Happy "22nd Birthday" to Me!

Every once in awhile, it’s just nice to bust out your favorite songs in front of a bunch of strangers (and a handful of friends)…

I have to put in a bit of a plug for Trader Todd’s, the self-proclaimed best karaoke in Chicago. Of course, there’s plenty of backing for this claim, as you’ll see in the credentials listed on their Website, or experience first-hand if you drop by. Honestly, I’ve never gone anyplace else for karaoke in the city, so I can’t make a comparison.

One of my favorite things about Trader Todd’s is that every once in awhile (about once a year), they send me an email telling me I’ve won a free party. Which means that I, and twenty of my friends, get to come to the bar for free drinks for an hour, along with a 20%-off food discount. Oddly enough, I only put my name on that list once, January or February 2009, and three weeks ago, there in my inbox was an email informing me that I’d been selected for a free party again.

Now, Trader Todd’s is a pretty quirky place. First, you’ve got the nautical paraphernalia hanging all over the walls and the ceilings. Before the karaoke starts, they flash pictures on flat-screen televisions which include the most random assortment of people’s tropical vacation photos you’ve ever seen. And the Emcee/DJ—the Skipper as they call him—well, he’s an eccentric character if you’ve ever met one. He’s a bit pirate-esque, only lacking the eye patch and striped shirt. He’s generally grumpy (okay, honestly, if you had to listen to a bunch of tune-deaf patrons butchering classic songs seven nights a week, you might be crabby, too), but every so often he’ll just say or do something completely unexpected. He’ll decide to interrupt the string of patrons hopping up on stage, by breaking out his own karaoke performance. He’ll insult singers (okay, that’s pretty much expected). Every so often he’ll throw in a compliment.

On Friday night, we requested Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’”—my go-to karaoke choice—already knowing that he hated that song (it was banned for awhile). He grumbled a bit when I put in my request, but, when we finished singing it, he announced to the club that it was the first time he actually heard Journey and liked it. Woa. Compliment from the Skipper? The night had started on the right foot.

A number of my friends dropped in for the evening, most of them bringing more friends, until we had a huge group. One of Vinny’s friends (probably Jim-Bo) started telling everyone it was my birthday (since I’d won the free party and all), and while at first I tried to set other people straight, eventually I just went with it. I spent the evening telling everyone it was my 22 birthday (haha). Around midnight most of the crew headed out, thanking me for the party and wishing me happy birthday as they left. It had been another great night at Trader Todd’s. Happy Birthday to me!