Starring:
Summary: Quinn runs the gamut from Internet memes to boy band refugees to 1960s torch singers. Lee hangs out with friends and colleagues. Sierra divides her time between flirting and playing chauffeur.
Date It Happened: March 24, 2008
Magic Technique
Imago Cabaret, Greenwich Village
The cabaret is busy with people of all ages even in the early evening, mid-week. The room has the soft sound of clinking glasses, and murmuring voices. The stage is empty, though there is a placard on a stand beside it advertising the headliner, 'Quinn Lyons' along with show times. That aforementiond entertainer is at the bar, glass in hand while she chats with the bartender.
Jamie, after meeting Quinn and being invited to the show, set immediately to trying to find a way to come. It took her a couple days, but a call to Sierra to take her has led to her walking in now with the reporter. She's not dressed much different than last time Quinn saw her, but now her clothes aren't grass stained and dirty.
Sierra walks in along side that darling girl that is Jamie. She is all gussied up and dressed fancy like. She is wearing a v-cut dress that flows down past her knees, with soft sparkles in floral designs going down the sides. Her hair is all done up, looking like a real professional did it. She doesn't go to amateurs folks. She goes to the real deal, and gets paid for it too, if she can. "Ah, a cabaret. It has certainly been a while, cherie. But it shall be fun, non?" She smiles softly.
Quinn gives a quick thanks to the bartender, with a wink. She grabs what looks like a highball glass and, swirling it expertly with her hand, she brings the drink to her lips for a sip. Then she starts to make the rounds through the bar, greeting the various people at their seats.
Jamie smiles up to Sierra and nods emphatically, "Yeah!" She smiles and looks around, and climbing into a seat once they have a table. On spotting Quinn, the girl gives an enthusiastic wave.
Sierra grins at Jamie and takes the seat beside Jamie. "And you said…you met the person who is performing, oui? That is very exciting. I wish I were as lucky as you to know a person who was performing." She winks. "What shall we get to drink?"
Quinn catches sight of, well, it is hard to miss the beacon of cuteness that is Jamie. She breaks into a smile, moving her steps toward that table. Upon reaching it, she first gives a nod toward the adult at the table. "Well, good evening. Welcome to the Imago."
Jamie looks to Sierra and nods quickly, smiling. "Met her at the park. She recognized me from the circus." This is a big deal to the fame-seeking Jamie, of course. She answers, "Do they got chocolate milk here?" She looks up to Quinn as she approaches, smiling, and introduces, "Quinn, this is Sierra."
Sierra smiles at Jamie. "Oui, I'm sure they probably do have chocolate milk here. Can't see why they would not be able to make it up for you." She grins widely. As Quinn approaches, she bows her head slightly. "Merci beaucoup, madmoizelle. I'm hoping to have a fun evening." As Jamie introduces them, she smiles even more widely. "Ah, this is the wonderful act of the night, oui? Madmoizelle Lyons?"
Quinn gives a half bow and she says, 'I will be sure that they make you some chocolate milk.' then to Sierra, 'I hope I can live up to that description.' with some humor. 'So, both of you, what kind of music do you like?'
Jamie smiles and says, to the answer about the chocolate milk, "Cool, thanks." Then she considers the question, and then shrugs and smiles, "Happy music. Like every kinda music I ever heard." She and Sierra are sitting at a table, and Quinn is standing nearby talking to them while the crowd settles before the show.
Sierra chuckles at Quinn. "I've non doubt that you shall be the most wonderful act at a cabaret I have seen in a blue moon." She looks at Jamie and nods a little, smiling. "Happy music is le best music, oui. I must admit, I am still a fan of a lot of '90s pop music. That Justin Timberlake…ooh, his voice could melt a glacier into global warming!"
Quinn is chatting at the table. It isn't hard to tell, given the large placard on a stand by the stage, that Quinn sure looks a lot like the opening act. She pauses a moment as she thinks over that answer, saying, 'Justin Timberlake? Hmm.. I think the only song I know all the lyrics of from him is that 'Sexyback' song." she admits.
Lee comes in with a music teacher friend and her friend, and her friend's girlfriend, and her friend's girlfriend's cousin who has a twelve hour layover. "So wait," Lee is saying to the cousin. "You're not gay either? Two non-gay dudes at a cabaret, that's got to be some kind of record. Probably doubled the last record, set by the guy who empties the trash cans afterwards." His music teacher friend punches him in the arm. "You're such a jerk, Jones. This is the last time I give you an extra ticket." she snips, but Lee just laughs, so does the cousin, and they all seem to be in good spirits.
Jamie blinks, looking to Sierra and asks, "Who's he?" She looks up to Quinn again and shrugs, smiling, "Don't matter anyway. Gonna be good, I bet." The voice of one of the new arrivals catches her attention and she looks over, waving as she spots Lee.
Quinn chuckles a little. "I think maybe one song could be arranged.. near the beginning." she offers, then she hmms, "And I have a few other ideas for the rest of the set now. But, chocolate milk on the house." she says, "And now I need to get ready for my set."
Lee waves to Jamie as he recognizes the girl from the bike store crime scene the other day. "Family friendly, I see." he remarks sardonically to his friend, who punches him in the arm again with a 'yeah, so wanna make something of it' glare.
Sierra smiles sweetly at Jamie. "He's a singer who was popular with the group 'N Sync. He has a solo career." She nods a little bit. "If you feel like singing Sexy Back, madmoizelle, I'd be happy with that." She says with a grin.
Meanwhile, as usual, George is held up near the entrance by another phone call, winding it up before heading further inside. Stopping off at the bar and looking around, he orders a couple of glasses of something before heading back into the crowd. With a purpose, as it turns out: "Refill, ma'am?" he says, tapping the back of Sierra's chair.
Jamie smiles brightly up to Quinn again and says, "Thanks!" She waves as Quinn goes to prepare her show, and looks back to Sierra then, and says, "Oh.. heard of them, I think." Feet swing a little under her chair while she waits.
Quinn swings by the bar again. Then there's likely several minutes to get her orchestra and backup and such ready. Such is the life of an artist who takes requests.
Sierra smiles a little bit at Quinn. "Well, I look forward to it." She nods, then turning to Jamie and smiles. "Yeah, they were very popular." She grins, and then turns back to a voice speaking to her. She grins brightly. "George!" She stands up quickly and gives him a little hug if he lets her, and a peck on the cheek. "Bonjour!" She looks at the drink. "Merci, cherie!" She continues to grin.
Lee is getting a drink. "Hey," he says to Quinn. His pals give a couple of requests. Lee says: "You don't know 'Scarlet Cacophony' by Sinus Envy, do you?" Um….no. Nobody knows that song, Lee. Nobody will ever know that song, ever.
Safe behind his bourbon, Tom's gaze idly follows the movements of the performer, Quinn, and he can't help but let a very-nearly-smug expression settle upon his features. He's officially stopped caring about the two empty seats at his table- Stan and his wife are obviously not going to show up, and he'll take it out with him at work tomorrow. For now, Tom just rests back and gets ready to enjoy the show.
George sets the drinks down and returns Sierra's gesture in kind. "Gentil de vous voir aussi," he replies, with only a little less fluidity. Before sitting down, he glances around at the rest of the table, spotting Jamie and quickly looking away to the stage instead. "Looks like I got here just in time, hmm?"
There is the dimming of the house lights. Still, with the sconces and the candles at the table, more than enough for conversation, reading menus and seeing your food. The stage is dark, as an announcer from a mike to the side of the stage simply announces, "Quinn Lyons." And an amplified, amused voice says, from the shadows, "Sometimes, a person just has to take a dare. So, prepare to be.. Rickrolled!"
A hot spotlight flicks on suddenly on the front center stage, where stands the exact incarnation of Rick Astley, in all his 80's prime and glory. Pale skin, coiffed and gelled bright red hair, and thin, lanky form in a rather oversized grey suit, including full shoulder pads. Yes, if familiar with them, the facial features too.. exactly. Perhaps eerily exactly. And that utterly surprising big baritone voice, silky and smooth, belts into the mike..
"We're no strangers to love
You know the rules, and so do I.."
swaying at the mike to what still is, cheese and all, a hard to resist song.
Jamie starts to wave to George as he sits down, but when he looks away so quick she just blinks. She looks up to Sierra, starting to say something, but then the show starts, and her attention quickly turns to the stage.
Sierra places an arm on George's arm as she, too, sits back down, seemingly appreciative of his going out of his way to speak French. She smiles at George. "Oui, just in time, mon cherie." She looks between George and Jamie. "George, this is Jamie. Jamie, this is George." She introduces and then goes quiet as Quinn's performance begins.
As soon as the old school chords begin to sound, an enormous grin erupts upon Tom's face, an expression he hasn't worn so fully for… quite some time. And as the song begins, the voice absolutely spot-on, the man begins to laugh, a triumphant, and thoroughly entertained chortle from the back of the room. "Yeah—!" he crows, not obnoxiously loud but certainly loud enough to be overheard, though as perhaps a few of the nearer patrons turn their open-mouthed gapes his way, Tom's own expression begins to falter a little. He's just realised that not only is the voice absolutely perfect, but the… the look. How's she… is that really…
Lee sniggers despite himself, enjoying the spectacle. He woots with the rest of the crowd at his table.
'Rick' does that little bouncy dance from the video on the stage, crooning the lyrics into the mike, and finishing with, in /her/ own voice, though an alto, so not as disconcerting as it could've been, with a wide grin, "So, did I win the dare?"
George settles in and nods to Sierra and Jamie in turn. "We've met before," he says, looking concerned for a moment. But, between the drinks and That Song, the edge is soon taken off, and he starts to relax. (And takes the performance in stride; the change of appearance is striking, yes, but the lighting washes out some of the detail from his angle.)
Jamie grins as she listens to the song, almost bouncing with the beat. Her eyes widen as she hears Quinn's voice coming from 'Rick', looking to Sierra then for some reason, but then she's looking back and clapping all the more.
Sierra looks curiously at the performance, not quite sure what to make of it, but clapping non-the-less. Then, when Quinn's voice comes from Rick, she blinks. She just stares. She doesn't know what to make of it…well, okay, she starts to think she knows what to make of it, but it's hard to believe.
Tom blinks rapidly, several times over as the song wraps up and he hears Quinn's voice quite distinctly coming from 'Rick'… now that is one hell of an impersonation! "Oh, you won it alright…!" he calls up from his seat, lifting his glass in salute before downing the last mouthful. That's got to be it. Some damn good alcohol and a damn fine makeup job can make anyone look like anyone. "Looks like you'll be seeing a lot of me the next couple of months."
Lee claps along with the audience as well, laughing as the female voice returns. "That's some good makeup." the cousin says. "Ah, it's nothin', they've got Alien versus Predator, the Broadway musical in production three streets over." Lee says knowingly.
As the applause eases off, George glances over and waves to Lee. "Hey, when they turn it into Alien versus Predator versus Batman, then save us a couple of tickets, all right?" Because Batman in a musical would still be a goddamn badass. "Anyway, wonder how they're gonna follow up that one?"
The lights go out at the comment, and, with only a sudden, more modern beat from the orchestra, flicker up again. Only this time, over the walls like stars. Rick is gone, and, moving expertly to the beat, one of the modern cordless mike headsets allowing 'him' to dance and still be heard is someone with short, cropped dirty blonde hair.. in a closer fitting, expertly tailored black suit. With hand over his waist, he spins on his heels, and a now tenor voice purrs into the mike,
"She grabs the yellow bottle
She likes the way it hits her lips
She gets to the bottom
It sends her on a trip so right
She might be goin' home with me tonight.."
Yes, for the ex-teenie boppers in the room who used to have his poster when he had curls, it is Justin Timberlake. As per another request.
At which point, Tom's eyes very nearly pop out of his head. He's well and truly dumbfounded, to the extent that he's even ignoring just how much he can't stand Justin Timberlake. He lifts his now empty glass and stares into the bottom of it, a little incredulously. "What did that woman give me to drink!?" he muses out loud, before squinting back up to the stage again. "'cause that sure as heck wasn't enough time for a change in costume," he murmurs, considerably quieter.
Jamie, though, isn't as surprised by the change. She grins, glancing to Sierra again and back to the performance. She might not recognize who Quinn's impersonating, but she seems happy enough watching and listening to the music.
Sierra grins widely. "Woooo!" She cheers loudly. "Yeah!" She's excited about it, apparently. She grins at Jamie, squeezing Jamie's shoulder.
George doesn't so much hate on Timberlake as ignore him, and he's unfamiliar with this particular number. "One of your favorites?" he asks Sierra, working on his drink some more - and keeping an eye on Tom as he pipes up again. It is an awfully quick costume change, but then the idea of a trick with mirrors isn't completely out of the question.
Lee's music teacher friend is impressed at the costume quick-change. "That's awesome! The 80s tie must have been ripaway." Lee replies: "Why are you looking at my tie when you say that?"
That boy sure can dance, and most of the song features 'Justin' dancing, rather than singing. The lights dim, a touch longer, this time, the orchestra moving from a modern hip hop inspired beat to something that sounds more Latin. The strings and brass take over, and swell, matching the lights that go up, to show a classically beautiful tall woman with the kind of figure, wrapped in a very structured looking crimson satin, that was more popular in the 50's than today. Her hair falls in waves over one shoulder, with full makeup emphasizing her features. It is unlikely many would recognize who is being imitated right now, other than a 'style' of woman, but it IS Julie London, for those who would recognize her.
Hips keep time with the music, and hands slide up to cup the mike as she sings,
"When marimba rhythms start to play
Dance with me, make me sway
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more."
Dancers, males in white jacket evening suits, and women in slinky evening gowns in a rainbow of colors come from the wings, meeting in the center to embrace and begin a sensual tango to the melody.
Sierra scootches her chair a little bit closer to George and wraps an arm around him, murmuring something in his ear, softly.
Jamie clapped at the end of the second song, then grows quiet again now. She just sips at her chocolate milk, grinning as she watches the peformance.
Tom finally pushes back his seat and gets to his feet, with constant glances back toward the stage as he makes his way to the bar to order himself another drink. "I'll have a gin, thanks…" he says to the barman, fishing for his wallet, and as he becomes aware of the mood change and the commencement of another song, Tom slowly turns around, preparing himself for yet another 'costume change'… and there it is. His brow creases in thought, but try as he might he doesn't know who the dame on the stage is, or is supposed to be… but it certainly isn't Quinn. Eyes going wide, he turns back to the bartender with an incredulous shake of his head. "'n tonic. Make it a double shot."
George leans in and listens closely to Sierra, arching a brow near the end. "I like the way you think," he answers, fishing out his wallet and setting a few bills underneath his glass.
"Who's she supposed to be?" says the out-of-town-cousin. "Julie London," says the girlfriend and the music teacher. "Who's next, Barbara Mandrell?" Lee says. That earns him another punch in the shoulder. Still, he applauds and woots at the end.
An almost cliched 'tall, dark and handsome' figure comes from behind the singer, slipping his arms around her waist and drawing her from the mike, into a tango. The song finishes with the lanky woman being spun away into the darkness, to the strains of 'Sway me smooth, sway me now'. And from the darkness, a few moments later, Quinn once again, to come to the mike, to take her bows, her set over.
Jamie, when Quinn comes out to bow again, claps again, grinning. She looks back to Sierra then and says, "That was great." She almost looks like she wants to say more, but a glance to George and she doesn't. She does watch the two a moment curiously, though, at the whispers.
Sierra pecks George's cheek. "Ah, but not tonight I am afraid. I am hanging out with my friend, Jamie. And it is moi who is her ride back home. It's the responsibility of the designated driver to get the others home, after all." And though she had a drink…that doesn't impair driving that much. She'll get the cute girlie home as right as rain!
Tom tips the bartender and grasps the glass as it is slid his way, taking a lengthy sip before moving a little further down the bar so as not to hold up the customers. As the song wraps up and Quinn resurfaces, looking decidedly like herself, Tom joins the crowd in applause, even indulging in a short, sharp wolf-whistle from the back of the room.
George interrupts his portion of the applause long enough to wave to Quinn, but just for a moment - she's got plenty of other fans to hobnob with. And he's got his own issues to get settled. "Housesitting for the night," he asks Sierra, "or just dropping her off?"
Quinn takes her bows, and her applause, and does the traditional mention that she is going to take a break, and there'll be another show tomorrow night. She gets to do it AGAIN. She then makes her way off the stage, first toward Jamie's table.
Jamie waves quickly to Quinn as she approaches and says, "That show was the best!" She grins and says, "Really really glad I came." She looks to George and Sierra at the former's question and says, "Erin should be home when we get back, even if Ali's already at work, so I'll be ok."
Sierra did clap for Quinn. Yes. She smiles at George. "Non, just driving her, I think. We could meet up after maybe?" She smiles and nods at Jamie. "Oui? Well, good. I'd hate to leave ya alone!" She says to the girl. "I'm glad we came. Such a wonderful show!"
Quinn does manage to visit most of the tables while doing her 'rounds'. Getting some suggestions and comments, some praise, some shock.. lots of different reactions. But performing is tiring, and she soon finds she needs to get some rest.
Just as he considers making his way back to his table, a buzzing in Tom's pocket preludes the ringing of his cellphone. Taking another swig from his glass, he goes on to take the call, answering with a burst of laughter. "Nah, nah, it's alright man… you missed a good show, though..!" As he speaks into the phone, Tom idly throws his gaze about the room, hoping to catch one last glimpse of Quinn… but he seems to have lost track of her, and shrugs it off. He'll be back, and she knows it. "…aww, that's too bad, you think you'll be in tomorrow?" Chatting away, Tom loses himself in the loosely mingling customers, becoming just one of the crowd.
George inclines his head toward Sierra. "I'd like that." An understatement, but then there's a lot going on over on that side of the club. Rising to his feet, he begins to drift toward the exit, exchanging small talk with some others along the way.
Sierra smiles and pecks George on the cheek once more. "Well, I'll see ya soon, mon cherie." She looks over to Jamie. "Well, mon petite cherie, just tell me when you're ready, and I'll give you a ride home."
Jamie finishes her glass of chocolate milk in just a few moments, and then nods quickly to Sierra with a smile, "I'm ready. Just wanted to see Quinn." She hops to her feet again then.
Lee and his friends are packing up, jetlag is catching up with the out of town cousin, but they grin and wave to Quinn. "Great show!" says the music teacher. They depart together.
Sierra smiles at Jamie, arm wrapping around the girl. "Well, this was fun, cherie. I'm glad you brought me along." She grins. "Well, time to zoom zoom zoom to home." This scene has been brought to you by Mazda. Zoom zoom.