Live band karaoke in Chicago

Did you ever fantasize about fronting a band on stage? Always call dibs on the microphone when playing "Rock Band"? With weekly live band karaoke at bars throughout Chicago, you have no excuse not to take your rock 'n' roll aspirations to the next level.

Live Band Karaoke, a collective of three local backing bands, is your best bet for becoming a rock star - if only for three minutes - in the Windy City. The group is Chicago's first and longest running live band karaoke outfit.

Besides being much more fun and far less hokey than traditional pre-recorded karaoke, the live band variety boasts a highly superior song list. In what traditional karaoke setting can you sing "Cut Your Hair" by Pavement or local classic "Valerie Loves Me" by Material Issue? With the expansive repertoires of the three backing bands - The Hootenanners, The Karaoke Dokies and Liquid Courage - you can skip sickeningly overdone selections by Whitney, Celine, Meatloaf and Creed in favor of tracks by bands such as The Smiths, Pixies, Ramones, The Kinks, Pretenders, Sex Pistols and many more. The bands also take requests via their online forum.

Currently, you can check out live band karaoke at the following locations in the city:

Piece, 1927 W. North Ave. - every Saturday at 11 p.m.

Stanley's Kitchen and Tap, 1970 N. Lincoln - every Sunday at 10:30 p.m.

Reggie's Music Joint, 2105 S. State St. - every Thursday at 10:30 p.m. (starting January 8, 2009)