I was anxious heading into my first karaoke night at The Cellar on Treadwell. I feared Iβd encounter hours of off-key wailing followed by audience ridicule or, worse yet, long intimidating silences broken only by the occasional bold soul.
What I found instead was a boisterous and welcoming scene that supported every participant, even when their vocal chops were, to borrow from Winston Churchill, much to be modest about. Ed, a regular who sang a full-throated rendition of βThe House of the Rising Sun,β told me, βWeβre a family.β He discovered The Cellarβs karaoke night, held every Wednesday from 7 to 11, a few years back while searching for food after a live show at neighboring Space Ballroom. He encouraged me to perform my favorite belt-it-in-the-shower song, Radioheadβs βFake Plastic Trees,β and Iβll only need at least a dozen more soaking wet rehearsals to work up the nerve.
The dozens of performances that did happen that night, capably shepherded by host DJ Robb, ranged from Top 10 earwormsβThe Black-Eyed Peasβ βI Gotta Feeling,β shouted out by a duo calling themselves Rebel & Mammadukes; Miley Cyrusβs βThe Climb,β sung by Naomi, part of a group Ed referred to as βThe Once-a-Month Clubββto obscurities even Google couldnβt identify. I was delighted to hear monthly clubber Sarah bounce through the 2005 All-American Rejects hit βDirty Little Secret,β a song Iβd nearly forgotten even though it, too, made the Top 10.
There was plenty of torch rock and emo, some of it courtesy of Maddie and Belle who sang both as a duo and as solos, offering Avril Lavigneβs βAlice,β Pat Benatarβs βInvincible,β Evanescenceβs βThe Weight of the Worldβ and Sleeping with Sirensβs βAll My Heart.β But thenβholy mood shift, BatmanβMaddie laid out a blistering βSmells Like Teen Spiritβ that would lift even Kurt Cobainβs depression. Solo act Leonaβs choices also leaned toward the torchy, including Evanescenceβs βMy Immortalβ and Sam Smithβs βLay Me Down,β though she, too, pulled a switch with Keith Urbanβs βBlue Ainβt Your Color.β My vote for best chanteuse went to Katrice, who crushed Heartβs βAloneβ while acting it out.
Still, hands down, the showstopper of the evening was monthly club member Mikeβs rendition of Adam Sandlerβs relentlessly profane βAt a Medium Pace,β an exercise in courage that had most of the audience in hysterics and the rest gobsmacked. That included Naomi, who went up next with the preface, βHow crazy am I to do Miley Cyrus after that shit?β
Credit should also be given to a fellow named Mancer for owning the stage: He took it 10 times (yes, I counted), more than anyone else. I found myself suspecting he was a ringer, planted to keep the night humming alongβbut whether he was or wasnβt, I enjoyed his hard rock and goth/metal repertoire: Generation Xβs βKiss Me Deadly,β Jawbreakerβs βKiss the Bottle,β Atreyuβs βClean Sheets,β Suedeβs βAnimal Nitrate,β Bon Joviβs βBad Medicine,β Danzigβs βHer Black Wings,β AC/DCβs βNight Prowler.β At one point, he found himself in a kind of mano-a-mano duel with Jared, a giant of a man who countered with VNV Nationβs βWhen Is the Future?β and Friends of the Nephilimβs βPreacher Man.β
As for the rest, there were sprightly go-rounds of Panic! At the Discoβs βI Write Sins Not Tragediesβ (by birthday girl Olivia and friends Riley and Torie), Foo Fightersβ βMy Hero,β Violent Femmesβ βBlister in the Sun,β Katy Perryβs βTeenage Dream,β The Cureβs βJust Like Heavenβ and Temple of the Dogβs βHunger Strike,β a rollicking run-through that inspired Cellar co-owner and bartender Pete to jump onstage and join in with Ed. Looking back has gotten me thinking about other artists I wouldβve liked to hearβTom Petty or David Bowie or The Replacements. Surely one of these karaoke veterans could have crushed Princeβs βKissβ or βNothing Compares 2 U.β No matter; the point was to get the audience in a good mood and singing along, which we did.
To put some skin in the game, Iβm definitely prepping my Thom Yorke tribute, which I expect will be aided by a little liquid courage and an order of Huggie Bear Wings, a house specialty covered with a honey butter glaze sure to soothe my vocal cords. Or maybe Iβll do Wilcoβs βShot in the Arm,β althoughβas Jeff Tweedy puts itβIβm going to need βsomething in my veins bloodier than blood.β
The Cellar on Treadwell
295 Treadwell St Bldg H, Hamden (map)
Weekly Karaoke Nights: Wed 7-11pm
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Written and photographed by Patricia Grandjean. Image features members of βthe once-a-month club.β