Back to the Mic

Ever since I've recovered from my second round of COVID, in October of 2022 (and I use the word "recovered" loosely), I've had a persistent cough and my lung capacity has diminished. I've never returned to my old self.

I notice my lungs when I try to sing, which is often. I sing in the shower. I sing while emptying the dishwasher or cleaning the kitchen. I sing just wandering the house.

I love to sing.

But I'm no longer able to sustain long notes and when I inhale deeply to belt it out, I'm more likely to start hacking. This makes singing a challenge because there are certain songs that I like to sing that I can no longer sing as strongly.

A couple of weeks after returning home from Costa Rica, my coughing has worsened. I suspect that because of the early thaw in Ottawa, allergy season is hitting harder, sooner. 

Recently, I made some plans to meet a couple of friends for karaoke night, this Friday. Ever since one of my friends gathered the courage to sing to a crowd, he's wanted to do it as often as possible, and that's great. We look for various venues to try, rather than stick to one spot.

We've gone to a couple of breweries in Orleans, tried going to a popular spot downtown but it was reserved for a special event, and tried a place in Gatineau, in addition to our old usual spot, near Alta Vista. And this Friday, we're going to return to the place in Gatineau to try our luck again.

The first time that we went to Bistro Bar l'Original, on Eddy Street in the Hull sector, last December, we were told that karaoke started at 9:00 and so wanting to ensure that we got a table, we arrived almost an hour early.

The place was pretty much dead.

Apart from my three friends, there was the bartender, a couple of patrons gambling on some gaming machines, and the DJ. As 9:00 came around, our table was the only one with people singing. By 9:30, a couple came in: the woman sang one song and then they left.

Other people came and went, with only a few of them actually intent on singing a song before moving on. But it was my friends and I who were the main entertainment of the evening.

On a usual night of karaoke, I will get in three songs; possibly, four; rarely, five. But on this night at l'Original, I sang nearly 20 songs. When the place finally filled up, near midnight, I figured that I could sing some of the songs that I had sung at the beginning of the night, because only my friends, the bartender, and the DJ had heard them (the gamblers had moved on).

We stayed until after 1 in the morning.

We're returning to l'Original on Friday but we're not getting there until 9. We're hoping that this time, now that the weather is getting better, that more people will show up.

I'm also hoping that my cough is kept at bay and that my lungs will cooperate. If you're in the area and have no plans, and if you like to sing, come on out and join us.

If you're nervous about singing in front of a crowd, come early. There may be very few to hear you.