Spring 2009 - Issue 5

The Silversword: Home > Arts and Entertainment > Neil and Nonnie’s Karaoke Adventure

Neil and Nonnie’s Karaoke Adventure

Neil Michling and Nonnie Guzman, Staff Writers

Karaoke is very popular amongst students, and Chaminade students are no exception. To help them with their recreational needs, the Silversword has reviewed and scored, on a scale of 1 to 10, three nearby karaoke locations to help students get the best songs for their bucks.

Krazy Karaoke
1308 Young St, Honolulu, HI (808) 591-8843

The entrance to Krazy Karaoke reminded us of a movie theater lobby. There were posters of different musicians on the walls.

There were snacks for purchase at the front of the facility, where staff handled paper work for your room and asked if you wanted to bring in alcohol. All you have to do is let them know in advance and show proof of age.

We gave them our student I.D.’s just so we could get the student special on Wednesdays, “Buy 1 Hour, Get 2nd Hour Free!!”

It took a while to get us set up with a room, but after that we were good to go. There were only two errors with the system, but the room itself felt cramped and cold — we should have brought winter jackets.

We had a party of three and were placed in a room that was tiny and felt like a coffin; there is no way four people could have fit in there like the door sign said. The walls were dirty and scratched up.

Krazy Karaoke had a couple of promotions: the aforementioned Wednesday deal, a 50 percent off deal on Mondays, a $5 off deal on Tuesdays, and a birthday special, which is the same as the Student Night Wednesday special.

Score:
Customer Service: 7
Atmosphere: 6
Promotions: 8
Overall: 7 out of 10

Karaoke Hut Sports Bar & Grill
909 Kapahulu Ave, Honolulu, HI (808) 734-7771

We were instantly put into a room and the people running the place were very friendly. The only flaw was the dependency on customer service. While most places left us alone in the room and gave us a system that we use to input songs, we had to keep posting a song list by our door for the staff to plug in for us. It was annoying and inconvenient, especially when we wanted to be in a private room without having to open up the door every so often.

Karaoke Hut is very different from many other karaoke facilities: It gives the option of singing in an actual bar, which are for those who are 21 and over; or private rooms for a party. The private rooms are large and comfortable, but at the bar you can pay a dollar per song and sing in front of an audience using one of the many monitors around the bar.

They have daily specials of 50 percent off between the hours of 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Overall Karaoke Hut is the perfect place to take friends of yours that aren’t that into singing; while you rock out they can choose to shoot pool, throw darts, drink and eat.

Score:
Customer Service: 7
Atmosphere: 10
Promotions: 6
Overall: 8 out of 10

Karaoke Room 2
1680 Kapiolani Blvd, Honolulu, HI (808) 946-9814

We just happened to be the first ones to show up, just after 8 p.m. We had to wait while the machines turned on, but the attendant was very helpful and easy to find for all the things that went wrong while we were there.

It seemed like every five minutes we were looking for him to fix a bad microphone or the machine because that wouldn’t show the lyrics when the song started. He was polite the whole time but seemed to lack knowledge of what he was trying to do because the problems kept coming back.

The room was large, but had bottle caps, sticky goo, and other trash from the previous party. Being the first ones there made us question and doubt the cleanliness of the rooms.

The room, though large, was not set up to maximize its space. Microphone cords were all over the floor and at one point Neil stepped on one, which accidently pulled the microphone out.

Another complaint to add would be how hot that place felt. A little air conditioning would have been nice because we seriously thought we were going to pass out!

When it was time to go, we had to literally peel ourselves off the seats because we were sticking to the couch.

Karaoke Room specials are 30 percent off for students, businesses and birthdays Monday to Thursday.

This karaoke facility also allows you to bring in your own beer and it’s open till 4 a.m. This is the place to get your late night fix for karaoke, but between the heat and the incompetent staff and dirty conditions it’s a place that will have you singing “Bye, Bye, Bye”!

Score:
Customer Service: 5
Atmosphere: 2
Promotions: 6
Overall: 4 out of 10