10 July 3 - 9, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents The Mic Is On Sing your heart out again with Alamo Drafthouse’s karaoke revival in the Cedars. BY PRESTON BARTA A fter a long and quiet hiatus, the karaoke rooms at Alamo Drafthouse Cedars’ Glass Half Full bar are finally ready to rock once more. These vi- brant, themed spaces — shuttered since 2020 — promise a return to off-the-wall fun and uninhibited expression in a setting that feels both intimate and out of this world. The Drafthouse brought its signature charm and creativity back to the mic, and this time, the stage (or at least the themed room) is yours. “We really wanted to upgrade our facilities across the board, and karaoke was part of that,” explains Taylor Smith, Field Marketing Man- ager for Alamo Drafthouse Dallas-Fort Worth. After a brief closure last year, the Draft- house has focused heavily on elevating its guest experience with everything from seat replacements to new projectors, “creating the kind of experience people are willing to leave their homes for,” Smith adds. The reopening of the karaoke rooms, which were first introduced in 2016, follows this ethos perfectly. Each of the four karaoke rooms is adorned with its own unique theme, emerging as an extension of the Alamo Drafthouse’s whimsi- cal and creative DNA. “We try not to take ourselves too seri- ously,” Smith says. The Space Invader Room is the largest of the four karaoke spaces and accommodates up to 15 people, inviting them to launch into the “karaokeverse” with a retro-futuristic sci-fi vibe featuring décor that would make Rod Serling smile. Smaller rooms, like the LEGO-inspired Blockheads Room, the carnival-esque Fun- house Room and the oversized Pinball Room, each hold six guests and deliver im- mersive, nostalgic visuals that beg for im- promptu singalongs to everything from “Bohemian Rhapsody” to “Mr. Brightside.” Stepping into one of these karaoke ha- vens is not only a visual delight but also a technological leap. Smith details how the rooms underwent significant upgrades to bring them fully into 2025. “We got all new TVs, QSC speakers and completely updated software,” she explains. Perhaps the most exciting addition is the new song licensing partnership with Lyrical Systems, providing access to a catalog of over 75,000 songs that continues to expand regularly. Guests will find navigating this vast col- lection effortless, thanks to user-friendly in- terfaces and QR-based ordering systems. Two televisions in each room offer flexible viewing options, whether you want to sere- nade your audience head-on or subtly belt out your favorite tune while focusing on the larger screen. No karaoke night is complete without snacks and liquid courage, and the new setup ensures you won’t have to miss a note to indulge. A simple flick of a light switch alerts the bar upstairs to your order for seamless integration of food, drinks and per- formance that turns Glass Half Full into more than just a karaoke venue. It feels like an all-encompassing evening escape. Beyond the fun and tech, there’s a broader vision at play. “Community is one of our pillars,” Smith says. That’s exactly what these karaoke rooms do — groups of friends, coworkers or class- mates bond over shared moments of song and laughter. This communal spirit also extends to ex- citing plans in the works, as Smith hinted at a potential monthly drag karaoke event, an evolution of Alamo’s popular drag brunches. For those ready to grab the mic, reserva- tions are open. Smaller rooms run at $20 an hour, while the Space Invader Room is $40 an hour. Reservations can be made online. Ultimately, whether you’re channeling Freddie Mercury or reliving a version of childhood singing into a hairbrush, the kara- oke rooms at Alamo Cedars are inviting you back to revel in the joy of connection. And maybe a little off-key harmony, too. ▼ EXHIBTIONS HOT OFF THE GRILLZ ANTICLASTIC IS A MUST-SEE ART EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO GRILLZ. BY SIMON PRUITT A rtisan jewelry and body modifica- tion as status symbols have been part of the cultural hierarchy since the beginning of civilization. It’s easy to grow numb to seeing ancient rega- lia in museum glass boxes without any thought as to how those cultures might’ve actually seen those pieces at the time. However, a new Dallas exhibition is mod- ernizing that concept. This summer, the Dallas Contemporary looks to stay true to its name with an exhibi- tion centered around a symbolic trend that’s about as contemporary as it gets: grillz. The exhibition, Anticlastic, features 12 elaborately designed pieces by New York- based artist Masahiro LaMarsh and is cu- rated by the museum’s communications and graphic design manager, Alexandra Hulsey. “These are small sculptures,” Hulsey says. “[It’s] grounding and solidifying these pieces [LaMarsh] made as sculptures, nod- ding to the cultural impact of grillz and put- ting them in this institution in this context.” Historical context can inform apprecia- tion for a showcase like Anticlastic — ancient Mayans developed an archaic adhesive to glue colored stones like jade or turquoise to the fronts of their teeth. In Feudal Japan, ohaguro referred to the social elites’ custom of blackening their teeth with iron and vine- gar, as immortalized in centuries of paint- ings from the period. “You look back at the history of grillz,” LaMarsh says. “There are civilizations and societies that have had this natural inclina- tion to adorn teeth.” Suffice it to say, museums hundreds of years from now might be teaching future generations about the cultural importance of figures like Lil Wayne. In some ways, LaMarsh’s Anticlastic is a brief preview of that potential future, taking up a sleek, blacked-out room with the grillz displayed on small piles of black sand. He first discussed the idea for an installation dedicated to grillz during Hulsey’s visit to his New York studio, where he crafts custom grillz and various metalworks. To him, the process is deeply personal. “I’m trying to transmute someone’s soul,” he says. “Making something custom for them that’s an accoutrement to who they are as a human. It’s such an interest- ing process. I can make anything. What can we make that fits for that person? I think it takes a lot of empathy and alchem- ical spirituality. That’s helped me a lot, even for myself.” The grillz selected for Anticlastic are highly elaborate, with pieces resembling a bookshelf, a cathedral and an eyeball. It also features two centerpieces. The first is titled “Seven Gates,” made with 22-karat gold and Moroccan amethyst and custom-designed and worn by Erykah Badu. The second is “Cherry Blossom,” an 18-karat white gold and pink sapphire grill made for musician Shigeto, who shares Japanese heritage with LaMarsh. The two pieces both feature video accompaniments made by LaMarsh and director Andrew Garcia, which screen on the back wall of the exhibition. Anticlastic debuted on Saturday, June 21, and will be shown at the Contemporary through August 31. We got to preview the show a day before it opened, and LaMarsh made sure to point out one grill in particu- lar, where he went off script and contin- ued the cast past the teeth and onto the gums. We’d never seen a grill like that one, just as we’d never seen an installation solely dedicated to grillz. It was a curve- ball, seemingly emblematic of Anticlastic’s thesis, which is not to be defined by any- thing but yourself. “Acknowledging constraints is a very formative thought for our process,” La- Marsh says. “Why stop at where the teeth end? Just the simplest, intuitive question: why does it have to look pretty? Let’s break that rule.” ▼ Culture Nicholas Sanders Start practicing in the shower now, because karaoke is back at Alamo Drafthouse. Alexandra Hulsey/Dallas Contemporary A new exhibition features 12 custom made grillz by New York artist Masahiro LaMarsh.
