Courtside in Cambridge: Worst. Karaoke. Ever.
Well, congrats to the Courtside Pub of Cambridge for hosting the worst karaoke night we’ve ever been to.
Matt and I are karaoke veterans. We’ve been to a handful of karaoke places in the Boston area, but never did we have an experience like this. Yes, there were the obligatory past-their-prime women singing “I Touch Myself” whilst donning revealing outfits and dancing in a way that made me feel ashamed of my gender. Yes, there were the drunken cougars on the prowl for 20-something year old boys. These things are often part of the karaoke experience, and a given.
At our evening at Courtside Pub at 291 Cambridge St. Cambridge, Massachusetts was far less than desirable.
After waiting for TWO HOURS to sing our song, we were not given the opportunity to sing! All the while, the karaoke DJs were letting people in their little clique sing multiple times. After we had been there for two hours, I went to see when we were going to sing, and they told us that the last song was being sung, and by someone who had already sung, no less. We put our song in right after Jaron, and he got to sing an hour into our time there. Maybe it had to do with the fact that the song was chose was not poppy enough…but all the people at the Courtside missed out, because Matt and I rock it at the karaoke bars. Rock, I say!
The karaoke DJ wasn’t too nice about it, either. He was snotty and passive-aggressive. Matt and I were filled with fury; I thanked the DJs for hosting the worst karaoke night I had ever been too.
Matt’s contacting the venue to file a complaint, as we don’t think that other people should be subjected to waiting for hours to sing a single karaoke song, only to NEVER sing it, and be treated in an unkind manner by the DJs. We don’t plan on going back to the Courtside unless changes are made. There are many better places to do karaoke at, with friendly DJs. (Not to mention the opportunity to sing at least once in the period of a few hours!) The saga will continue. I hope Courtside hires a new DJ, because they do have a good selection of music and cheap beers…but I don’t plan on going back there!
We could have saved money on drinks and had Magic Hat in the comfort of our own living rooms for the fraction of the cost and played Karaoke Revolution. I know my cat, Levon tends to enjoy my endless renditions of “You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman”.
Filed under Greater Boston (General), Greater Boston Restaurants, My Life, Things to do in the Boston Area |14 Responses to “Courtside in Cambridge: Worst. Karaoke. Ever.”
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I can understand waiting around and singing only one song. That’s pretty par for the course. I can also see a scenario where there are too many singers to fit into one night, but neither were the case. Oh, well. They’ve lost my attendance. I guess I’ll have to find somewhere else to have my SuperBowl party.
[...] Looks like we angered someone! Anyone have a feeling that this person is affilated with the Courtside in some way? [...]
[...] “Courtside karaoke cambridge” is another common one, and unfortunately for the venue, Googling that will take you to my blog post bashing the place. (Matt’s post isn’t too far down.) [...]
Sounds like you guys have the same kind of notion of what a good karaoke bar should be…
Someone tell me SOMEWHERE that is popular enough that you’re not echoing off the walls but not so popular that you can’t sing more than once or twice. My fiance and I are (average of our ages– around 35) so not kids, but not oldies either (though I would prefer the older crowd to drunk college kids screaming “Sweet Caroline” or “I Love Rock n Roll”)
If I show up early, I like to sing at least three times and I don’t mean by putting my name as “Liz” then “Elizabeth” then “Janice & Elizabeth” and all the cheater ways of getting a million turns. (GRR)
I also like a good, full book with lots of selections, not just the stale old same things or a really thin book– YES, size does matter! ;-)
I don’t mind if some people can’t sing, actually I prefer it to when all the people think they are the next American Idol. Too much pressure and judgmental people. Karaoke is FUN, not meant to be TOO serious! Though I do like to sing well. My fiance, on the other hand, falls under the “entertaining” and “well at least he’s having fun” category and is getting better at being in tune. ;-)
We live just north of Boston and like to stay somewhat local.
It can be a dive, really, sometimes those are the best places and the drinks are certainly cheaper. I just don’t like waiting three hours for one song and I don’t like being treated like crap either (who does?).
My nominations for poor experiences:
Waiting three hours for one song: Pearl Street in Malden. Gorgeous place, nice DJ’s, but very cliquey and sometimes RUDE crowd –this 25 year old girl was getting into it with me for NO reason whatsoever as soon as we sat down (practically into fisticuffs!), and another table actually booed someone’s song choice and it was not a bad song, the person could sing well, and the song was not too slow or fast for the time of night either.
Also waiting forever AND being treated rudely: Sun Kong (?) also in Malden, Chinese place, yellow sign with panda.
Rude DJ’s, not a very big book, weak drinks that took FOREVER to order, crowded as hell, waiting forever, then having them mess with the sound when I finally got to sing (yes, I have perfect pitch and have also been singing for a very long time so I KNOW they were screwing with it). Turns out I picked a song that one of their relatives/friends/regulars likes to sing so they figured they’d make me sound like crap. Real JERKS.
We used to love going to the Pony Lounge in East Boston on Fridays, and though it was usually not too crowded the “audience” was enthusiastic. A dive, but good drinks and one of the biggest books I have ever seen. Fantastically nice DJ’s and eclectic regulars. But now it is CLOSED! (BOO HOO!)
Any recommendations, especially north of Boston?
Thanks!!
I’ve heard that this place is awesome.. did a google search and found your review.. I’ll be checking it out for the first time this coming weekend. What makes a great Karaoke place is that it is crowded.. There was a line there last Friday night, so I’m guessing that a lot of people do not share your opinion.. I’ll follow up with an honest response of my experience after this weekend.. hope mine was better than yours..
Where have you heard that Courtside is awesome? I’ve never heard anything good about the place, but being a lover of karaoke I gave it a shot. When I asked other friends to join us on that unfortunate night, a lot of them did not want to go because they hated the place.
After our negative experience, I found out that it was the norm. Apparently the DJs take money from people who want to sing sooner and let women who show their boobs sing sooner as well.
I do hope your experience was better than ours, but I definitely wouldn’t recommend going there. However, we did file a formal complaint after we were there, so maybe things have improved.
I am so sorry you had a bad experience at the Courtside. However, I also do feel that it is possible you did not go on the right night. I have found that Fridays have been off and on, and that Saturdays are generally off. However, I have found Thusdays to be exceptional. Mainly because the DJ (Dave Bowman) is good, fair, and moves things along. He also gets the crowd into it whether with his songs or getting the crowd up for a singer who may not have sounded like the Pat Benatar she wanted to be! Dave is stepping down on Thursdays an dhopefully his replacement Jacqui will keep up the Thursday night trend. However, I have gone there for three years, and Thursdays have always been the night to go!
Yup, that’s consistant withmy experience at that particular venue.
Wish I could have warned you. You probably did notice that it was also the thickest karaoke book you ever did see. But you don’t have to go THERE to use that book. Any of the venues hiring Ann Lanphear’s company for karaoke use that book, and all of them are nicer than
“Moose” go to her website for alternate venues
http://www.karaokeidolusa.com/about.html
Hi, I found this blog maybe two years too late, but holy hell I agree with all of you! Cambridge Side is abominable and I live in Malden and have experienced karaoke with “Deb and Art” at Pearl Street in Malden. Debs smile is as fake as my hair color, and Art is just .well useless, they favor the regulars and dont have good organization with the rotation at all. They have “lost” mine and my friends slips on one occasion, and I dont suck.
There is a little dive bar in Everett, almost onteh Everett/Malden line that has a phenominal host (Laura Vonne) and you get up at least three times per night. She has one of the biggest selections and she gets excited and dances around no matter what you sing. The place is
Bella Rosa Cafe
451 Ferry St
Everett, MA 02149
(617) 387-0366
Sounds great!! Maybe I’ll have to make it up to Everett for some karaoke sometime soon!
FYI: just so you know, the Courtside’s karaoke was voted BEST in Boston by Boston Magazine AND the Improper Bostonian.
We won The Boston Phoenix poll as best in karaoke too in the past.
Also, I am very nice to all customers and singers.
The purpose of Karaoke is to give as many people a turn as possible. It is not about talent. It is not about giving some one an extra turn on there birthday.
If you give me a song request slip before 11:30 PM, I bust my back to get you up before we stop the karaoke around 12:45 AM.
If any one gets an extra turn it is the customers who come the earliest, like like 9 PM when we start.
It is so busy sometimes that 2 turns for anyone, including me, is not possible.
Later customers do get shut out due to large crowds.
Last saturday we had enough requests for a 2 hour wait.
That usually means there are 28 people in the queue.
You know sometimes it looks like people are getting an extra turn.
If Manny, Moe and Jack each want a turn and they all go up together, that might look like favortism toward them.
That is 3 turns right there.
Here is another scanario: We start the show at 9 PM and we have 21 different singer requests. That brings us to 10:30 PM since karaoke averages about 14 songs an hour.
So at 10:30, the rules in the bar is to go back to the start of the list and give everyone another turn before we go to any new singers. So if you turn you request at 10:40 Pm after a rotation has already stareted, you are at the back of the list and would have to wait until after midnight to sing.
It is best to consult with the host to find out when you would be singing.
So come on down and try again. Let me know that you read this.
***Moose
I don’t know why it was voted the best karaoke. I haven’t been back since this ordeal, but I’ve had friends who went and said they waited hours without getting to sing, while there were several people who got to go multiple times. I’ve karaoked at MANY different places, and I’ve never experienced the “rotation” that you speak of. I think it’s very unfair. I’d rather go somewhere where I actually get a chance to sing and the DJ doesn’t play favorites.
I\’d say go to Razzy\’s to check it out. It is in Somerville on Somerville ave and is right around the corner (kinda) from the Courtside. I\’m sure Moose hears about Razzy\’s a lot as I hear about the Courtside. Honestly, people do not realize how difficult it can be to please everyone while running a karaoke night as packed as Razzys/Courtside. There are usually tons of people there by 10, sometimes even 9 when we start Karaoke, which runs from 9:00-12:30. I agree with Moose in where you don\’t realize but everyone wants to sing a bunch of times a night, and when the room is full of 90-something people who want to do that it does not work out so well.
People who come in cliques get pissed off at you if you don\’t let everyone in their group sing. Then when you do, other people get pissed that you are letting the \’same group\’ sing. You really can\’t make everyone happy, you know?
Also say Jim brings up \"welcome to the jungle\", then 4 other people come up and sing with Jim… that makes me look like an assbag because I dont know who the other people are, so when I call Jason up 2 songs later and notice as the song starts that he was one of the 4 people who sang with Jim, people get pissed because it looks like I just let Jason sing twice in a row. I had no idea who this person was - it only said Jim on the first slip. My bad?
Also, shit shit shit shit what drives a crowded karaoke night\’s dj CRAZY is when someone brings up a slip with a nickname or something funny as the name instead of their actual name. You get pushed way back if you do that. To make it fair, when the same person brings up multiple slips, they get stacked one on top of the other. Than when you sing, the one underneath gets pushed to the back of the line. It keeps it as fair as it can be. But if you write \"The girls\" or \"Tony Danza\" or \"H. McBlowjob\"… well yeah, those get pushed to the back.
Some people suck so much that they have multiple names. Like when I call up \"Stephanie\". Then 5 songs later I call up \"Anna\" and it is the same freakin\’ person. I know what they did… they know what they did… and while the 30 people waiting to sing are thinking, \"what a dick, she must have paid him\" and \"She must have flashed him and he moved her up\", I am scanning the 50 slips I have up there for anna and stephanie and throwing them away. Ugh, that makes the DJ look horrible, but some people really do do that.
One time someone came up to me towards the end of the night and legit offered a $10 so they could sing. The \"No More Slips at this time\" sign was up and I said no. Then offered me $20 and I still said sorry, but I cant. They said \’come onnn, its $20 for one song\" and I said, \"listen, I appreciate it but that sign \"NO MORE SLIPS\" has been up for an hour and I just want to keep it fair for everyone. Then after karaoke but before the bar closes (12:30-1:00) there is usually a little dance party and during that time on the same night, someone else came up to me and said, \"That was not fair, that group got to sing a bunch of times and we only got to sing once.\"
What a smack in the face.
All in all: Easy on the Karaoke DJs, eh? It is difficult for everyone to be happy, but just go with it. Sing along with everyone else. When there are 100 people in a room with karaoke going on it is more for the time and experience. A fun night out and maybe a chance or two for you to put in your little \’part of the party\’. If you want to sing a whole bunch of times go out to a karaoke bar that is not as close to the city and not on a weekend. If there are a ton of people there then it must be a pretty fun place so just go with it! But seriously, we just want everyone to have a good time. Don\’t get mad at the DJ if he is rude or seems like a jerk. Sometimes doing as little as what looks like pushing buttons and playing songs can be a little more stressful than it seems. Come by Razzy\’s on a Friday and say hello and that you saw this. Ill buy you a shot. Just don\’t get mad if there are too many people there : )
Also just for kicks, the Razzy\’s and the Courtside were just nominated for Best Karaoke Night in Boston in the Phoenix. Must be doing something right. The Courtside won. Cheers Moose, I gotta check it out over there.
-Matt
Hey there,
I just saw your old blogs about karaoke. I have owned and operated SuperStar Karaoke for about 15 years but before that I was a karaoke patron and unfortunately I know all about bad karaoke hosts, no effort sound, crappy song selection, and poor rotation etiquette. I pride myself on having one of the best karaoke shows in Massachusetts. SuperStar Karaoke has a huge selection of songs, great sound, talented personable hosts, and a fair way of calling up singers (both for new arrivals and the peeps that have been in the audience all night). Currently I work Tuesday and Friday night at a nice martini/sports bar and grill in Everett called Rob Jacks (88 Main St.) The rest of the nights are up in Tewksbury but worth the ride. Wednesday is at the SkyBox sports bar/grill on Rt 38. Thur, Sat, Sun are all at Oscar’s Pinatas Mexican Restaurant and bar on Rt 38 in Tewksbury. I hope you will come check us out soon and tell all your karaoke friends about us. Karaoke is all I do for a living so I take it very seriously and work really hard to make sure every customer has a great time.