"Karaoke Blues"

Back when I turned 21, I knew it was going to be a big thing for me for one simple reason - I’d no longer have to worry about whether or not shows were all ages. Little did I know that I’d find an additional reason to be stoked to be “bar-aged”...

KARAOKE!!

Yes, you read that right, sports fans. Karaoke. I absolutely love it. Though I’m often a wimp when it comes to going out when I have work in the morning, I’ll gladly toss aside my better judgment for the opportunity to head out with my friends and belt out some kitschy and / or rockin’ tunes.

For whatever reason, Thursday has seemed to be the best night for everyone in my karaoke clan to go out and do their thing. So, Thursday it’s been. We used to go to a little sports bar in Mayfair (those of you who live in the area don’t need to be told the name). We had a good time there for a while, and my birthday bash last year was awesome. Eventually, we realized we were no match for the “regulars” of that place on the host’s list of priorities. It was difficult for some (read: one) of us to even get a single song into the rotation. Bit by bit, we stopped attending.

We looked around for a new karaoke haunt and, for a while, nothing materialized. Then, we struck gold: Thursday nights at the Red Rooster.

The Red Rooster is a little bar / restaurant located in the Dungan shopping center, in the far Northeast. We weren’t totally sound on the place at first but, believe me...we converted pretty quickly. The karaoke host, Harry-O, has all the songs you could ever want - AND plays a mean harmonica behind you, if you’re singing “Piano Man.”

Never did I think I’d be able to do The Ramones classic “The KKK Took My Baby Away,” The Smiths’ “This Charming Man,” or the Sex Pistols version of “My Way” in a karaoke setting. At least, as long as we’re not counting shouting along with the records in front of my bedroom mirror, playing tennis racket guitar. We’re not counting that, right?

Anyway, Harry-O had a great selection of tunes - he even had, like, ten Scissors Sisters songs, if that’s your thing - and we quickly became the “regulars” we’d been beaten out by at the ol’ sports bar. We made friends with the waitress, Michelle, who began to take very good care of us. To boot, we earned the respects of the other, more “seasoned” karaokers, who showed up every week and churned out the hits of the Rat Pack, Bobby Darrin, and others. Another guy sang more BeeGees ballads than I cared to know existed, but he, too, did a great job. All in all, “Harry-oke” really helped make Thursday nights something special again.

Recently, the “Harry-O Show” went on the road, moving to another local bar. For one reason or another, our group didn’t follow him, and the weekly karaoke party dissipated. One of the other members of our karaokrew - a writer for this very site, whose name rhymes with Bomb Stoebenau - joined me in making the trek to “Karaoke Obscura.” We read the song list for Karaoke Obscura online, and nearly split the seams of our collective pants. Songs by Ted Leo, Minor Threat, Cat Power, Feist...even Richard Hell and the Voidoids!

The ecclectic music-loving goons we are, my fellow writer and I had been drooling about the event (which is held once a month at South Philly bar, 12 Steps Down) for quite a while. Finally, we had a chance to check it out. We made the trek downtown at about 8:30, ready to rock. Mr. Rhymes-with-Loebenau was at the wheel, and I was the noisy passenger. We searched around frantically for a parking spot for about 20 minutes, before finally plopping in front of a store in the Italian market. Surely, this was going to kick ass.

But, surely, it did not.

Now don’t get me wrong...I try to keep everything positive on this site. But, let me tell you, we were sorely disappointed. We were at the place for almost an hour and NOBODY sang. Not a single song! And the night was supposed to last from 9PM to 2AM. We left at about 10:00, feeling dejected. Hey, we weren’t going to be the first to sing! And, without even the voice of a karaoke MC to be heard, we weren’t honestly sure the event was still going on.

Did I mention we were disappointed? Because we were; horribly so, in fact.

So, if you’re one of the people who attends Karaoke Obscura, held the first Thursday of every month at 12 Steps Down, then, for God’s sake...SING SOMETHING!

Otherwise, if you know of any cool karaoke spots on Thursday nights, shoot me an email. Apart from that, we might have to head on over to the catering hall Harry O’s working now...