Dan's Papers - April 24, 2009 - Cheap Thrills: Karaoke

With money in short supply to so many, an inexpensive option for getting out and having fun is singing karaoke. Not to mention, belting out some of your favorite songs is a great way to let off some steam.

A few weeks ago, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, I made a pilgrimage to five different karaoke bars in four Hampton towns. It started on a Thursday in Sag Harbor at Sen, which was having its first "Idol on the Harbor@Sen" - a contest of serious singers that will position the two winners of every Thursday nights of April in a group face off. First place is a $250 cash prize, a portrait drawing, and an article in a publication. Second is a $50 gift certificate to Sen, and third place earns the winner a bottle of Sen's premium sake.

The contest starts at 11:30 p.m. and goes on until 1 a.m. The two winners of the first week were Courtney Tomlinson and Brandi Shiga, who edged out regulars Tami Pharaoh and Holly Hodder. Hodder, a local real estate agent, said going to karaoke, "makes me look forward to Thursday nights." Sen's Ryunosuke Jesse Matsuoka called it, "lots of fun." Angela Wilson and Glen Clermont of Lyrical ran the karaoke. There's no admission and no pressure to buy drinks.

Gurney's Inn also has Thursday karaoke, run by Harry LaGarenne and featuring Kenny Simonetti as "Kenny the singing bartender." Simonetti serves your drinks and sings you songs, including his favorites by Elton John, Eric Clapton and others. His singing is only surpassed by his bocce skills, being the reigning Montauk Bocce Masters Champion. Simonetti's version of "Music of the Night" is award winning.

On Friday night I visited Liar's Saloon in Montauk, led by Jim and Nanci LaGarenne, and Fiddler's Cove in East Hampton where the management runs the fun. The atmosphere at Fiddler's Cove is very laid back, with more of an informal gathering type of karaoke, making it a good place for novices.

Liar's has a core consistent group that comes whether it's seven degrees in the winter or 98 in the summer. They're lead by fisherman Rich McGuire and his wife Cathy, JB Barrett, Carl Darenberg, Harry LaGarenne, Judy Ceslow (also known as J-Diddy), Karen German, Buddy Kelly, Helen McGuire, Chris Vosteen, Lola and Kim Esperian, Cece (the first lady of Liar's Saloon) and her daughter Melissa Mahoney, among others. Festivities start at 10 p.m. and end around 1 a.m. Beers on karaoke nights are very reasonable, starting at $1 at Liar's, maybe giving participants a shot of courage (bring your designated driver).

On Saturday night, I started in Montauk at O'Murphy's, where once again Jim and Nanci were running things, this time for owners Chet and Jan. It was their opening night of the 2009 season and they had a good crowd on hand. From there I headed to Bridgehampton to catch karaoke at Almond. Eric Lemonides is by far the biggest karaoke enthusiast of any owner/manager. He, at times, can do Rocky Horror show tunes or Springsteen classics really well. It's a diverse crowd of regulars, visitors and diners. Here too, Angela Wilson and Glen Clermont, with the help of Robert A. Sylvester, run karaoke. They start around 10:45 p.m. and roll on to at least 1:15 a.m. This atmosphere is very laid back. The bartender and the manager, Laura, sing tunes at the end of the night.

Jim and Nanci LaGarenne's karaoke list includes over 80,000 songs. Later in the season (after July 1), there's karaoke at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett on Wednesdays, hosted by Harry LaGarenne. Bartenders Stephen Day and Phil Vega sing weekly. The Havana Beach Club in Montauk has karaoke Saturdays - bartender Jimmy Giles belts out Sinatra. Montauk's Sail Inn, perhaps the most intimate of all karaoke venues, welcomes singers on Fridays. Big Rich, who has the voice of Billy Joel and Elton John, handles the karaoke at Sails Inn and Havana. He's considered the friendliest of all karaoke MCs because of his good-natured, stress free style.

If you haven't given karaoke a try, perhaps now, in these times, is the right time to go for it.