On the Seventh Day, there was Karaoke

The guy pictured on the right lacked the vocal range and any ability to sing on-key, but the Sunday afternoon crowd at Bearpit Karaoke in Berlin's Mauerpark vociferously cheered him nonetheless, if only for his bravado. 

Our hapless entertainer performed Elton John's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" from the movie "The Lion King", outfitted in a garish full-body length lion costume (held in his right hand) no less. He stripped that off to reveal leopard print underwear, then removed that well. The tactic was effective in distracting the audience from his unfamiliarity with the song's lyrics, to say the least. 

Started in 2009 by an Irish fellow named Joe Hatchiban, the Bearpit Karaoke now attracts over a thousand people every Sunday afternoon. They crowd around a small amphitheater to egg on brave souls who sing, dance, and otherwise let loose - in the hopes of becoming famous, perhaps?

I heard about this only-in-Berlin karaoke event the Boat Party, an expat gathering every Wednesday night at the coolest venue possible - a boat moored on the river. A Russian woman mentioned it to me in a conspiratorial tone as an "insider tip". Little did she know that the LP gives full details of not only the Bearpit Karaoke, but also the Boat Party.  


Regardless, after six days of visiting fascinating historical sights and taking various walking tours, free or otherwise (quick kudos to Alternative Berlin and Berlin Walks), karaoke sounded like fun and a chance to rest my tired legs.


Although it's safe to say that you won't be hearing about most of the performers anytime soon, a few of them were actually decent and deserved a hearty round of applause. Quite a few are tourists or expats, thus most of the songs are in English. Some regulars, like Detlef (2nd photo), are quasi-celebrities, and his rendition of "My Way" (in German, of course) is nothing but inspiring. 

Easily the day's best entertainment though, was an Aussie guy who brought the house down with his version of "Physical", Olivia Newton John's hit from thirty (!) years ago. Performing with much gusto, he even rolled on the stage to live up to the song's title. Perhaps he also heard somewhere that ONJ wasn't quite referring to a gym workout as she croons "Let's Get Physical", so he stripped down to his underwear later in the song. Alas, the short video I shot does not include this part, but check out the talent at Mauerpark below. 

(Viewers of this post on the Lonely Planet website have to click here since the embedded video won't show up).