way or Another
Tom Jones - Sex Bomb
Air Supply - All Out of Love
Golden Girls Theme Song - Thank You for Being a Friend
Roxette - Fading Like a Flower
Bon Jovi - You Give Love a Bad Name
Tracy Chapman - Fast Car
George Michael - Father Figure
Irene Cara - Fame
Annie - Tomorrow
Christmas - Jingle Bells
Grease - Hopelessly Devoted
Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U
Weeds Theme Song - Little Boxes
Czech Christmas - Narodil se Kristus Pan
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Extreme - More Than Words
Cyndi Lauper - I Drove All Night
Billy Idol - Dancing with Myself
Blondie - Call Me
Alanis Morrissette - Ironic
James Blunt - You're Beautiful

It was an emotional night for me after having waited so long to do this again. I thanked them there but I'd like to thank in this space as well all of my friends from way back and people who supported the show years ago for hounding my ass and encouraging me to get back on the horse. And I'd like to thank all of my new friends - the ones I've met since giving birth who've never heard me sing and despite not knowing whether or not I totally suck have been behind me 100%. I'd probably still be curled up on my sofa in a comfy robe wondering where my life was going if it hadn't been for them. And then there's Joost.

And MAD friggin props to Matt Terrell from SPIN International for this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-H2iEFyIlc

So if a fun time was indeed had by all then please spread the word!

Many, MANY thanks!