500 at 5:00

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Sundays from 5pm to 9pm is when Karaoke and the 500 Club in San Francisco merge to become the spot for some late afternoon crooning. Hosted by the truly funny and talented Glenny Kravitz Karaokeshark, it is a great place to either or ramp up or wind down one's Sunday evening.

Certainly the 500 staff--Clare, Emily, and Olaf (forgive me if I've misspelled your name, dude)--are the prototype bar peeps any bar owner would be proud to employ. I mean, these guys are really freakin' cool! The crowds in that little bar sometimes make it an SRO affair, but all is handled in stride, by them truly. Cheap, yet strong drinks are par for the course there, so you'll get your money's worth. Plus, you'll have enough money left over to shower KJ Glenny with tips, leaving him sparkling clean and smelling fresh.

How it works

Find a song from the songbook, then write down the song and your name on the sign-up sheet on the table next to the Karaokeshark, then wait for your name to be called. It gets pretty loud in the bar at times so really listen for you name in between songs.

There were many good singers tonight, from Claudia to Clare, Scott to Spalding, Nancy to Ash Wednesday.

The funniest performance of the night was Glenn singing Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror." Unfortunately, the camera I used could not recharge the flash fast enough to catch all the funny moments of Glenn's MJ rendition, but if you want a good laugh, ask him to sing it for you sometime. Glenn, you're one funny M#th@f*ck#a!

Karaoke Rebels Revolt at the Napper Tandy

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Karaoke at the Napper Tandy is one of the most fun times you can have on a Saturday night. Irish owned in the heart of the Mission, the welcoming staff makes you feel right at home. Good reviews abound on Yelp about this place and not just for Saturday night. Cheap drinks and Irish and American pub grub make this place a favorite spot for neighborhood locals.

The host is Ken Fate, a.k.a. Kendoke, a man on a mission. He wants to provide you with a memorable singing experience, and will go out of his way to get you there. If you can't find what you're looking for in his songbook, Ken can download the song directly from a music site over the Internet. In a matter of seconds you're ready to sing! Please keep in mind that Ken works hard for his money, so please tip him well!

Making for a Karaoke venue takes many things: location and drink prices are two such variables. KJ's have their considerations like the accurateness and variety of his song list. Another important factor, in my humble opinion, is interactivity with the crowd. Take some old wood, foam rubber, and duct tape, and BAM! A Faux Guitar is born! It's amazing how quickly this will turn a less than interested crowd into a screaming audience. The corner at which singer and KJ exist in relation to the bar is the perfect storm for inciting an instant Karaoke rock show!

Some of the evening's participants were Spalding, who sang AC/DC's "TNT" with Moe grinding the axe, Claudia and Carlos in a Metallica duet, and Carol and Shannon blasting a song I've never heard before. All very good singers and axe players! Do not be discouraged, Karaoke is for fun, and good singer and not so good singers alike are always encouraged to sing your heart out. Find the courage to sing aloud and the crowd will applaud you for it!

Karaoke Kung Fu Very Strong at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco

A special night of kick-ass Karaoke Kung Fu fighting will take place at the Rickshaw Stop, this coming Tuesday, April 13, from 7:00pm to 1:30am. Your host, Glenny Kravitz Karaokeshark, will make sure every Dragon Warrior gets to show off their vocal fighting skills!

Click Rickshaw Stop for more information about the club, including Events, Ticketing, Directions and more.

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!