It’s sometimes hard to conceive of a time before struggling bar owners flocked to karaoke machines to prop up their businesses. Despite the omnipresence of these “empty orchestra” machines, though, there’s a usually a dearth of good song selections, and I’ve often been hamstrung by karaoke machines that appear to rely heavily on the contents of the Now That’s What I Call Music! series. (My barometer for a songbook’s strength is whether or not it includes Electric Six’s “Danger! High Voltage.”)
Thank goodness for the folks who are addressing this admittedly minor problem. On Thu 11/15 Beauty Bar presents a punk karaoke night that doubles as a fund-raiser for next year’s Chicago Zine Festival, and on Sat 11/17 Multikulti hosts what it’s calling “The Holiday Rap Karaoke Party.”