The Jaeger boys were almost as popular Sunday as the singers.
I was one of seven men (no women this round!) tapped to judge the semi-final round of the Voice of Pride competition, which took place last night at the Round-Up Saloon. I got a kick out of how the other judges were worried that the contestants would see their comments and know who made them; me, I sign my name to reviews all the time and take the wrath.
The competition was exceptional. Honestly, there was hardly a sour note to be heard all evening. My top five — the ones that I adjudged clearly above the rest — all made it through; the next seven on my list were all clumped closely together, showing how intense the competition was. All told, nine of my 12 choices made it through, and I have few complaints about the ones not on my list that succeeded. It was a lot of fun, despite McKenzie Storm razzing me all night… and one bar patron shamelessly hitting on me. But hey, that’s life.
The finals will be help at the Rose Room on Sunday, Aug. 16.
Read a complete list of finalists after the jump.
The VOP finalists, in alphabetical order:
Mel Arizpe
Greg Castillo
Melissa Dorn
Michael Gasparro
Juliana Jeffrey
Angie Landers
Robert Olivas
Jennifer Paghi
Christine Pradia
Carlos Saenz, pictured above
Eric Way
Spencer West, pictured below
This is off topic, but there is speculation going on in other forums about Hunky’s moving into the old Crossroads space once renovations are complete. Another rumor is that an Austin-based bar will open in the space to be vacated by Hunky’s (Oilcan Harry’s has been mentioned). Can anyone confirm either of these?
Hunky’s is scheduled to open innthe old “Crossroads Market” space in November. You can verify it with the staff at Hunky’s.