Karaoke has screamers and singers
Rockin’ the mic every night in Chico
By Karen McIntyre
Did you know you can sing karaoke any night of the week in downtown Chico? To see for myself which bar had the best karaoke night, I decided to go on a mission. During my “research,” I sang everything from Snoop Doggy Dogg to Phantom of the Opera and quite possibly began my karaoke addiction.
Beareoke, Madison Bear Garden’s take on Karaoke
Beareoke on Monday night proved to be yet another reason why The Bear is so highly respected in the college community. Karaoke DJ Will Lander, 26, kept the crowd alive by walking around the audience singing Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” sharing the microphone along the way.
Lander sings karaoke every night of the week. That’s twice as often as regular Allen Hoffmann, but Lander is only half his age. Hoffmann, 50, said karaoke went from scary to fun when he sang for the first time two years ago. Now he sings about three times a week.
“It’s a chance to be a star,” he said.
The Bear is a great place for Hoffmann because he sings a wide variety of songs and they have the largest selection in Northern California, Lander said. Hoffmann likes to pick his songs based on what he thinks will get the crowd going, which is not always an easy task.
“You can nail it in the shower and you try it here and it just doesn’t work,” he said.
But he’s not worried about it.
“No one will ever criticize you for crashing and burning.”
Aaron Manus, 24, is another Beareoke regular, but he doesn’t do it for the stardom.
“I can get pent up emotion out,” he said.
Manus has a passion for karaoke and he’s been a devoted singer at The Bear since he’s been of legal age.
“I like to think I’m pretty famous around here,” he said. “It makes me feel local.”
Having no reputation to uphold myself, I signed up. Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker” was decent, but the loudest cheers came my way when I did a duet, with a random person, to Tenacious D’s “Fuck Her Gently.” The Bear brought the best out of me.
The Crazy Horse Saloon kicks karaoke like spurs in a bull, usually
Tuesday night brought the Horse. But contrary to the radio commercials, the hot shot girls were absent, the largest dance floor empty and the mechanical bull motionless.
And what’s worse, no karaoke. Apparently their system went down over the weekend and they were working on getting it back up, which was supposed to take 20 minutes. At 9:45 p.m., 11 customers were scattered among the smoke patio, pool table and bar stools.
Despite the lack of noise and virtually no human existence, there were some plus sides. There was no cover, drinks were $1 off and manager Lee Tallman was friendly.
They recently changed their karaoke system to be digital, Tallman said. With new sound equipment and a digitalized system, they should be up and running with more than 5,000 songs to choose from.
At 11:30 p.m., it was pretty clear there wasn’t going to be any karaoke that night, so I went home. Maybe I’ll try again on Thursday, their second karaoke night of the week where drinks are still $1 off, but you break even after one drink with the $1 cover charge.
Dive into karaoke at the Maltese
“You walk into the Maltese and you can tell why my mom called it a dive,” singer Allen Hoffmann said about his favorite place to sing karaoke in Chico.
The little box at 1600 Park Ave. attracted more than just its cigar-smoking regulars on Wednesday night. The music was too loud for my sober ear, but no one there seemed to mind. The shuffle board and pool table were empty for much of the night while the crowd tuned in to the microphone and whatever future celebrity or drunken fool was brave enough to use it.
The $3 vodka Rockstars fostered the liquid courage, despite the fact that the glass was only as tall as the average middle finger. But the unimpressive size of the drinks was made up for by the friendly waitresses who bring them to you, even outside on the patio. This way you don’t have to pause from perusing the song book and picking the best one for you.
After about an hour of flipping the pages, I finally signed up. About an hour after that, my name was called and I confidently grabbed the microphone and rapped Snoop Doggy Dogg’s “Gin and Juice” as best I could. Friend Don Jordan helped me sing and Colin acted as backup dancer.
After the award-winning performance, in my altered opinion, I closed my tab and retired for the night.
“Ronny runs a jumpin’ party,” Hoffmann said about the DJ.
Relax with karaoke at The Oasis, but get there early!
The “O” is a popular happy-hour bar with a clientele consisting of many older men, but not lacking students. Maybe the older patrons were the reason karaoke started at 7 p.m. and only went to about 11 p.m.
There were just about as many people outside smoking cigarettes as there were singing karaoke. But the friendly bartenders were a plus. They were even nice enough to keep the drink specials going all night when they were supposed to stop at 10 p.m.
Bartender Keoni Pang sang several songs, including a Boys II Men duet with Terry Collins. While the two belted out “End of the Road,” I was busy preparing to perform myself. I was disappointed when the DJ wouldn’t allow a song that had already been sung, but I ended up singing a duet with friend Nicholas Rogers to Phantom of the Opera’s “All I Ask of You.” Enough said.
Ready to brave the big stage at LaSalles?
There is one thing Ben Lugo, 23, does religiously every Sunday—and it’s not go to church. Magik Entertainment pays Lugo, also known as DJ Benji, to put on karaoke Sunday nights at LaSalles. Lugo isn’t a karaoke addict, like many other DJs, but he does do some performing.
“I’ve done a lot of Michael Jackson,” he said.
Karaoke at LaSalles can be intimidating. The bar has a lot of open space, which doesn’t always fill up on a Sunday night, and the large stage and blinding spot light apply a fair amount of pressure. But right after 11 p.m., after people have had enough time to suck down some cocktails, which are half-off, the waiting list begins to grow, Lugo said.
LaSalles’ karaoke night differs from other downtown bars because of its eclectic audience, Lugo said. The crowd is never the same.
“You get a big, nice chunk of Chico,” he said.
Unfortunately, that mixed up crowd brings with it the bad as well as the good. I had my cell phone and wallet stolen while I was singing.
I found the creep that took my phone because he was dumb enough to answer it and talk to my friend when he was still in the bar. However, the wallet was never to be found.
I can’t blame LaSalles though. There are a few rotten eggs at every bar. It’s just too bad that I’m going to remember my stolen wallet and not my karaoke performances to Queen’s “We are the Champions,” the Temptation’s “My Girl” and Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places."
Karaoke at Katsu’s may be a last resort
Katsu’s, a Japanese restaurant/bar, has karaoke on Friday and Saturday nights. Unfortunately, they also have a $5 cover. This prevented me from entering. I’m not cheap. I would gladly dish out $5 for a night of karaoke, but not when the place is nearly empty, there are children running around and I don’t hear any karaoke going on. Maybe I’ll try again next weekend.
