Ukrainians love to sing. On any given Friday night – to say nothing about holidays – one will stumble across groups of perfectly respectable, if often intoxicated, individuals bellowing out verses of “Nese Halya vodu …” The strains of that classic Ukrainian song can be heard wafting from metros, buses, underpasses and, of course, the street.
Given that, it is not surprising that many Ukrainians regard karaoke as one of the West’s most precious exports. Yet in Kyiv, while various establishments advertise karaoke and even more have karaoke machines, few places ever use their machines to good effect. Karaoke, if practiced at all, is generally practiced only by the extremely inebriated. And, we might add, the harmonic denouement of most efforts is not pretty.
But there are a couple places where one can find karaoke being practiced regularly. The biggest and best-known karaoke point in Kyiv is near the fountain on the small square at the entrance to Passazh. The site was previously the site of the popular television show “Karaoke Na Maidani,” and although the show has recently moved on to Odessa some still remember the square as “Karaoke Square.” This summer a regular group has been gathering on the square on weekend evenings to carry on the karaoke tradition. The karaoke club has proven to be one of the most popular diversions on Khreshchatyk, drawing idle masses who have long tired of Street TV and Peruvian musicians.
But karaoke on Passazh has its drawbacks, the main one being that there is so much demand to participate that one must wait in a long line for the chance to show off your vocal skills. The flip side is that there’s a large audience, although that’s not always a good thing.
Those who are not seeking fame and glory – or who simply want to tune up for the big time – have few options to turn to. Most karaoke get the tunes fired up sporadically at best, never at worst.
But one bar breaks the mold: Zodiak. There’s almost always somebody firing up the karaoke at Zodiak, which alone makes it unique. But it’s a practical place to sing, as well. Its karaoke room – set off from the main restaurant by a folding screen so as not to disturb other customers too much – contains just a couple of tables, making for an intimate surrounding. Other plusses: It’s open 24 hours and the karaoke is free of charge.
Zodiak’s repertoire of songs is nonpareil, at least if you are a Russian speaker. About every Russian or Soviet song on the planet is available. The selection of English songs is worse, but at least you’ll know the words of what they do have – most notably the Beatles, Elvis and Bob Marley.
Zodiak’s staff also deserves kudos. The waitpersons are careful not to disturb or interrupt the singers. They bear the phenomenon of drunks singing loudly and poorly with amazing professionalism and poise.
Zodiak occupies a prime location, on Chervonoarmiyska roughly halfway between Eric’s Bierstube and The Wall. You would be hard-pressed to find a better place in Kyiv to crawl into at 5 a.m. and start singing tacky Russian pop songs with your drunk friends.
