Poshdeluxe

michael jackson: thriller

you guys, what did i DO on thursdays before henri invented sing-alongs? i mean, HOW DID I LIVE?

last week, i attended TWO sing-alongs, both of which ended up being super super awesome (duh).

wednesday night, henri hosted a michael jackson sing-along, which was actually the first sing-along i ever attended. that show is made even MORE historic by the fact that it inspired meredith and me to create the famous Dance Toll, which is now recreated at clubs across america. by us.

wednesday’s show featured an extra layer of awesomeness, cos henri has joined up with “thrill the world,” a campaign to create a guinness world record for the most people performing the “thriller” dance. i haven’t thought of the guinness world book of records in AGES, but i was totally *obsessed* with it as a child. i remember poring over the photographs and feeling simultaneously reverent and repulsed… except for the “longest fingernails” winner. that’s just plain G TO THE ROSS. the world does NOT need that kind of record.

anyway, henri actually flew ines, the girl who created this idea, down from canada so she could teach us the dance after the show! and there was even a “make yr own MJ glove” table!! I HEART CRAFTS!

check out heather’s BEDAZZLED glove.

here’s erica and chris, doing their best Magician, i mean, Illusionist impression.

ines was a really good instructor– you can tell she’s been doing this for a while, cos the girl is a dance pro. here she is, teaching us a v. v. important michael jackson move: the crotch grab.

all of a sudden, boba fett showed up at the dj booth!

i’m sorry to say i have no explanation for this, other than maybe bounty hunters just really dig “smooth criminal.”

during henri’s second reprise of the MJ sing-along, we tried to teach ourselves the thriller dance (i supplemented our practice with a couple viewings of “13 going on 30,” cos i’m such a studious pants), and guys, it was hard! i mean, that whole arm thing is pretty easy, but when it gets to the turns and the order of things, i get confused. consequently, it was pretty amazing to see this room full of people effortlessly learning how to dance like zombies.

here’s a video of the beginning of our lesson:

the middle:

and near the end:

that is SOME progress, yeah?!!!!! by october, when “thrill the world” actually happens, austin is gonna be, like, the number one thriller-ing city. we’ll be so good, we’ll even make michael jackson cry, which, you know, is probably not that hard to do, actually.

anyway

thursday night was the third new wave 80’s sing-along, which has turned out to be one of the danciest, funnest shows in sing-along history. you CANNOT SIT STILL during this show. i mean, who can resist the synthy excitement of “just can’t get enough” or the bopping beat of “take on me”? no one can. NO ONE. like even skeletor would shake his thang if he heard “bizarre love triangle,” am i right?

for last week’s show, i decided to have a make-up party (make-UP, not make-OUT, just to be clear, since people had this strange tendency to mishear me whenever i talked about it, AHEM henri), and we got totally new waved OUT!

here’s ines, creating a flock of seagulls masterpiece on henri’s head.

teresa went for the popular “blue & pink” combo, which were pretty much the only two shades of make-up i knew about until i was in the eighth grade.

i was inspired by the two girls (dancers? actresses? props?) in the flock of seagulls “i ran video,” which provided the perfect compliment to henri’s hairdo.

why yes, i AM launching my own cirque du soleil show, entitled “gotika.” it shall feature SPIDERWEBS and BATS and GRAVES…on trapezes… in SPACE! and with cupcake juggling, cos, you know, it’s me. but the cupcakes will be BLACK. BLACK AS DEATH.

seriously, though, i think i created a pretty good replica. see for yrself:

when michael and christie walked in, i said, “you guys look great!” then christie giggled, “uh, we’re just wearing our regular clothes.” ahh, hipsters. you gotta love ‘em!

erica and amber both went for the blue theme, with erica sporting some particularly divine eyeshadow.

amber wore her AWESOME! YELLOW! REEBOKS! which i totally covet. except i’m so anal, i’d probably never wear them for fear of contaminating them with dirt. which is actually, now that i think about it, the least objectionable item found on the pavement of sixth street.

the new wave show is SO packed with goodness, people freak out at the beginning of EVERY SONG. you totally feel like you’re a concert, cos people are like, “OMG! I LOVE THIS SONG! I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY’RE PLAYING THIS SONG!” (by the way, i do this all the time. even when i’m listening to a cd… that i made). and then they stand up and squeal like this:

i have never seen a bigger (straight) erasure fan than teresa. the girl LOVES her some erasure. here’s what she did when “oh l’amour” came on.

sing-alongs have made me realize that i basically haven’t aged since i was eight years old. i still LOVE to sing my heart out to my favorite music and dance like i’m on crazy pills (except now i jump on the stage instead of on my bed) and dress up in costumes and smear tons of glitter and make-up on my face.

the only difference is that now, I DON’T HAVE A BEDTIME! which means, late at night, on thursdays, you can always find me at the alamo, dancing and singing and looking like an eight year old who was left alone with a bag of walgreens make-up and a case of nerds candy.