2020-01-02 - Pourhouse Karaoke: January 2nd

Mariah is seated in her back corner and working on the books. Just listening to Hank for the moment. Though when the song starts to play there's a look up and she looks...disturbed for some odd reason. Hank, no!

Lyric is at the bar drinking something orange and delicious as she cheers on Hank and is always interesting opening number. When it ends, she applauds him then whistles happily, enjoying the music.

One does not simply miss the Karaoke Night, and so, Scott is here as well. He moves over to the bar, offering a grin as he looks to the stage, letting out a bit of a cheer for Hank's performance. He waits for a few moments with the ordering of his drink, listening for now.

Hank, yes! Rhys has shown up slightly early and claimed a table with a nice view, and he's most of the way through his first beer when the first notes of the song ring out. It's not hard to recognize, considering, and he laughs, then gives Hank an approving whistle and leans back in the chair to watch while polishing off that drink. There is definite approval of the shirt move, since it gets a laughing cheer. Clothing sacrifice is true commitment.

There's a very good chance that Sparrow arrived early. Her name's already in the book, her coat's already shed and she's already got a drink in hand as she cheers Hank on from her chosen table, shared with Rhys, plenty of other open spaces around them. Tonight, she's all in black and white with flashes of aquamarine: black jeans, black boots with bright laces, black-and-white striped shirt with one lazy shoulder revealing a matching bra strap below, and muted make-up which favors her dark, expertly drawn cateye. One of the pendants she wears hanging down over her shirt is a skull and crossbones, the other a silver coin. A third chain, silver itself, disappears beneath the shirt. Her very, very red head bops between sips as she listens.

Stephanie doesn't get out of the house often outside of work and seems to struggle getting in touch with people, but one of the things she loves to do is to go out and sing karaoke. The Pourhouse is her go to place to unwind so when she learns that karaoke is starting back up, she makes her way there, dressed in her red sweater and dark blue skinny jeans, her black leather bomber jacket over the whole outfit. She quietly records her name and her song choice (What About Now by Daughtry) in the book before eyeing the bar and heading over in that direction to order herself a drink.

Into the Pourhouse comes Yule, his long, navy blue coat covering up most of the white button up dress shirt and the black slacks that he wears. While his brown gaze slips around to glance over the crowd that has gathered tonight, it's a pointed direction towards the bar that he heads. Once there, his order is placed, a neat scotch in a tumbler that is slid over to him. Fingers curl about it, his hip bumps up against the counter, and then his full focus settles upon the current singer up on stage.

Hank goes back to talk to Mariah, ruffling the womans white blonde hair as he laughs at something. She pokes him with her pencil before he heads back up towards the stage and watches Sparrow. The woman then goes back to paper work and sipping from her water as she listens to the songs that come up.

Stephanie finds herself seated at the bar, the long island iced tea she ordered finally in her hand, watching the performance in front of her. "Not bad," she comments casually to no one in particular, though it was loud enough for anyone seated at the bar to hear her. She does the bulk of her socializing at the Pourhouse so she tries to put herself out there more while she has a drink in hand.

A small snort of amusement comes from Yule as he catches that smirk, and up his glass is lifted in a gentle salute towards the singer before he takes a small sip from it. The M.E. drags out his phone, checking something on it before fingers tap out a reply, before those brown eyes settle upon Stephanie for a long moment. "Yeah? The karaoke or the iced tea," Comes the light quip towards the woman, fingers curling around his phone to slip the hand into the pocket of that long coat he wears.

Rhys gives his tablemate a broad grin when her name is called, and makes a right-this-way sort of hand gesture toward the stage as if he were going to lead the way, which he most definitely does not. He needs to get his drink refilled, which is what he uses the pre-song moments to do, settled back in to sip it and watch. As the music starts, he catches the sound of it and the wink, and grins right back at Sparrow, lifting his glass in a brief and silent toast as she begins. Little bit of head-bobbing as it goes, and a faint sense of... waiting.

"Both, the bartender's been generous with the booze in my drink and the song's all right," the brunette paramedic quips in response to Yule. She raises her glass to him and simply introduces herself. "Stephanie. I'm not sure if we've met, I tend to socialize a lot with a drink in hand."

Scott smiles as he listens now, after making his way over to put his name and a song choice down. Heading back to the bar, he takes a few moments before he orders himself a drink. "As always a good night for this kind of thing," he comments.

"You saying that's why you are talking to me, or if that's why you don't recall if we talked before?" Comes Yule's retort back to Stephanie, but his head dips into a small nod of introduction as he confirms that indeed, they've not one into one another before. "Yule Duchannes." His tumbler is raised likewise in a gentle salute towards the woman, though those brown eyes remain mostly upon the stage. Once Sparrow is wrapped up, a hand lifts, two fingers placed between lips to give a loud whistle of appreciation for the bright red head.

Nicole walks in at some point while Sparrow is on stage. She is bundled up in a black winter coat that looks somehow both poufy and form fitting, along with a pair of dark jeans and some black hiking boots on her feet. A purple knit wide band keeps her hair tamed and her ears warm. The matching gloves on her hands keep her digits warm as well. Before she can even take off the gloves, she applauds in muffled thumps. "Woo!" She's barely entered the bar, but she knows talent when she sees it.

Jade arrives on a cold winter breeze with Thewlis at her side. She's holding his hand and smiling up at him with a murmured, "Lets see if they'll accept my request." She flashes a grin up at him, "Should be interesting, right?" Tonight is socializing night for the couple! She has an accoustic guitar slung across her back, perhaps hoping do karaoke a bit different than normal. Turning towards the room, she glances around, then grins, "Oh hey, there's Yule!"

"More like I can't recall if we've talked before...I'm really terrible at this socializing thing, especially sober." She shrugs, a playful tone in her voice as if she is making fun of herself for it. "Stephanie Tremblay," she adds her last name this time after cheering for the end of the song and Sparrow's big finish, "I've lived here my entire life and yet somehow manage to not really know that many people. It's nice to meet you, Yule." She extends her hand out to him for a handshake.

"Yeah, I-hi-ihhh-it should." Thew notes "Muh-ma-maybe... join. On. Join, stage. Juh-join on stuh-hage... one of these days." looking when she greets Yule, Thewlis manages to raise his head a moment, his hat being pulled off slowly and jammed into a jacket pocket. He is, unashamedly, using Jade as a shield of sorts from the crowd, clinging near her for comfort.

"Seems like you are managing ok... or pull of acting sober while drunk better than most," A faint flicker of a smile comes from Yule, his hand extending out to take Stephanie's own in a warm shake, one that is firm but doesn't linger. "Yeah? Lot of people come and go, and many? Just like to keep their heads down I suppose." It's only the use of his name by another that has his head poking up, looking around until he spies Thewlis and Jade, and up his drink lifts towards them in a silent greeting to the couple before it's brought back down for another sip.

Lyric applauds for Sparrow, cheering and whistling before patting Scott on the shoulder then heading up to the front and taking up the mic in her hand. She gives him the song she is singing and once it's ready she grins out to the crowd of people as she waits for the music to start before jumping in at the start!

"It used to be fun was in
The capture and kill
In another place and time
I did it all for thrills"

"Love me and I'll leave you
I told you at the start
I had no idea that you
Would tear my world apart!"

"And you're the one to blame
I used to know my name
But I've lost control of the game
Cause even though I set the rules
You've got me acting like a fool
When I see you I lose my cool"

"Lust to love
Was the last thing I was dreaming of
And now all I want is just to love
Lust that turned to love."

Rhys is there for Sparrow on the audience participation sections, along with most of the other people who clearly chose tables for karaoke-watching purposes more than merely drinking ones, happily chiming in through all the Gloooooria!s. The drink's set down to clap properly when she finishes up. A whistle from that quarter too, though it doesn't compete with Yule's, lacking the power of the fingers. Alas! He glances over to give Lyric a grin and encouraging little upnod when her name is called.

"The night is young, and I haven't really started yet," Stephanie told Yule with a grin after their handshake. "As far as people, I struggle to keep up with the revolving door of people. I tend to enjoy keeping my head down, unless it's work related and someone's dying."

She notices Nicole from a distance and tries to see if her hairdresser and former classmate would wave to her.

Sparrow's wired by the time she's off-stage and... well, not beelining back to her seat despite the brow-waggle turned toward her tablemate. Instead, she cuts through the crowd toward Nicole to pounce the woman with big hug and a kiss pressed firmly to her cheek. "Hi! We're, uh." Blink. She points back to the table where Rhys is. "Over there. Except Mr. Bond who--" She points to Yule by the bar. Should he happen to catch it? She may well smile all dopey and sweet his direction. "--is right over there. I'mma--" She doesn't even finish the sentence, already releasing in full to start back to her seat with every intention of collapsing back in beside Rhys to cheer on Lyric's performance and catch her breath and drink her beer.

Jade grins up at Thewlis and nods, "That would be good. I can't say I'm much of a singer, so having someone that is is always nice." She lifts a hand towards Yule in return greeting, then edges around with Thewlis to find themselves a seat somewhere, glancing about here and there to see if she recognizes anymore faces. Once they're settled, she presses a kiss to his cheek and murmurs something into his ear before popping up and heading over towards Hank to put in her request.

"Yeah? Well, I suppose I just have to make up for the lack of conversation I get from my work," The bemused tone of Yule speaks volumes, only to hint at what his own work might be. "Keep coming to these nights, though? And you'll be tripping over friends. If you can remember who they are, that is." A ghost of a smile flickers to his features, those brown eyes cutting across the crowd as the big, glomming hug is exchanged between Sparrow and Nicole. That smile grows momentary broader, a wink flashed towards the drummer before his focus settles back upon the stage as Lyric ascends.

Stephanie let out a small chuckle. "Aside from my random karaoke night appearances, I only tend to do the music thing for myself, really. But I guess maybe I should focus on drinking less and making friends, since there's no shortage of people here that I don't have to resuscitate or rush to the hospital." A random, intoxicated cheer is let out as she finds herself at the bottom of her first glass, contemplating another.

Scott smiles, listening to Lyric's song now. Taking a sip from his drink, he glances around at the other in the room, offering nods and smiles to those he knows.

The music continues to play and Lyric dances to it in girl band fashion pretty much like the Go Go's did it. Idols!

"That was when the fun was in
The capture and the kill
In another place and time
I did it all for thrills."

"Love me and I'll leave you
I told you at the start
I had no idea that you
Would tear my world apart."

The music winds down with the last of her words and she replaces the mic down on the thing and takes a playful bow before leaving the area and going back to her seat at the bar with her orange colored drink, offering Scott a fist bump as she gets there.

https://youtu.be/wPHtgScpgsc

Sparrow claps up a storm for Lyric as her song comes to a close, hooting out a cheer before returning to her drink. Which means she almost chokes on her beer when Hank announces Rhys' song selection. Almost. It's a very near miss that has her eyes watering before she gets that swallow down, a rough laugh to follow as she tells him, "Sounds like a challenge!" She lifts her glass again... and then decides against it for now. To be safe.

"Plenty of opportunity," The M.E. agrees with a touch of amusement to Stephanie, and once Lyric's song concludes, another whistle is tossed her way to show his appreciation for the efforts. His scotch is finished, the last of that lovely, amber liquid drained way, and down Yule's tumbler is placed, slid over to the barkeep. A few bills are pulled out of his wallet, tossed down to pay plus an ample tip. "Not that some of them won't ask for mouth to mouth even though they don't need it." A faint smile it tossed her way, and in between songs? It's Jade and Thewlis he watches with a moment of utter curiosity.

Yule receives a partially grossed out look from Stephanie before she returns his smile as she sets her own glass down on the bar and the appropriate payment, the effort made not to ask for another just yet. "Will you be gracing us with a song this evening, sir? Looks like all the cool kids are doing it," she said playfully, the amount of alcohol consumed was just enough to loosen her up without making her act like an idiot.

Nicole smiled as Sparrow hugged and kissed her cheek, returning both gestures. "You were great, of course," she says, before the red head bounces away. Watching her flee is when Nicole spots Stephanie, and she gives her client and friend a wave back then a smile and nod for Yule, of course. Finger by finger she pulls off her gloves and watches Lyric next, applauding after the performance is over and finally looking around for a place to sit. "Ooh. Go Rhys!" she calls out when his name is announced.

Thewlis raises his hands to clap for Lyric, but quickly clams up and moves to get drinks for Jade and himself, huddling up to the bar, slipping a piece of paper on the bar. Hands folded, head down, waiting for Jade while she puts in her request.

Request in, Jade grins and heads back to find Thewlis, missing him at the table then locating him at the bar. Chuckling, she moves along to rejoin him, leaning in against his side and smiling up at him. "Doing okay so far?"

A small snort of laughter comes from Yule, a side long glance cast towards Stephanie as he murmurs, "Me? If there is one thing I can't claim to be these days, it is most certaintly," A beat of a pause, and then he concludes, "a kid." His smile returns, a soft and sincere thing cast towards the man who trundles up to place the order for himself and Jade, "Hey, Thewlis." Once more his phone is tugged free, the screen flickers to life, and a low 'mmm' comes from him. "Besides. Only stopped in briefly. Good luck with the whole socializing thing, Stephanie. And if it doesn't work? Get another drink and try, try again."

Rhys lifts a hand to Sparrow in 'gimme five' style as she returns to the table, giving her a brilliant grin. "Nice," is what he has to say about the performance, and Lyric gets a an enthusiastic reception before Hank announces he's next. "Whoops," he murmurs, and finishes what's left of his drink as he rises. May regret that when he gets back!

He strolls the distance to the stage, giving Hank a grin as he takes the mic and walks up onto the stage proper. "'The Thong Song'," he says, shaking his head. "Tch. C'mon, I'm all about the classics here. Am I really the kind of guy who's gonna come up and sing something so blatant and unsubtle about a woman's feminine charms?" he asks the audience, doing a decent 'wounded', hand against his chest. Another small shake of the head, and a deep sigh, and he settles into a singing stance and gives the 'hit it' point toward whoever's currently operating the machine. There's probably two beats of intro silence as the machine counts the song in, just long enough for a sudden wicked flash of a grin before he and the accompanying voices come in all together:
"Aaaaaaare you gonna take me home tonight?
Ahhhhhh, down beside the red firelight?
Aaaaaaaaare you gonna let it all hang out?
Fat-bottomed girls, you make the rockin' world go 'round!"

"Leaving so soon?" Stephanie pouts slightly before adding, "I enjoyed your company, as brief as it's been. Maybe we can do this again without the loud music and the booze?" Her confidence was at an all time high, likely because of the drink. "And don't worry, I'm hardly a kid myself. But thanks for the vote of confidence and the pep talk."

"Afraid so. Duty calls. And that depends on if you plan to leave your lurking, head down habits sometime when it isn't karaoke. You can always find me hanging out at the morgue." With that ever so morbid bit of humor left out there, Yule flashes another of those brief smiles to Stephanie before he turns, heading through the crowds and towards the door, stepping out into the crisp, winter night.

Thewlis bobs his head and leans back against to Jade, about to reply to Yule when he heads off, and then motioning when two very large, colorful drinks are set before he and Jade, "St-st-rahhw-berry... Mango Mah-m-muh-margarita..." he offers Jade her smile before sliding her drink closer to her while lifting his up, to give a little toast.

Sparrow, who has eschewed her own drink for the moment, lest it find its way toward her sinuses again, plucks up Rhys' all-but-empty glass when he leaves the table to make toward the stage, tasting what little's left at the bottom. The little wobble of her head suggests some measure of approval. She follows it up with a sip of her own, though, so who knows. Lips part like she might call something out in answer to the rhetorical question turned to the audience, but those seconds tick past without her interjection. Not until after the first few notes are past the singer's lips, the song selection earning a hoot and rat-a-tat foot stomp below the table from the redhead.

Stephanie simply watches as Yule walks away before heading over towards Nicole and Sparrow were, to attempt to socialize some more. "Hey, Nicole," she greeted her hairdresser with a smile. "I finally made it out to one of these again. It's been a while." She is speaking to everyone in the group.

Scott is unable to hold back a grin as he listens to the song, nodding along as he sips his drink now. "Good choice," he offers, after a few brief moments of pause.

Sparrow only looks away from Rhys' performance for a second or two when Stephanie comes over, waving as she offers, "Sparrow. Hi!" That same hand gestures toward some of the empty seats at their table as her gaze goes stageward again, her smile ear to ear. "And the pretty boy with the pipes is Rhys." Another flicker of a look toward the stranger, and she asks, "Are you making it up there tonight?"

"Yeah, I am definitely going to do a song tonight. I'm been trying to put myself out there more...I missed the open mic but I couldn't miss this!" Stephanie replied to Sparrow. "Stephanie. Trying to be more social. I swear I'm not a hermit. Just awkward sometimes." She smiles. "Your friend up there has great taste in music."

Rhys is an acceptable though definitely not amazing singer, but if he can't truly emulate Freddie Mercury's pipes, he can definitely strut and not-fret his four minutes upon the stage. It's a lot of swagger to fit into a dude his size, but he's clearly of the 'if you're gonna do it, commit' school of thought, and he's putting feeling in those lyrics, absolutely none of it any kind of shame. There's growls and hip-thrusts and throwing back of the head, timed appropriately, though clearly for humour here and there. Several audience members, Sparrow among them, get sung to directly at various points, and when the choruses kick in, he invites the audience to chime in as well, microphone pointed their way to pick more of it up. At the very least, he's obviously having fun, down to the very end, the dancing to the last few strains of the outro turning into a bow on the very final note before he straightens up, grinning broadly at the audience again, and saunters off to hand the mic over to Hank on the way back to his table.

"He's got great taste in a lot of things," Sparrow says of the guy rocking Queen up on stage. With a smile turned toward Stephanie, she teases, "And announcing your awkwardness is definitely awkward," good-naturedly. When her attention's back on Rhys, that delighted focus diverted only momentarily, she notes, "I was hoping to make it to open mic night, too, but." Shrug. She obviously didn't make it either. "So. Are you a friend of our very handsome medical examiner?" She's right there when it's time to sing the chorus, belting out the familiar refrain from her seat, and when Rhys returns to the table, she tips his direction and tells him, "I'mma take you home tonight, Mr. Evans," as if the question had been very literally asked of her.

Stephanie shrugs good-naturedly at Sparrow regarding her awkwardness before casually watching the redhead's reaction to the performer who had just finished. When asked about the medical examiner, she says, "Oh Yule? No, we just met tonight. Both of our lines of work don't always line up with a decent social life, it seems." After a pause, she adds, "You did a great job earlier. There are some tough acts to follow here."

Scott applauds for Rhys, offering the man a grin, before he hears his name called. Getting to his feet and moving over to get on the stage, taking the mic, he smiles a little. "You know, it always gets hard to pick a song for these events. Can't do the same style each time, right? So, I decided to go with one from a film..." Nodding to indicate he's ready for the music to start, he looks out into the crowd. Letting the relatively soft guitar music start, before he sings. "And dance, your final dance. This is your final chance. To hold the one you love, you know you've waited long enough..." A brief pause, before he continues, "So believe that magic works, don't be afraid of being hurt. Don't let this magic die, the answer's there, just look in her eyes... And make your final move, don't be scared. She wants you to. Yeah, it's hard, you must be brave. Don't let this moment slip away..."

From outside the rumble of an engine nears and cuts out. A long pause separates that from the door opening and the tall, dark brooding brute holding open the door. With his other hand he flicks a cigarette outside into the snow, and then ducks in, letting the door close behind him. A quick glance around the premises, and then he's heading towards Hank.

Thewlis continues to sip quietly at his drink while the others are socializing or preparing to perform, caught between his worst nightmare. Face the bar to hunch down, or turn and put his back to the bar and have to face people. Thew opts to drink his delicious candy booze

"Pretty sure half of us who come out to these things are in bands," Sparrow quips dryly enough that it might be true. She points to the guy who just took the stage like he might fit that description. Her dark brows pitch upward toward her red, red bangs as she looks to Stephanie and tells her, "Yule manages a social life just fine. Just... with interruptions. Gotta keep forgiving company. Like someone--" The tip of her head toward the other woman seems indicative. "--who understands the nature of the job."

After repeating the chorus once more, Scott launches into the bridge. "And don't believe that magic can die. No, no, no, this magic can't die..." Another brief pause, before he continues, "So dance, your final dance. 'Cause this is, your final... chance..." Gaze going to the one entering as he finished the song. "Thank you, everyone," he says, bowing before he makes his way back towards the bar.

"Yeah, I suppose the shifts and the hours make it a little complicated for those in our line of work sometimes. I can certainly relate." She pauses before adding, "I did enjoy his company. Didn't really get a chance to get to know him. You wouldn't happen to know if he's taken? Married? Something? I don't wanna do anything stupid. Not that I would, I'm just curious."

She cheered at the guy on stage after his performance ended.

Rhys returns Scott's grin along the way, with another of those little 'go kill it' upnods like Lyric got, and swings by the bar long enough to snag a new drink before he rejoins his table, dropping down into his seat. "Down beside that red firelight, Ms. Jones?" he inquires, conversational tone making it through to the end, even if he can't get that far without the grin escaping as well. "Because that's negotiable. I might accept orange." Stephanie gets a smile, and a cheerful "Hey," that sounds like he's probably pretty sure he's seen her around, even if he might not properly know her. He watches Scott sing, of course, and takes a couple drinks to re-wet his throat, applauding for the guy once he's done.

"Great job out there, Rhys," she comments to Rhys in passing, recalling his name from Hank's intro. He wasn't old enough to have been in school with her but he was the type that was often seen around town.

Mariah for her part closes up the books and heads for the back to go to the office since things were sounding like they were winding down.

Jade smiles at Thewlis' thoughtfulness in choice of drink, lifting the margarita for a healthy drink as she watches the other performers, chuckling lowly. "I hope that mine isn't too far off-beat from this." She takes another drink of her candy liquor, then straightens when her name is called. Grinning, she kisses Thewlis' cheek and hops up to head to the stage. She flips the guitar around to face front and center, offering a smile towards the people, "Hi! I figured I'd try something a little different from my usual flavor... hope you enjoy!"

The opening chords struck on the guitar are almost immediately recognizable to anyone that likes classic rock. The strains fo 'Africa' by Toto strum well across the acoustic guitar as she kicks it in fast and loose, jamming it out with pick in one hand and fingers flying across the frets.

"I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She's coming in, 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation.."

Her voice may not be amazing, but she definitely knows her way around the instrument, and she certainly doesn't hesitate to try and change it up so she can get the crowd going.

"It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africaaaaaaaaaaaa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had.."

When it hits that high pitch int he song, she puts a little Angus Young into the playing, moving around the stage and shredding away like this were the greatest rock song around. The song is thankfully not terribly long, but she belts it out with fervor and hopefully the music that pours from the guitar makes up for the lack of pipes. When it finishes, she slings the guitar back around and grins, "Thank you!" then hops off the stage and head towards Thewlis once more.

Sparrow's gaze shoots up toward her bangs--still very red and not yet fading into a more muted hue--but she doesn't comment on the color, instead simply assuring, "Gonna let it all hang out either way," with a little shrug. Seeing as the newcomer to their table knows Rhys, she offers, "Stephanie," to complete the round of introductions before setting into applause for Scott's performance, then some more to encourage Jade onto the stage. That done, she looks back to Stephanie and with a faint crinkle of her nose, she answers, "I dunno that taken's the right word, but he's dating a couple of pretty fucking magnificent women." Whatever else she might've had to say on the matter doesn't make it out as Jade's guitar steals her attention with a little, "Huh." That curiosity blossoms into a wide grin when the familiar intro kicks up, a little hoot sent toward the stage... which eventually spills into proper applause when the performance concludes.

Returning the wave, Everett waits until the next introduction given, before he lets Hank know he has another song to add to the list. Once his intention is known, the lumbering man heads his way towards the bar having missed most of the excitement already. Knocking on the bar top with large, inked knuckles, Everett points to the tap and then makes a shrug like he doesn't care what else might come out of the equipment while he gets his wallet out to pay.

Lyric applauds Rhys and his song, grinning at him and lifting her glass in a silent salute before taking a drink. She remains seated at the bar as she watches Scott go up for his song. When it ends, she cheers for him too, whistling and offering a fist bump again. Then she watches Jade head up for her turn.

Watching Jade with a small smile still on his features, sipping his drink and leaning against the bar, he even manages to set his down and clap once she finishes, blushing furiously even though most people aren't going to notice. The hulking Everett though draws big eyes and an immediate still silence from Thew, his hands held up in mid clap.

Stephanie isn't entirely surprised at Sparrow's response but what does surprise her is Jade's performance, which she enjoys before being called up to the stage herself.

Shadows fill an empty heart
As love is fading, from all the things that we are
Are not saying, can we see beyond the scars
And make it to the dawn?

Change the colors of the sky
And open up to, the ways you made me feel alive
The ways I loved you
For all the things that never died
To make it through the night, love will find you

What about now? What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?
Baby, before it's too late, what about now?

Her voice rings out into the room, a strong, rich alto, as she emotes the song with a depth of emotion that comes across as coming experience. Her vocal range isn't particularly impressive, but it gets the song across. Her power was always in her ability to emote.

Without waiting, Jade launches straight into a hug around Thewlis, squeezing him and giving a grin, "That was fun." She moves to pick up her drink before following Thewlis line of sight. Damn. That's a big dude. "Huh." Then she's looking back towards the stage and offering a round of applause for Stephanie, letting out a whistle to do a New Yorker proud.

The sun is breaking in your eyes
To start a new day
This broken heart can still survive
With a touch of your grace
Shadows fade into the light
I am by your side, where love will find you

What about now? What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?
Baby, before it's too late, what about now?
Now that we're here
Now that we've come this far, just hold on
There is nothing to fear
For I am right beside you
For all my life, I am yours

Into the second verse, Stephanie seems to pick up her steam, the intensity in her voice picking up by the time she hits the second chorus. For a self-taught musician, she was holding her own, and that's all she really needed. She wasn't a professional in a band or anything.

What about now? What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love had never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?
What about now? What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love had never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?
Baby, before it's too late
Baby, before it's too late
Baby, before it's too late, what about now?

Immediately after the end in of her performance, she headed straight for the bar to take a shot. It was something she had needed to get out of her system for a while before she returned to where Sparrow and her group was.

Disappointing news is disappointing.
With a dark frown, Everett eyes Hank like the other man had just told him Santa Claus is dead. Emerald eyes glance stage-ward with contemplation, breaking when his drink gets delivered and Everett puts his money down. Nostrils flare, a short, angry huff. The first time that he's going to miss a karaoke night on stage since it started. Clearly this is personal. Turning his beer by its lip with his fingertips, Everett huddles over it, like its his only friend now, periodically looking up to the last person fortunate enough to grace the stage.

And you don't drink your friends.

Jerking at Everett's huff... Thewlis gulps, blinks, and starts to stutter out. "Huh-he-hey... you. It's... I." he looks to the bartender points at his drink, and then points at Slab Rockfist. Another strawberry-mango margarita produced in short order and placed before Big McLargehuge. The man is big. Give him delicious booze. That's the right thing to do... right? Thew looks to Jade to see if he just did a stupid.

"Either way makes my rockin' world go 'round," Rhys replies to Sparrow, before paying attention to the stage again. Whether it still counts as karaoke if you play your own accompaniment is an argument he might be willing to have sometime, but if it's Africa and it's done that well, who cares? It's definitely recognized quickly, and gets a bright, quiet laugh when it is. His tablemates get a couple moments of melodramatic lip-synch in the chorus, just for fun, though he's mostly watching Jade and her playing. She gets applause and a strong approving whistle when she finishes, and Stephanie gets a thumbs up when her own name follows. "Break Hank's leg!" he wishes her cheerfully, and settles back to see what she's going to sing.

"Huh," it's his turn to say as she starts in; this song he doesn't know. He does (kinda) know Everett though, and knows the soul-pain of being Too Late for Karaoke, so the big guy gets a sympathetic look at his bad news before Rhys goes back to watching Stephanie's performance. She gets applause too, of course, and a grin as she heads off toward the bar.