If you have ever been to a normal karaoke night at a bar, you know what it generally entails: awkward, drunk people singing off key to pre-recorded versions of the pop songs you hear everywhere. But a new Wednesday night concert series at Empire Dine and Dance in Portland offers a new contribution to this tired type of entertainment: highly skilled, live musicians.?
The action happens in Empire’s large upstairs bar. Doors open at around 9p.m. and the music gets going a bit before 10p.m. The band, Trainwreck, is a four piece with two guitars, bass and drums, that has learned around 100 songs for this gig and is constantly learning more in response to requests. The Portland photographer, musician and general man-on-the-town known simply as the “Fuge” hosts, bringing people up to the stage and commenting as they step off.
Gia, the bartender, stepped away from the large fully-stocked bar to kick off the evening with No Doubt’s “Just a Girl.” As the band grooved on the song’s upbeat punk sound, Gia gave the verses all she had. The crowd went wild. When it was over, she ran straight back to the bar, and like Superman turning back into Clark Kent, resumed making drinking for us thirsty journalists.
Next up was Carolyn’s hilariously physical rendition of “I Touch Myself” by The Devinyls. Carolyn [last name omitted for obvious reasons] spent her whole performance grinding up on the lead guitarist, stopping only to take a tequila shot brought to her by a friend in the crowd. By the time she stepped off of the stage, the crowd was screaming her name.
When Free Press photographer Jeff Fernald attempted the new hit “Sex on Fire” by Kings of Leon, he did an excellent job of enacting the song’s title: he was like a crashing Nascar driver. On fire. But, to be fair, he took it like a champ. The tipsy audience helped him out by singing along as they did with many songs, and he won the respect of the crowd and a pat on the back from the lead guitarist for having the guts to go on stage in the first place. “Going up there was fun,” said Jeff, “But realizing in the first verse that your doing it wrong, and there was no way to save yourself, sucked.”?
Not everyone is a good enough singer to perform on stage with a live band, but it’s fun (even if a bit nerve-wracking) to try for a few minutes. Spending your Wednesday night pretending to be a rockstar sure beats doing homework. Even if you just go to watch, it’s definitely worth checking out this weekly event.