The debut of Anti-Karaoke at the Apolo club was as spectacular as expected. An evening full of memorable highlights memorables, where we witnessed incredible performances by veterans such as Rocko, Barbarah, Lord Vader and Roser. We also saw some surprising debuts -- such as that of The Dolls, who, in their first appearance in A.K., swept to glory.

As Rachel jumped onstage to the beginning riff to Cheap Trick's marvelous “Surrender”, the club was almost completely full.

It was a spectacular beginning for one of the most festive nights of the year.

Rachel continued with Blur's “Song 2”, and from that moment on, the Personality Parade began.

The Dolls, as I mentioned above, surprised everyone with a “Bohemian Rhapsody” charged with a level of emotion seldom before seen in the show.

Great debut! Let's hope they come back soon with more great performances.

Roser left the entire club speechless with a gorgeous version of “Purple Rain”.

It was like listening to Aretha Franklin interpret the famous Prince classic. Exceptional.

In her return to A.K., Leah, the one and only Mrs. Dynamite, offered a tremendously visceral version of “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC.

And continuing along the line of antikaraokian superstars, what more can we say about the fantastic appearance by Garret?

Typical to form, she adapted a rock classic to her personal style: in this case, Nirvana's “Lithium”. Great voice, great stage presence and, as always, lots of originality.

Iván contributed testosterone and rage with an infernal “Strength Beyond Strength” by Pantera.

This is probably the most extreme song on the list at A.K. If there is one man capable of doing it justice, it is Iván.

Excellent also was Barbarah's performance of “Toxicity” by System Of A Down.

Her performances, always full of guts and passion, are what makes Barbarah one of the great stars of Anti-Karaoke,

In the first half of the show, the tinkly sounds of Britney Spears' über-commercial hit “Gimme More” penetrated the club, and Rachel appeared onstage as pop's trashiest diva.

She mentioned how happy she was to be in "Mexico", handed out autographed photos of her vagina and sang “Self Esteem” by The Offspring.

Lord Vader laid down the law with his crushingly manly version of Metallica's “Enter Sandman”.

How wonderful to have our favorite cock-rocker back in the show! 

Some guys named Germán sang the Iron Maiden classic, “Run To The Hills”.

Duro de Oído and Txus reminded us of the greatness of the young Springsteen with a heartfelt version of “Thunder Road”.

Freak Daniel contributed a bit of Punk Rock vibe with The Ramones' “Beat on the Brat”.

Lula Mae also brought back The Ramones with “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker”.

Among my favorite performances of the evening I should include Rocko and his interpretation of “Start Me Up” by The Rolling Stones.

All those balloons covering the stage, and Rocko moving and singing like Mick Jagger, allowed us for a few minutes to mentally transport ourselves to the “Still Life” tour -- the most punk rock tour of Their Satanic Majesties.

The first downpour of Jack Daniels in the Apolo club provoked many funny scenes in the front rows as Rachel sang “New York, New York”.

Albert The Undertaker, the Terror of the Barcelonan Clubs, returned to Anti-Karaoke to enjoy the adoration of the masses.

The audience's responce when his name was announced over the P.A. was incredible, and Albert did not disappoint with an even crazier, more adrenaline-charged performance of “The Trooper” than the usual. The Undertaker reigned supreme.

Another person who, with the passage of time, has also transformed into a beast of a performer is Kenta. The Apolo stage almost seemed too small for him as he drove the crowd wild with an energetic “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?” by Jet.

Syd Barretina decided to leave his sleazy hard rock persona at home tonight, and transformed the Apolo into a version of New York's Studio 54 with his brilliant performance of “Night Fever” by The Bee Gees.

Rocksales also retrieved a hit from the era of Seventies Disco: “I Was Made For Loving You” by Kiss.

A great performance... but if he takes requests, I hope this man once again sings Heart's “Crazy On You” in the future.

His performance of this song at A.K. weeks before still sounds in my head. The Wilson sisters would have been amazed by his incredible voice.

El Artista Anteriormente Conocido Como Enrique provoked one of the more intimate moments of the evening with “Creep” by Radiohead.

A great vocal exhibition and 120% effort. And these words come from someone who detests this song.

From the intimacy of “Creep”, we went to the festive explosion of The Sweet's “Fox On The Run” in a captivating number by Redd Kross Contingent.

Redd Kross Contingent would later be the ones to transport Amy Winehouse to the stage. Wearing mental ward nurse uniforms and surgical masks, R.K.Contingent appeared in the club carrying Rachel on a stretcher, in the role of Amy Winehouse.

Once onstage, Rachel/Amy announced that she hoped to pass this new year... "conscious". Then she sang “We Are The Champions” by Queen.  

A gal named Nuria debuted tonight in the show with “I Love Rock’n’Roll” by Joan Jett.

Bib interpreted one of the greatest classics by Guns N’Roses: “Sweet Child O’ Mine”.

And continuing with G N’R, this “real fine gentleman” called From Ass To Mouth upped the stakes with “Welcome To The Jungle”.

Blimunda sang another great hard rock anthem, “Whole Lotta Rosie” by AC/DC, in another one of the great performances of the evening.

The always adorable Dirty Princess opted for the party classic by Judas Priest, “Living After Midnight”.

The most furious moment of the evening -- apart from the aforementioned “Strength Beyond Strength” by Iván -- was a deliciously excessive and brutal version of Pantera's “Cowboys From Hell”, which Fabri delivered with his characteristic, infernal roar.

Sr. Oscuro faced the difficult task of getting The Eurythmics' “Sweet Dreams” off the ground... A song that has no end.

But he demonstrated that he's a man of talent, experience, and charisma. Sr. Oscuro rules.

Another who doesn't lack charisma is Mr. Eddie Harris.

Very powerful his “My Michelle” by Guns N’Roses.

Sam & Max offered sneer and attitude with one of the my favorite songs from the A.K. repertoire: “Ace Of Spades” by Motörhead.

Prades put himself in the jumpsuit of Freddie Mercury and sang the old Queen classic, “Don’t Stop Me Now”.

We'd already seen Sambo at A.K. a couple times before. For his reappearance in the show, he chose one of the definitive hard rock anthems: “Rock and Roll All Nite” by Kiss, which the entire audience sang along to.

In the final countdown of the show, Rachel vomited all her fury into a tremendously powerful “Killing In The Name”, together with Redd Kross Contingent.

And the evening came to a close with the most massive “Kids In America” yet seen in this show.

See you next Monday at the Apolo!!!

More pics of AK's debut in the Apolo! (Marta Martinez)