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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Sing Your Life Karaoke at Tabu Thursday October 13

And now it is agains my pleasure to present a new report from another first-time correspondent, Christopher McJetters. -Adam

Sing Your Life Karaoke at Tabu Lounge and Sports Bar
Thursday, October 13, 2011 10:30 PM


The theme this week is Hall and Oates. So really quick – what Hall and Oates songs can you name off the top of your head? Nothing? What about “Private Eyes”? “I Can’t Go for That”? “Maneater”?! Do you even know who Hall and Oates are?

Sigh…Philistines.

Assuming that you were alive on this planet before the year 1989, I’ll give you a temporary pass and forget that you don’t know who sang any of those super awesome songs. Fortunately for you, knowing the theme isn’t a prerequisite for participating in Sing Your Life Karaoke.

DJ Sara Sherr spins the hits five nights a week, and last Thursday, we had the pleasure of joining the fun on the upper floor of Tabu, located at 12th and Walnut. We arrived at around 10:30 expecting that the party would be in full swing and we would never get a chance at going up to bat. However, the karaoke crew was only moderately active. So it turns out we were in luck.

Since karaoke DJs generally get invited back to their venues based on the number of drinks purchased, we decided to shell out a few hard-earned rubles for a couple of rounds. Prepared for a cash-raping session from you’re your standard, stuck-up muscle jock, we were shocked to find the bartenders to be laid-back, friendly, and entertaining. Also to be noted, the drinks are cheap!

Pocketbooks intact, we headed over to the “stage” area in order to snag a book. At least three of them were floating around in different areas and the patrons seemed pretty generous about making sure they stayed circulated.

Be advised that it’s easy to become overwhelmed upon initial inspection. So far as song selections go, this book is epic. And printed neatly inside each cover are the rules (note: the DJ can only guarantee three songs a night maximum, unless it’s horrendously slow) and a brief statement that even if the song you want isn’t available, she will do her best to make it available as soon as possible.

DJ Sara isn’t much on flashy presentation. She mostly sits quietly at a table, neatly stacking the dozens of requests she receives in order. But for seasoned karaoke-goers, lengthy intros and grandstanding isn’t on tap. She’s friendly, fast, courteous, and efficient – which minimizes downtime in between sets and speeds up the whole night like you wouldn’t believe. Despite the size of the crowd, both my partner and I were singing within a half hour of showing up.

In between songs, I was able to have a brief conversation with DJ Sara. Without missing a beat in the rotation, she was able to give us two golden rules of maximizing your microphone time: 1.) The least busy night is Monday, and 2.) The least busy time is the first half hour.

Of course now that I’ve told you that, I’ve ruined it for myself. But there you are.

Since she’s a moving target, the schedule is as follows:

Sunday at Bob and Barbara’s, Mondays and Thursdays are Upstairs at Tabu, Tuesdays at 12 Steps Down, and Wednesdays at The Little Bar. The times for all nights are 9pm-2am (except for Wednesdays, which are 10pm-2am).

Obviously since our great experience was at Tabu, we’ll probably head back to that one. But definitely check out all the other neighborhoods too. If you let me know you’re coming, I’ll save you a song. Just remember to bring some hand sanitizer…you might be hard-pressed to find soap in the Tabu bathroom.


Christopher McJetters