Me at the show!

It was like a party.

On Wednesday June 9, 2010 I went to Harlem, NY with my mom to see Amateur Night at the legendary Apollo Theater.  I had an great time at this show.  The performances were exciting.  The show was hosted by great comedian, Capone.  I also enjoyed was the DJ, named DJ Jess.  He was playing really cool songs and everyone was dancing in their seats.

And that was just the pre-show.

When the show really got started, they had even more entertainment with the house band Ray Chew and the Crew and an emcee.  They pulled four people out of the audience to participate in a “soul train” line dance competition.  Whoever got the most applause got an Apollo T-shirt and the runner up got a Coco-Cola T-shirt, as they are the sponsors of Amateur Night.

Next up was the kids competition and three amazingly talented girls came out and sang different songs.  The host informed us not to boo them because they are children and they were here to showcase their talent and the audience voted for the best girl (check her video out below).  Then the main competition began.  We voted for the best act with cheers.  Only this time we were allowed to “boo” the acts that we didn’t like.  And if there were enough boos, then they pulled off of the stage in an embarrassing manner.  The host provided witty commentary and was hilarious throughout the show.  There was also a video dedication to Michael Jackson, who performed at the Apollo Theatre with the Jackson 5.

Overall, the Apollo was amazing and I would love to go back any day, especially on Amateur night.  It’s every Wednesday at 7:30, but be sure to get there by 7:00 to enjoy the pre-show.

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Highlights from the winner Vanessa Alvarez’s performance.   (The Apollo posts videos of Amateur Night every week on their website.)