Vchera Piano Bar
Address: 82 Georgi S Rakovski Str (where it intersects with Al Dondoukov Blvd), Sofia
Tel: 981 23 46, 089/ 683 81 95; www.pianobar-vchera.com
Working hours: 6 pm-4 am

What's the deal with karaoke night? Is it a safe and legal catharsis at the end of a particularly nasty work day, an opportunity to display bona-fide vocal skills in a completely relaxed and informal setting, or a musical fantasy-camp where one can enjoy a brief and shining moment of stardom? For many who are called to the stage, it's a combination of all of these - and more.

Above all, a karaoke night is democracy in action. From the serious professionals to the blithely tuneless, everyone is welcome to show what they're made of, without fear of being judged on technical merit. On Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays at Vchera ("Yesterday") Piano Bar (which, for the record, has no piano), singers for whose operatic voices amplification is superfluous share the microphone with self-proclaimed wannabes who by their own admission couldn't carry a tune with both hands and a pitchfork. The audience usually gets in on the act by singing and dancing along and heaping admiration upon those who are brave enough to put themselves on display (vocally and otherwise).

For a nominal three leva entrance fee on Mondays and Thursdays (and on Sundays for free), you, too, can be part of this. Look for the glass door at 82 Rakovski Street with the tall blue-and-white sign alongside which says "YESTERDAY" and "KAPAOKE" (which is what the word "karaoke" looks like in Bulgarian) and "Vchera" scrawled in orange neon above. Follow the stairway down to a comfortably dim chamber where tiny lights pulse in multicoloured waves along mirrored walls and a warm pink glow emanates from the bar. Find yourself a seat (which on certain nights may be a challenge, as karaoke nights tend to have their "regulars" and the seating capacity is only about 60). Settle in, and order yourself a drink from the huge bar menu. (Variety comes at a price; a margarita, for example, goes for seven leva here.)

One Monday night at about 8.30pm, a group of us walked in on two guys alternately wailing and screeching their way through a Bon Jovi song - and having the time of their lives doing it. When they finished, the applause was deafening.

Karaoke night isn't a talent contest - nor is it supposed to be. In an age where perfection is expected to an unreasonable degree in every aspect of most live performances, it's actually refreshing to see people singing out of pure enjoyment, without giving a fig how they might sound to others. Besides, some of the worst singers turn out to be the best entertainers. And where else can you enjoy such a wide range of material interpreted with such varying degrees of musical competence? Here's a sampling of what I heard that night: Pitch-perfect, recording-studio-quality performances of I Will Always Love You (as recorded by Whitney Houston) and Tracy Chapman's Give Me One Reason. A tune called Nellie The Elephant that turned the entire club into a rollicking sing-along. A duet between two opera singers whose powerful, resonant voices were more than the sound system could handle. A group of friends joining their energetically atonal voices to yell their way through some heavy metal. Kanye West's Gold Digger rapped by a fearless woman who not only knew the song by heart but had the sassy moves to go with it.

Though it all, the karaoke operator kept things running smoothly, as she juggled the little pieces of paper containing patrons' requests, queued up songs in the computer, and announced the next one to step up to the mic.

If ever you're inclined to take your act beyond the shower, a karaoke night at Vchera is a great place to make your debut. Peruse karaoke operators Petar and Elka's library of nearly 12 000 tunes, and chances are you'll find something you've always wanted to try. You have to see this catalogue to believe it. I found songs from artists - Cake and King Missile, for instance - whom I suspect don't make it onto your average karaoke tune list. Most of the selections are in English, but there are a few in other languages, and there's a list of Bulgarian titles as well.

Make your choice, grab one of the little slips of paper provided on the tables, write down the name of the artist, the song title and your name, and then hand the slip to the operator. When your name is called, you're well on your way to three minutes of fame. Don't worry about having to know the words - they're provided for you on a TV screen.

If you want to take a crack at more than one song, submit your requests on separate pieces of paper as early as possible, and understand that you may not get to do them all because the show ends at midnight. Not to worry, though; it's a great excuse for you to come back to Vchera, wrap your hands around another cocktail, and try again.