Singers Pounce on the Cat Club

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Many people do not know that the Cat Club does Karaoke every Wednesday night, from 9pm to 2am. It's hosted by Bruce Rogers, one of the nicest people you'll ever meet in a nightclub. Along with Bruce there is the awesome and lovely bartender Rachel, who really knows her drinks. The combination of Rachel, Bruce, and the Cat Club sound system form the perfect storm for singing out loud.

 For those of you wanting to get a head start on the evening, you can access Bruce's song list online and write down the songs you want to sing before leaving for the club. Speaking from personal experience, and I've been here many times for Karaoke, Cat Club is one of the best places to hang out on a Wednesday night. The bar staff is very welcoming and you'll feel right at home singing here your first time out. Plus, your song lyrics are displayed on the large screen, making for some great sing along's. And with the powerful sound system, your voice will never get drowned out.

Who sang what?

Let's see... Jan and I sang "Wonderwall" by Oasis; Jenner and Kym sang a something from Lady Gaga but I can't remember the name of the song; Steve sang "Fantasy" from EW&F; Patrick sang The Beatles "Imagine;" Jade and Randy performed a rap song together. Bartender Rachel was feeling under the weather and did not sing. There were many singers of all skill levels, and everyone was equally supported by the friendly, encouraging crowd.

In Conclusion

Everyone can be a star at the Cat Club, even if it is only for one evening. Come early, have a few drinks, sing lots, go home happy. Remember, it's every Wednesday starting at 9pm. Best part is it's Hump Day and nearly the weekend. So sleep when you're dead. And if you hang out until 2am... well, do find out for yourself. You won't be sorry you did!

Another Round of Applause at Encore!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Friday nights at Encore Karaoke Lounge are crazy, and I mean that in a good way. There is a reason people flock to this place other than the cheap drinks. One look at the Karaoke song book and it's easy to see why it's a popular place to sing; An extensive list of songs from every genre to suit any style of singer.

As with any bar, there are a number of douche bags present. But that's par for the course on a Friday night almost anywhere, isn't it?

My friends and I met there at 8PM. I was the first to arrive, and thanks to the online songbook search tool, I found three songs to sing even before I left my house! My first song was "Man In The Box," by Alice in Chains. This I do not recommend as a warm up song unless you just want to go big! My friend Claudia showed up a few minutes later and nailed "Superstar," from The Carpenters. Scott, Suzanne, John and Becca, arrived next. Suzanne belted out Aerosmith's "Dream On." Scott sang... I'm not sure if Scott sang. As you can see from the photo below, he was too busy being Scott!

From that point on, the rotation grew steadily until the wait time was more than one hour. Becca had just killed Aretha Franklin's "Respect." By now, we had sung two songs each and it was past midnight. I had just finished my last song and thought it might take too long to sing again. Yet low and behold, the crowd had quickly thinned to where it was possible to sing again within thirty minutes. Unfortunately, by then my friends and I had were ready to call it a night, so no more singing for Mr. Ash!