I was anxious heading into my first karaoke night at The Cellar on Treadwell. I feared Iโd 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 โThe House of the Rising Sun,โ told me, โWeโre a family.โ He discovered The Cellarโs 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, Radioheadโs โFake Plastic Trees,โ and Iโll 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 earwormsโThe Black-Eyed Peasโ โI Gotta Feeling,โ shouted out by a duo calling themselves Rebel & Mammadukes; Miley Cyrusโs โThe Climb,โ sung by Naomi, part of a group Ed referred to as โThe Once-a-Month Clubโโto obscurities even Google couldnโt identify. I was delighted to hear monthly clubber Sarah bounce through the 2005 All-American Rejects hit โDirty Little Secret,โ a song Iโd 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 Lavigneโs โAlice,โ Pat Benatarโs โInvincible,โ Evanescenceโs โThe Weight of the Worldโ and Sleeping with Sirensโs โAll My Heart.โ But thenโholy mood shift, BatmanโMaddie laid out a blistering โSmells Like Teen Spiritโ that would lift even Kurt Cobainโs depression. Solo act Leonaโs choices also leaned toward the torchy, including Evanescenceโs โMy Immortalโ and Sam Smithโs โLay Me Down,โ though she, too, pulled a switch with Keith Urbanโs โBlue Ainโt Your Color.โ My vote for best chanteuse went to Katrice, who crushed Heartโs โAloneโ while acting it out.
Still, hands down, the showstopper of the evening was monthly club member Mikeโs rendition of Adam Sandlerโs relentlessly profane โAt a Medium Pace,โ 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, โHow crazy am I to do Miley Cyrus after that shit?โ
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 alongโbut whether he was or wasnโt, I enjoyed his hard rock and goth/metal repertoire: Generation Xโs โKiss Me Deadly,โ Jawbreakerโs โKiss the Bottle,โ Atreyuโs โClean Sheets,โ Suedeโs โAnimal Nitrate,โ Bon Joviโs โBad Medicine,โ Danzigโs โHer Black Wings,โ AC/DCโs โNight Prowler.โ 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 Nationโs โWhen Is the Future?โ and Friends of the Nephilimโs โPreacher Man.โ
As for the rest, there were sprightly go-rounds of Panic! At the Discoโs โI Write Sins Not Tragediesโ (by birthday girl Olivia and friends Riley and Torie), Foo Fightersโ โMy Hero,โ Violent Femmesโ โBlister in the Sun,โ Katy Perryโs โTeenage Dream,โ The Cureโs โJust Like Heavenโ and Temple of the Dogโs โHunger Strike,โ 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 wouldโve liked to hearโTom Petty or David Bowie or The Replacements. Surely one of these karaoke veterans could have crushed Princeโs โKissโ or โNothing Compares 2 U.โ 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, Iโm 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 Iโll do Wilcoโs โShot in the Arm,โ althoughโas Jeff Tweedy puts itโIโm going to need โsomething in my veins bloodier than blood.โ
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 โthe once-a-month club.โ