location, your audience will include a fair number of college students. to 8 p.m.) to get loosened up before you grab the mic for the nightly “Kickass Karaoke!” - unless you’re under 21, in which case, you should find some other way to gather your courage.Īs you might imagine, the atmosphere of 414 Pizza tends toward the laid-back, so no pressure. Then take advantage of the Happy Hour deals (3 p.m. You can tell they take karaoke seriously because all the food items feature clever music-based names, such as the “Red Hot Chili Poppers” or the “Great Meatballs of Fire” sub. in Tempe and enjoy a reasonably priced dinner of New York-style pizza or hot wings. Ready for karaoke in front of strangers? Head over to Mill Ave. Location: 7150 E 6th Avenue Scottsdale, AZ to close, Geisha A Go Go hosts the Tokyo Tonic Bar, which offers public karaoke as well. Note: On Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 6 p.m. Also, the decor screams up-scale, so dress nice. If you want to be sure you can karaoke, though, call ahead and make a reservation. A group of people eating sushi should easily meet those minimums.
However, from Monday to Thursday, and Friday through Sunday until 7 p.m., you can get a regular or large karaoke room for free when you spend $50 or $100, respectively, on your meal.
When it comes to room cost, Geisha A Go Go does lean toward the expensive ($50 to $100 per hour). Just take it easy on the spirits as each room also features an “entertainment pole” and there are some things some of us just shouldn’t do even among friends (unless you want to create an anecdote that lasts for decades).
In addition, each room enjoys full bottle service, so you can keep your liquid courage up. Like the last entry, this venue offers private karaoke rooms so you can exercise your vocal pipes without any public embarrassment. Geisha A Go Go Geisha A Go Go barįans of excellent sushi and karaoke will want to try Geisha A Go Go in Scottsdale. Location: 1301 E University Dr #106, Tempe, AZ
It also helps to call ahead and reserve your room. Note that this establishment does serve snack-type food and beverages, courtesy of the friendly staff, but alcohol is not allowed (not great if you need alcohol as a prerequisite to this activity). That’s where you’ll find most of the best songs anyway. To save time, we recommend you avoid searching and just browse through the popular tracks list. Similarly, the karaoke machine interface can be slow and finicky when finding and selecting songs. If you plan to sing primarily in English, you might find that the catalog doesn’t include all the bands you would expect, or certain favorite songs. The venue’s massive song selection covers English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Malaysian, Indonesian and Vietnamese songs. Hint: If you’re nervous, turn on the “atmosphere” light-show setting as a distraction.
Of course, you can also turn down the professional singer and go it on your own, if you feel ready. That means you can hear the original singer’s voice rather than going solo. That means a) you and your friends can pick the music you want, b) you won’t wait around for a long time to sing, and c) you aren’t required to sing in front of strangers. Of course, if you want to sing in front of a crowd, the venue does offer a public stage as well, but it costs more to rent.Īlso good for beginners, the system uses official song music videos instead of true karaoke tracks. For quite reasonable prices (it starts at $15 an hour for a six-person room) you can rent out one of the seven private karaoke rooms. August Karaoke Box August Karaoke Box private roomįor Karaoke beginners, August Karaoke Box near Arizona State University makes a good starting point. However, a few spots in the Valley specialize in it, and offer some perks for newcomers or more advanced singers. Sounds like something you want to try? Great! Don’t know where to go to sing? Keep reading and we’ll tell you.ĭisclaimer: Truthfully, just about any nearby bar will offer karaoke a few nights a week. It also helps if your higher brain functions are mildly suppressed via certain types of beverages. Did you know that the word “karaoke” originated in 1970s Japan and literally means “empty orchestra”? It likely refers to the recorded nature of the music and the absent main vocal track. However, we like to think that it refers to singers so bad that a real band would get up and leave in the middle of the song.įortunately for those less musically talented, karaoke typically focuses on the amusement factor - for the singer and the audience - and singing quality remains a distant second.