Kostume Karaoke

For most people, singing in front of strangers requires a certain threshold for humiliation. But if karaoke grants a permission slip for people to make fools of themselves, Kostume Karaoke supplies another layer (or two) of self-mockery. Not only can you regale beer drinkers with an off-key rendition of Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana," but you can do it while sporting a pirate shirt and fairy wings paired with a pink wig under a miniature sombrero.

The ridiculousness takes place weekly on Wednesdays at alternating venues: along H Street at Little Miss Whiskey's and at U Street's divey Solly's, which transforms the back corner of the bar's second level into a stage. On a recent evening at Solly's, people hung out by the bar, seemingly unaware of the absurdity across the room where revelers in bright feather boas crowded the performers, pumping fists and singing Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart."

Costumes are required for performers, and attendees can either bring their own or choose from the vast selection of clothes, props, masks and hats on hand. It might sound a little daunting for karaoke newbies, yet there's something to be said for wearing a mask while attempting those high notes.

-- Stephanie Merry (Oct. 28, 2011)