Just when I thought every karaoke event would eventually be ruined by dopey, drunken girls thinking they look cute by screwing up lyrics from the Grease soundtrack, along comes Punk Rock/Heavy Metal Karaoke, a no-cover, weekly open-mic extravaganza held Monday nights at Arlene's Grocery (95 Stanton Street) in the hipster haven known as Manhattan's Lower East Side.
Rather than sit through this week's UConn-Georgia Tech snooze-a-thon national championship, I headed downtown at the invitation of the night's host, KISSNATION guitarist Ruby Rinekso, whom I interviewed last year about entertaining NYC crowds in clown paint and spandex. One-by-one, Ruby invited people to the stage to rock out to whatever they wanted — White Stripes, Jane's Addiction, Pearl Jam, Pantera, etc. — backed with great skill and energy by ZO2, a band that also includes members of KISSNATION. And that's the uniqueness of Alrene's' event — you front a band of professional musicians, not a stereo system. In that sense, they're a step above Britney Spears.
Not to be overlooked as an important ingredient of the genuinely fun night was the way the audience performed and responded to others. Lyrics were handed out, but singers hardly needed them. While there were plenty of mock rock-star antics, the wannabes weren't up there to prove that they're even worse comedians than singers. They put in a great effort and the audience matched their rock 'n' roll passion.
Ruby and Z02 were filling in for the usual host and house band, whose song list is available online. It includes KISS, The Ramones, Metallica and Led Zeppelin, so I'm looking forward to making my stage debut at the next event.
Also, don't miss Rock Candy's presentation of BITCH: A Ladies' Tribute to the Hottest Band in the Land, featuring KISSNATION. April 21 at Don Hill's. See you there.
Other New York Links:
• 50 Most Loathsome New Yorkers — New York Press releases their second annual list. Congratulations to 50 Cent, i-Pod owners, Bud Selig, James Lipton and this year's NO. 1 most loathsome neighbor, Rudy Giuliani.
• Bidding Wars Return to New York Real Estate — The average selling price in February 2004 was $820,000, about 40 percent higher than last year. Right on.
• A Day With 311 Operators — The New York Post spends a day with people who field general municipal concerns from New York citizens, including the guy who called about five turkeys crossing the road. I guess they were trying to get to the other side.
• Stern: Oprah Talks Dirtier — Howard Stern reportedly "pleaded on the air with his station's general manager to let him play a tape of Winfrey and her guests discussing an erotic activity known as 'tossing the salad.'" Never heard of it.
sounds like so much fun!
Posted by scott at April 7, 2004 1:14 AM