99 red balloons

(aka "the alamo drafthouse love-fest continues")

last night i made my inaugural visit to the famous original alamo drafthouse for one of the oh-so-quirky-and-unique special events. the theme was ladies of the 80s sing-along/dance party.

yes, you read that correctly. ladies! of the 80s! sing-along! AND dance party!

i had been completely out of it all afternoon (note to self: when the eye doc says they're going to dilate your eyes and that reading is going to be a bit tough for the next 4-6 hours, they're not kidding. i was driving with sunglasses on AT NIGHT because i couldn't take the reflections of the headlights! and the street lamps! the brightness, OH HOW IT HURTS), and had to drag myself out of my cozy apt to head downtown.

but let me tell you, nothing lifts your (dilated) spirits like some 80s music. and people wearing 80s outfits. the show was PACKED, and by packed i mean completely sold out with a stand-by line that went out the door. admission was a mere $11, and since this is the awesome alamo, i decided to order another root beer float to enjoy with the tunes and the bad hair and neon-colored make-up.

and then the show began. people, there was belinda carlisle. tiffany, who thinks we're alone now. debbie gibson, who gets loooost... in your eyyyyyyes. madonna, who suffers from occasional stigmata. a pre-crack whitney houston with crazy-ass hair. paula abdul! pat benatar! the song from flashdance! kylie minogue, who showed us how to do the locomotion (did you know that you have to sway your hips now?), and during whose song people conga'ed around the theater. joan jett and cyndi lauper and the go-gos.

but the piece de resistance! oh my. after a brief little closing blurb from one of the theater staff, we were told that the final song required some... props. and that props were taped to the bottom of the table in front of us, and that those props would give us a clue as to what the last song was.

so i reached under the table, found the tape, and pulled out... yup, you guessed it, a red balloon. they had spread out 99 red balloons throughout the theater, and when the video began, the balloon war began. people in the back rows batted theirs toward the front, and people in the front rows batted theirs toward the back.

if it any gets better than a ladies of the 80s marathon in an austin institution with a cold root beer float and a balloon war at the end, i don't want to know.