like he was in a fulci movie

Showtime at the Apollo has always been one of my favorite shows, but more for the audience than the performances. I've been watching it as long as I've watched Saturday Night Live, but even now that I don't watch that show anymore, I'll still watch Apollo when I get home from the bars. Though the show often features some mindboggling undiscovered talent, the people packed into the seats of the Apollo Theater steal the show. They're there to be entertained, and so many amazing performers have graced the stage, you'd better fucking bring it. My favorite part of the show is amateur night. A performer, usually a vocalist, will launch into their song, and there's about a 10 second pause. It must feel like a decade to the performer. In that short time, the audience makes their decision and their verdict is delivered. Simon Cowell ain't got nothing on the Apollo.

Tonight, I stumbled home in time to catch the Apollo, and knew right away that it was a re-run, because it featured two performances by Houston, who if you didn't know, is pretty fucked up. Dude gouged out is own eye. I can't even get eyedrops without flailing at the optometrist.

From Soundgenerator.com:

The musician's bodyguard Marco Powell looked in on Houston shortly after the balcony incident. "I went to check on him before going to bed and I saw blood on the floor," said Powell. "Houston was lying on his bed with a towel over his face and I removed the towel to find his eye hanging out. He said he had to get the devil off of his back and that's the only way he could kill the devil."

Pretty hardcore. Good thing the Apollo audience gave him some applause.