What’s a wrap party without karaoke? Unfortunately, we’ll never know. But thanks anyway to Playbill Cafe for the loan of their insanely extensive singalong setup. (Has anybody ever karaoked “Ina-Gadda-Da-Vida”? Or “Eve of Destruction”? Why?) And to RnR Bar & Lounge for hosting the festivities.

Here’s a medley of brave Fringe performers, fans, and friends doing their best, one assumes, to keep the party hearty. Apologies to Emily (pictured), who actually turned in a stunning American Idol-worthy performance of Aretha’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” But someone—still looking to assign blame—didn’t turn on the microphone.

Now, name that tune…

Swami Yomahmi – Unnatural Acts of Comedy
The Scientarium, 709 D St. NW

Remaining Performances:
Friday, July 27, midnight
Saturday, July 28, 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 29, 2 p.m.

They say: “From last year’s wildly popular Cheeky Monkey Sideshow comes SWAMI YOMAHMI. Razor blades, broken glass, rusty nails, bondage–you’d have to be crazy to do this stuff! Hilarious, shocking, and always innovative.”

Dave’s take: Staff was still working to finish the Scientarium when I arrived to pick up tickets, but everything seemed in place once the doors opened. We were greeted by such nerd-rock classics as “Hip to Be Square” and Weird Al’s “White & Nerdy,” which properly set the tone for the unapologetic punnery and geek celebration that followed. The Swami has obviously been working this tightly-crafted show for awhile–one can envision versions at schools and hospitals–but it never felt like he was just going through the motions. The heavy audience-participation factor kept things lively, and well-practiced lines such as “Once you go geek, you want it all week,” seemed fresh.

Mr. Yomahmi promised that each remaining Fringe performance will be different. I hope that they all include the finale I saw, which kept me and everyone else in the audience still sitting even after the house lights came up and the stage manager insisted we leave. Why? Because we weren’t sure what we had just seen, and were still seeing. Was the joke on us or was this a stunt gone horribly wrong? “He left us hanging,” laughed one attendee, a nice literal summation.

See it if: You have ever thrown 12-sided dice, believe in the Force, or don’t mind getting squirted.

Skip it if: You’re allergic to puns and squeamish about violations of various bodily orifices.

First-time Fringer Jonathan Padget is taking a literal plunge with his play The Blue Lagoon: A Musical. Turning films into musicals is all the rage these days, but Jonathan deserves much credit for going where even Hollywood wouldn’t dare venture. And in true Fringe spirit, the production was built largely from dollar-store items.

The next performances of The Blue Lagoon: A Musical are Saturday, July 28, and Sunday, July 29, at 8 p.m., at Playbill Café, 1409 14th St. NW.

(And apologies to Jonathan and everyone for the intrusive camera mic that keeps peeking into the shots.)

This is really getting out of hand…

This is what happens when people stop being polite, and start getting real. Real Fringey! More tales from the Fringe Confessional…

Who doesn’t enjoy a good nail through the nose? Stephon Walker certainly does. But when we met the artist better known as Swami Yomahmi in the middle of Silver Sprung, we barely recognized him. No nail, and no turban.

But we weren’t disappointed, because Walker’s inner geek is never far from the surface, and when the Green Lantern oath came up in conversation, we got to strut our own geekiness a bit.

A founding member of the Cheeky Monkey Sideshow, which played at last year’s fest, the Swami is bringing his “Unnatural Acts of Comedy” show to the Scientarium this year, which sounds like a good match of venue with performer.

Do pay attention, because in this video the Swami does indeed perform an unnatural comedy act. I’m surprised he survived…

Swami Yomahmi: Unnatural Acts of Comedy is at the Scientarium, 709 D St. NW, on Tuesday, July 24, at 7 p.m.; Wednesday, July 25 at 9:30 p.m.; Friday, July 27 at midnight; Saturday, July 28, at 2:30 p.m.; and Sunday, July 29, at 2 p.m.

Realer than The Real World. Because they’re real.

All true, unscripted, and unrehearsed. Look away if you dare…

Well, not exactly. But he reports from the Confession Booth some interesting numbers and Fringey situations.

The Opening Night Party at Avenue was a smashing success. The Fringe Confessional was smoking. If velvet drapes could talk—oh, wait, they can! Video will be posted soon. Beware.

Providing a suitable sonic accompaniment to the theatrical shenanigans was Basso Moderno Duo, which is Allan von Schenkel and Kristen Williams on bass and keyboards, respectively. Interestingly, just outside the club, another two-piece band, Curly & the Rocket, set up for a “fringe to the Fringe” concert. C&tR features guitar and drums (with female drummer Curly pounding it harder than Cindy Blackman. Which is very hard), so if the four got together, they’d create one traditional band.

But this is Fringe, so traditional isn’t on the program. Moderno’s mission for the evening was strictly improvisational. This, explained Allan, was necessary as the group needed to decompress from it’s recent grueling program at the Smithsonian, where 10 newly commissioned pieces were premiered. The band has commissioned 100 original works in the past two years from a who’s-who of classical composers, such as Ned Rorem, James Niblock, and a certain Yoko Ono. And get this: Yoko called them. How cool is that?

Basso Moderno is presenting 69 Ways to Fall in LOVE at the Warehouse Mainstage Theater, 1017 7th St. NW, on July 22, 24, 25, and 29. Chocolate and flowers are promised for all attendees.