Karaoke in San Francisco, CA

The Cellar is mainly known as a hoppin’ dance club on weekend nights. But now you have another reason to go to the Cellar: Monday night karaoke with Glenny Kravitz.
I had no idea what to expect for a Monday night the first time I went. But the crowd was pleasantly diverse and the bar staff friendly. There were no shy wallflowers here, people hit the sign-up sheet hard with no hesitation. It’s entertaining to watch the new crowd consisting of students from the nearby Academy of Art, foreigners staying in hostels, and neighborhood kids living in the TenderNob laugh at Glenny’s stand-by jokes that his regular crew is already well familiar with.

Layout is reminiscent of Encore….the “stage” is actually a wide-open dance floor, which means plenty of room for the breakdancing that often happens when I bust out with my white girl rap stylings. There’s a big movie screen behind you so people can follow along with the lyrics.
My one complaint is it’s less interactive…Glenny Kravitz is tucked up in the DJ booth instead of right next to you playing air guitar, but he handles this by going back and forth.
Drinks are a tad expensive, but if you get there for their 8-9pm happy hour, you get $3 bottled beers, and $2 off mixed cocktails.

This bar falls under the genre of Red Light Bars. No, not like naked girls in the window, I’m talking about the trendy use of dark red light in bars meant to infuse everyone with that sexy red glow, hide skin flaws, and mimic the womb. Or something.
This bar is indeed dark, small, and womblike. When it gets crowded, the walls literally sweat and you might find yourself having to push through the swinging saloon doors to gasp for air.
This is all GOOD, in case I’m not making myself clear. So is the dizzying array of Belgian and other rare import beers on tap. The soju cocktails aren’t bad, and you can even order a mini-bottle of Freixenet (pronounced Fresh-in-ette) champagne or sangria if you want to look classy. The owner/bartender Shawn is probably the nicest, most unpretentious bartender in SF.
But what I’m really hear to talk about is Rock Out Karaoke Night. My completely unbiased opinion is that Glenny Kravitz is a genius and the best karaoke host in SF, or possibly anywhere. Why? He will try anything once, encourages outrageousness and creativity, and will do everything he can to make the singer feel comfortable and come out of his/her shell. Last Tuesday, for example, he requested that people do “performance art karaoke.” This one girl came out wearing a full Pope robe, headdress, handing out Necco wafers, and proceeded to sing Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” over House of Pain’s “Jump.” Brilliant. That’s what karaoke should be like: stupid and amazing.