REVIEWS BEFORE THE VENUE PROFILES WERE BUILT
This is an interim page of the reviews of venues prior to the Venue Profiles page being built. After that page is completed this page will be deleted because all of the reviews will be found in the Venue Profiles.
Venue Reviews of the Past....
FROM OZZ: MY WEEK IN REVIEW
The last 7 days has been an interesting week for sure. Last Wednesday night I sang some songs with Teles at The Post 99. It’s always fun going there, it’s and older crowd but they love to sing and dance. I sang Wonderful Tonight and had a full dance floor. Also Teles has just gotten a new sound board and it sounds great. Sunset Grill was jumpin pretty good, Charles is the host and been around a long long time, in fact he was the first KJ I ever sang with.
On Thursday I sang at Retro. It wasn’t real busy but was good. I hear a lot of complaints about how long it takes to sing there, that tends to be on Friday’s and Saturday’s I have always found Thursday’s a good night to go there. Remember what I said about slow places last week. Then I was off to Effingbar. It was awesome! Good times and great crowd response.
On Friday it was Desert Greens and Lucky Lanes. Desert Greens was unbelievably packed and had a lot of singers. Tommy has done a phenomenal job of building up a very regular crowd there. We are losing Allen at Lucky Lanes unfortunately. You may remember the review I gave them when he first started there. It was not good. Over time Allen really focused on rebuilding and building up a regular following. I am gonna miss him.
On Saturday I drove way out to the middle of no-where somewhere south of Belen for Belen Fest 3. This was an awesome thing. Adam Smith a guy maybe 20 years old put together this event with 20 bands on 4 stages held at a farm house. I only got to see the last 2 hours of it but I was very impressed. Then I drove very very North to Sidelines for some awesome singing with Kammo. Kammo no doubt, hands down has the most sophisticated karaoke system in Albuquerque. I love the fact that he is not afraid to crank it.
On Monday it was back to Sidelines with Tommy. It was slow as it has been around town lately for the weeknights. I love the fact that I can get a Corona for $2.25 though.
On Tuesday it was a mix of Live Music and Comedy. I was at Low Spirits where Rudy Boy Experiment opened for AnnarKomedy by Kevin Kennedy. This was the first time I heard Rudy Boy and wow are these guys awesome. The whole time I was listening to their originals I was thinking, wow, these guys are blues rock like Led Zeppelin and then there last song was a Led Zeppelin cover song. The comedy show was top notch from top Albuquerque comedians such a Kevin Kennedy, Sarah Kennedy, Rachel Hronich and many more. Remember, to catch a live band or a great comedy show you only need to remember one name…..Call Me Ozz Dot Net.
Thursday, April 25th, 2013:
Last night was the first time I had been to Post 49 with Teles. This place is very very clean, and the sound sounds really good there. The crowd is an older veteran’s crowd (go figure) with a lot of spunk. The bartender is a total sweetheart (although I forgot her name). They really enjoy Gimmie Three Steps. Silva Lanes was a little more on the disappointing side. The sound was absolutely flat and not mixed well at all, and the versions are second rate making it very hard to sing. On the other hand I will give Mariah, Gina’s assistant an A+ for effort, as she was full of spunk and energy, I do know first hand the owners do want the KJ’s to mess with the way they have the sound set. It was pretty slow but the people that were there were very much into it. Gina gave great fast service.
Friday, April 26th, 2013:
Last night was a mix bag for me. First it was Hollywood Casino once per month show. As always it was absolutely amazing, in fact this was the best one yet. It always has great sound, great singers, great service, but a lot of times it lacks in the crowd because there will only be 30 people there and 20 are singing. This time there was 22 singers and about 75 in the crowd. It was a perfect 40. From there I went to the Launch Pad to watch Throw Down the Temple and Indemnified to support the Call Me Ozz Live Music site. If you like hard rock, it was absolutely amazing. As of right now I have now idea where I’ll be for the next 5 weeks but should have that schedule updated by Sunday night. Be sure to click on the report card button below to see how all of the venues in the score up.
FROM 4-27-13:
FROM OZZ: MY WEEK IN REVIEW
Wednesday, May 1st:
Tonight was an awesome night of karaoke. It all began at The Barley Room with KJ Sarah Moya. For those of you who don’t know, she is the little spunk fire from Graham Central Station. She came on board with Kammo Karaoke late last year and has been cranking up the action here at The Barley Room. You can feel her energy the minute you walk in the room, I think she holds the record for popping karaoke cherries. The Barley Room has had a problem with service for a while now, mostly from upper management, they have cleaned house and the owners are now way more involved than ever before. We had a new guy, and he did very well for being new. Hopefully they can keep the staff they have now.
Then it was off to Malarkys for Rock Star Karaoke with Fito Garza whom also has a band called Shit Happens. His sound, lights, stage and fog will make you feel like a rock star, hence the name. He has a rougher, very party type of crowd that follows him, so set your mind that you are going to a rock concert, you are gonna be the star on stage.
Thursday, May 2nd:
Tonight we started out night at Slate Street, where Tommy Hurrikane took over a few months ago. They only have karaoke on Thursday nights now. BenJammin still does DJ music on Friday and Saturday nights though. It wasn’t real busy but there was about a 40 minute rotation and a good responsive crowd. We had some French fries that were out of this world, the server needs to pay better attention to her customers though. Tommy is very down to earth, very personable KJ, you should check his shows out whenever you can.
It was then out the parking lot and North on Unser for less than 5 minutes to The Damn Bar where DJ Speed Racer was on the sound. The Damn Bar is of a younger crowd usually just out for a good time. Speed is phenomenal on sound, and has a couple of bass subs that you will know they are there. Kammo Karaoke has the most sophisticated of all the systems as far as I am concerned, it is great that you can request your songs from your phone.
Friday, May 3rd:
Tonight was not a karaoke night per say. My schedule had me at Malarky’s to hear the live band, Shit Happens. The bassist Fito Garza is the owner of Rock Star Karaoke which has gigs at Malarky’s on Wednesday’s and Elliotts on Thursday’s. The won big points when they opened their set with Faries Wear Boots from Black Sabbath. From there I stopped at Hooligans to see how their debut night of karaoke was doing. There were a lot of people but there were also a lot of complaints. The rotation was not very professional, meaning that my person to watch the event saw some people singing 4 times while others only sang once. The sound mix was way off and there were some other technical difficulties. It’s not to say it’s all bad though, I don’t know anyone who has a starter gig without problems. Hooligans has assured the karaoke community when they start every Friday, beginning on May 24th, they will have all the bugs worked out.
Saturday, May 4th:
This night started out a bit early. KJ Sarah Moya was doing a special event at Tammy’s Edge on Rio Grande. I walked in on the last song from Hands That Feed, a live band of teen-agers who really know how to rock, then watched Michael, a male ballet dancer perform a few numbers and then a belly dancing group perform. They were gonna have karaoke later but I had to go. Sarah said it’s possible they will do this once a month. I would encourage you to go.
From there I headed up to Graham Central Station, where they always treat me like a king. Matt was the KJ that night. It was slow at first but picked up by 10. He needs to work a bit on mixing the sound but the fact that they now have a bigger selection and better sound system helped make up for it. Also, Matt is one hell of an entertainer. Cover is $5 on Friday and Saturday and let’s you in to all 3 clubs, Karaoke, Country and Hip Hop.
Then it was right down the road to Fiesta’s. They were only about half way full but they were all singers. They have replaced the 2 in house speakers which has made a huge difference on the sound there. And as always Toby and Zack are quite the entertainers. Only go to Fiesta’s if you can let your hair down and have a good time. The regulars at Fiesta's will always make you feel at home!
FROM OZZ: MY WEEK IN REVIEW
Monday, May 6, 2013:
Tonight, it was Blackbird with the one and only DJ Speed Racer. It started off a bit slow compared to normal. His first rotation was only about 8 singers. I say only because Blackbird is notorious for 25-30 singers. By about 10:15 the regulars began to crawl in and it became busier. I sang Wind of Change and Iron Man, he made me sound great as Speed always does. The server was ok, not great, but not bad, I would say average, hitting up Jameson at the bar is usually your best bet. The crowd here is always lively and very eclectic a college crowd but appreciates anything you sing, good or bad, karaoke every Monday night from 9-1:30am, 5th and Central.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013:
Another slow night….what the heck? Finals or something? Caveman was with me, and until 10:15 we were the only singers in the house. And then a group of 2 guys a 3 gals showed up so KJ Zero started karaoke. We stayed till 11 and got 2 songs in each. The sound was good and the crowd that was there was responsive. Service at Geckos has always been great for me, the servers are always on it and have a great attitude. Karaoke here every Tuesday night from 9-1am with KJ Zero from Live Mic Entertainment.
Friday, May 10, 2013:
I started my night with a comedy show at The Damn Bar. Matt Peterson, was the host and funny as hell. Then Cyrus Moses came out funny as always, the Steven ? can’t remember his last name, but he is a DJ on Kiss FM, and OMG fricken hilarious, and then the headliner, Smitty…..if you ever hear of Smitty anywhere check this guy out he is funny as all hell. They do comedy night every Friday starting about 8pm, it was over by 9:45 and was well worth it.
From there I drove all the way across town to Spectators. Telles was out of town so his Saturday night KJ Felicia was on board. She is kinda new but she did very well at the sound and getting the crowd to applaud. She could use a little spifing up on the intros and outros but will say she is very likeable. Sit down service there is very good. They have food till about 11 and drink prices are excellent. They have karaoke every Friday and Saturday starting at 9pm.
Saturday, May 11, 2013:
My evening started with Mr Tommy Hurrikane at Louie’s Pub. Louie’s Pub is definitely one of those neighborhood pubs where all the locals go. The sound is a little high pitch there because of all the tile and lack of carpet, but it’s still good and the crowd there is always responsive. I always grab my beer at the bar, but the table service is pretty quick. Tommy has a great selection and is a very personable and likeable guy. You will have a good time at Louie’s. They have karaoke every Thursday and Saturday night starting at 9pm.
From there I was supposed to go to Sidelines, but needed to make a stop at Effingbar to help celebrate Mr Karaoke’s one year anniversary of singing. Amos has been running karaoke there for a while now and has great loyal following, and the non singing part of the bar is always a good time. Service was slow that night but I am gonna let it slide because there was only one server for the entire bar which was almost standing room only and she could run circles around many I have seen. The crowd was extremely responsive as always, and the sound and Amos were great as always. They have karaoke every Thursday and Saturday from 9pm-1am.
FROM OZZ: MY WEEK IN REVIEW
6-1-13: ED’S PUB & RETRO
It’s Saturday night and everything is alright! Tonight I started my adventure at Ed’s Pub at Leisure Bowl. The have 3 different KJ”s so I try to come on different nights to get a flavor for each one. Tonight it was the new kid on the block Danielle whom is taking Glens place. She is doing a great job. My first song, Freebird was a little quite but on the second song, Bark at the Moon I asked her to turn it up, and she did and it sounded amazing! For my third song, Black Dog, she turned it up, and then I am pretty sure the manager made her turn it back down. This is the biggest complaint I hear about the “new Ed’s”. They are now running digital, and have a new sound system but are not allowed to turn it up. For some I am sure that’s ok, but not for the songs I sing. There was one large group in there and they were very responsive. Danielle will make a great KJ I have no doubt. They have karaoke 7 nights a week as long as they have enough singers and they are a sponsor of Call Me Ozz.
From Ed’s it was up a block and to the left to Retro. Of course this was the Alice Cooper concert night but they still had a pretty crowd going on. They weren’t very responsive at first but as the night went on they loosened up and became very responsive. They had some fantastic singers and every time I go there everything gets better and better. It’s still a little clickish, and it is a very wide range of age. One thing Twig has a massive library and can get a song for you pretty quick if he doesn’t have it already. Retro has karaoke Tuesday-Saturday from 9-close, get there early on the weekends because they get extremely busy.
6-4-13: NEXUS/COMEDY
Tonight was a funny night, I mean that literally. No singing for me, just comedy. I checked out the Nexus Open Mic Night with John Cuellar and company and let me tell you it was funny. I am not one to be a comedian critic, so I am just gonna say, if you want chicken n waffles and some really good home brew with some great laughs, hit up Nexus on a Tuesday night. Show starts about 7:30.
6-5-13: BARLEY ROOM & MALARKYS
The Barley Room is where it all began. Not only tonight but that’s where Call Me Ozz began almost 3 years ago with The Barley Room Karaoke Contest. Tonight it was night of rockin the house with KJ DraZtik from Kammo Karaoke aka Sarah Moya. The Barley Room has had a history of inconsistent service, but not tonight, the servers were on top of it, I didn’t see anyone wondering when their next drink was coming, and Sarah has come a long ways since she first started, the sound was great and she is just a little firecracker. I hope they keep this up; The Barley Room has always been a special place for me. The have karaoke every Wednesday night and they are a Call Me Ozz sponsor.
From there it was over to Malarkeys with KJ Fito Garza with Rock Star Karaoke, and they don’t call it rock star just because, it’s because with the fog, the lights, the stage, the sound you really do feel like a rock star. The night was great except for one bad apple. Why someone always has to sit and judge everyone else and think they are better than everyone else is beyond me, but it does happen and unfortunately tonight, it did happen. I have learned just to ignore the haters and enjoy what I do. Besides that, there were some great singers. One thing I have to warn you about when you go to a Rock Star Karaoke Show. The host is not “A” typical. He is up and about and intermingling with everyone, sometimes you may even have to put your own song in, but the sound and effects make it all worth it. Malarkey’s has karaoke with Rock Star every Wednesday night and every Monday night with Broken Eardrumz.
6-6-13: SLATE STREET & THE DAMN BAR
Tonight it was all about Rio Rancho. I began my night at Slate Street with Tommy Hurrikane. As we waited for the Geeks who Drink to finish up Tommy was getting everything set and in place. It started off slow with just Pesh and I but as we broke the ice many others joined in the karaoke party. The waitress was quick to serve and the crowd was very responsive. By the time we left there was a pretty good rotation and a pretty good audience. Slate Street does karaoke every Thursday night. Slate is a Call Me Ozz sponsor.
From Slate I pulled out of the parking lot, took a right then a left to The Damn Bar, not even a 5 minute drive. It was not busy. I got to sing 4 songs with DJ/KJ Speed Racer who had the lights and the sound right where it needed to be. I realize The Damn Bar is quite the drive from Albuquerque but if you live in the area the sound and Speed will make it worth your trip to come sing here. The people here are generally very friendly and interact very well. They do karaoke every Thursday night beginning at 9:30.
6-7-13: GRAHAM CENTRAL STATION & FIESTA’S
Friday night began at Graham Central Station. I have seen this place go from the worst venue to one of the best. Now I know there are a lot of people out there that don’t like Graham because of this or that in the past and I was one of them. They went from horrible KJ’s, sound, and selection to what they are now. Being corporate I really hope this time they will stay on this track and not vere again. A few months ago they sent in the corporate sound engineer, and brought in digital as well as move the KJ booth onto the stage. Karissa is usually the KJ there and she is full of energy and has the most amazing smile and friendly and helpful as can be. The sound is awesome now, some of the songs can be off versions, but you work through that. One thing you always have there is a crowd, and if you wanna dance there is a country club and a R&B dance club and plenty of pool tables. They have karaoke every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. There is a $5 cover charge after 10 on Thursday and 9 on Friday.
From Graham it was right down the road to Fiesta’s, where Zack pulled me out of the “Boop Box” I was stuck in for so many years. When you walk into Fiesta’s the first thing you feel is the energy from the crowd and Toby. The next thing you feel is the quick and friendly service, and when you sing, you feel the great crowd response and the air guitar interaction. The sound is much better than before as they have replaced the in house speakers, and they have an awesome selection. Fiesta’s was voted the best venue for 2012 by the People’s Choice Awards, they karaoke on Friday and Saturday nights and they are a Call Me Ozz sponsor.
6-8-13: HOOLIGANS/LIVE BANDS
Nope no singing for me tonight. Tonight I kept my mouth shut and my ears open as I enjoyed Ragdoll from Australia and London’s Dungeon from Texas, they rocked the hell out of this place. Hooligan’s is a great venue for Live Band Action almost every Saturday night. Visit our sister site for all the Live Band Action around town. Hooligans has karaoke on Tuesday and Friday nights.
NO MORE REVIEWS.....WELL KINDA....
You hear it all the time, it’s your website you should be able to say what you want, you should be able to speak the truth and if they can’t handle it, well screw them….etc, etc, etc. Well guess what? I have found most people cannot handle the truth! That’s the truth. I didn’t do reviews for the longest time just because of that reason. I would write a review and be honest about the sound, or service or whatever, and then I would hear backlash that it wasn’t fair, or it wasn’t written the way it should have been, or oops I left someone out.
Once again it has come to that point again. Every KJ thinks they are they best, every venue thinks so, the fact is only one can be the best, but all can be the best at what they do and for their following. What gets me are the KJ’s that claim to be the best but never venture outside their box, so how would they know? Wouldn’t someone who goes to all of the venues know better than them? I would think so but to some that is NOT the case.
In an effort (as I always try to do) to keep this trilogy in balance (The Singers, The KJ’s, The Venues), I will no longer be writing the reviews weekly as I have been doing. I am currently working on a new page for the site called VENUE PROFILES. This is more of a black and white approach and includes a guest book that YOU can leave your comments in. Now you are the judge! I will continue with the Report Card though, and there is a review by me in each of the venues. So, if you are a KJ or Venue and don’t like what it says, I would suggest taking a closer look at what you are doing and perhaps fix it.
This project will take about 45 days to complete, it is huge! I am adding one venue per day. Please be patient and keep checking in and become interactive with it, it will only make YOUR singing experience better in the long run, and it will also reward those venues that put the singer first and weed out those that don’t.
FROM OZZ: MY WEEK IN REVIEW
5-16-13:
Tonight was the long awaited for EFFINGBAR sing n win, Jagermeister Cooler Give Away and what an awesome night it was. The singers came early, at 9 o’ clock there 15 singers ready to roll. By midnight there were a total of 33 singers, 29 eligible for the give away. The first four drawn won backpacks from Jager and Bud Light, the next sixteen won Bud T-Shirts and Jager sweat bands. The next one, won the Jack Daniels Bucket Game. The next five won Bar Mirrors. Unbelievably, the next one, won a Jameson banner, but she had left! Then Milli won the Bud Light Cooler and the winner of the Jagermiester Cooler was Rain. All in all it was an amazing night. Amos and Joe keep the singers singing and the wait staff kept the drinks and food a flowin. Effingbar has karaoke every Thursday and Saturday nights beginning at 9pm. Effingbar is a Call Me Ozz sponsor.
5-17-13:
Tonight my night began at Deserts Greens on the Westside with Tommy Hurrikane. It was already busy when I got there at 9, as it usually is. I am pretty sure all the tables were full but not all of singers, which makes for a great crowd response. I love it when I walk in and the waitress is already standing there with my Corona, just makes it all better! Red will take very good care of you there, and the regulars will always make you feel welcome. Karaoke at the Greens is every Friday night, beginning at 7:30pm. Get there early if you wanna sing.
From the Greens I ended my night at Lucky 66 Lanes in the North Valley. Adam is the new KJ there, Allan’s cousin, and I will say he is picking it up just fine. There is always a fun crowd at De Wars Pub every time I go. Last night the crowd was really having a good time and very responsive. The rotation there usually isn’t very long but is usually pretty busy which is great if you like to sing a lot and have someone to sing to. They have karaoke every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights starting at 9pm. And they have one more thing no one else has. Limo rides. Yep, for only 30 cents per mile per person, they will take you home. So you can come and have a great time and not worry about DWI. Lucky Lanes is a Call Me Ozz sponsor.
Rain wins the Jager Cooler
Milli wins the Bud Light Cooler
FROM OZZ: MY WEEK IN REVIEW
5-18-13:
Tonight started at Hooligans with some serious live band action. I walked in on the last 4 songs from Idemnified, they rock hard and loud as always, and then got to hear Darken the Day for the first time, I really liked them, they remind me of Iron Maiden in the early days. I could not stay for Chimpz from LA or Shit Happens, but I really wish I could have. We drew the names for the Free Dinner at El Norteno and Free Tickets for the Rocketz show and cooley enough the winner Brandon Pea was there!
From there I headed over to Silva Lanes, where Sade Wolf met me in the parking lot to win her ticket for The Rocketz concert as well. I entered Punky’s Place at Silva Lanes where it was defiantly happing with KJ Kidd Six on the soundboard keeping everything lively. It was nice to run into Dragon ad Joni, who I haven’t seen in a long time. They have added many new songs to their library, the only complaint I have there is they are not allowed to work with the effects so be prepared to sound flat. The bar service is great and the crowd is usually very responsive. The have karaoke 7 nights a week.
5-22-13:
Tonight was supposed to be a comedy night at Broken Bottle, however an opportunity to see the opening night of The Producers at The Albuquerque Little Theater arose and seeings as I am looking for a director of the Live Theater Site, I thought it would be best to take advantage of it so I did. And so glad I was to do so. It was awesomelingly hilarious and would recommend it highly!
From there I headed to Maloney’s with KJ Speed Racer at the board. When I first got there it was pretty slow which was cool with me because I got my first song in pretty quick, then it steadily got busier. I am going to write a story about Speed racer in the next newsletter because of all the KJ’s I see in this town, he is the one who knows what he is doing. The crowd was not responding until Speed made a comment about it and then the response the rest of the night was phenomenal, proving that the KJ does have control over the crowd. The sound at Maloney’s is absolutely amazing, parking downtown can sometimes be tricky but most of the time I can park on the street within a couple of blocks, a little walk is good for the head anyway! Maloney’s has karaoke every Wednesday night starting at 9:30 and is a young n pretty jumpy crowd.
5-24-13:
Tonight was night number in Dallas, checking out the karaoke scene. We started at Scooters in Garland. Walking in I wasn’t sure what to expect, it was like a Sidelines but not as nice, kinda back porch like, not that that’s a bad thing, just the way it was. I guess it’s legal to smoke inside because everyone was lighting up, I didn’t care to much for that. The service was really good, the waitress was a little spacey but was on top of it and our drinks never went dry. The food was average. Karaoke finally started at 10, that’s what time they start there. The sound was pretty good and KJ Ken was lively and bubbly. They have all the songs you may want and he knows his stuff. The crowd response was ok. I do not have a report card for Dallas so I would give them a 9 on service, 8 on sound, 6 on crowd and 9 on KJ for a score of 32.
We left Scooters about 11ish and headed to downtown Dallas for some Gators action. KJ Pyles was on board as always and had the crowd movin’ as always. I only got to sing once but Black Dog really sounded good there and had an awesome crowd reaction. The service was pretty slow, but the venue was at capacity and I think they were shorthanded. We will be back on Saturday, that’s the night that will matter. For tonight I would give them a 4 on service, 9 on sound, 9 on crowd and 9 on KJ for a score of 31.
5-25-13:
And Saturday night is here. The night I had been waiting for, for 3 months. KJ Pyles, had been preparing for this night. We got there right at 9 and he was ready to roll. By 9:30 the venue was at capacity and there were a ton of singers, and those who weren’t singing were dancing, clappin and ho hawin! Don’t’ take this as racist but normally when you are somewhere where it’s only 10% white, they don’t like rock, that is NOT the case at Gators, this crowd is very eclectic every time, whether you sing rap, R&B, country, show tunes, or rock you will get screaming ovations. KJ Pyle’s is a MASTER at crowd control. Tonight the service was impeccable. Look for some awesome videos to come out very, very soon. Tonight I would rate Gators, 10 on service, 9 on sound, 10 on crowd, and 10 on KJ for a score of 39. They have karaoke every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
5-29-13:
My first night back in Albuquerque and still not fully recovered from Dallas I stopped into VFW Post 99 where Teles was on board and had the place going strong with 40 singers. This is an older crowd, but let me tell you, they get up and grove here. You will always find Elvis here and they are super friendly. I have been singing with Teles since Sneakerz, pre-Ozz days, I have seen him come from baby steps to where he is today, it’s been really cool. Because the post is a private club, smoking is permitted and you must be signed in as a guest. Teles is there every other Wednesday night.
From there I drove for about 2 minutes to Sunset Grill, where another pre-Ozz KJ was running the show. Charles and I go back to The Brio days in 2001. His sound is really good and I have watched this crowd grow over the last year from 5-10 singers to a regular 15-25 singers. Acacia is an awesome waitress/bartender and the crowd is always very responsive. Unfortunately Charles was in an “indifferent” mood tonight which caused some complaints from singers to me, but that is not normally the case. They have karaoke every Wednesday and Thursday night.
5-30-13:
Tonight I finally made it over to see Shua at Louie’s. Shua has a brand new system and you can tell. The sound is great. Shua is great. The service at Louie’s has always been above average. This was my first visit on a Thursday night. It was very slow at first, but then about 10 o’clock all the regulars filled the house and the party was on! They have karaoke every Thursday night with Shua and Saturday nights with Tommy Hurrikane.
From there I drove all the way across town, across the river to see Fito, owner of Rock Star Karaoke and bass player for Shit Happens at Elliott’s. The bar was full but the rest of the venue was not. There were not many singers but the ones that were there were unbelievably awesome. Fito pulls out his sound that he uses for his band, ‘nuff said. He has the lights, the fog, when you get on stage you feel like a rock star! Be patient with Fito, he is not real fast on the computer to get you in but he will get you in, the crowd was not very responsive but the service was great. They have karaoke every Thursday night.
5-31-13:
Something happens on the last Friday of every month. The celebrity showroom at San Felipe Hollywood Casino comes to life with the best karaoke singers of Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and Santa Fe! It started out to be a slow night but by the second rotation the singers had arrived. It was a comfortable rotation with about 15 singers, and a pretty good crowd. The sound and lights are always outstanding at this event. If you never have been, you really should make the next one, June 28th from 8pm-Midnight.
From there I headed on over to the New Ned’s on San Mateo to check out the local band Shit Happens. What can I say other than wow! The bass player from Alice Cooper was on stage for Fito Garza (owner of Rock Star Karaoke) when I first walked in. These guys know how to put on one hell of show. I stayed till the end, I had to see one our well known karaoke singers play guitar for two songs and yeah he rocked it good. For all the live band shows check out Live Music from Call Me Ozz.
