Review: Rock and Rose (karaoke review series 3)

Think of the old CBGB's vibe, or something like Arlene's Grocery, with walls papered with old news articles on rockers or rocker babes, and hot models, but take out all the graffiti and years of band stickers and old beer and whiskey stains, bring it to the Upper East to 53rd street and you've got Rock and Rose.  Part of my karaoke review series, this former Japanese style karaoke haunt went through a transformation in late Summer 2011 when it switched owners and became a brash, no nonsense, punk rock style karaoke stop, with live band karaoke (courtesy of Crash Course Karaoke, hosted by Brandon Bain).  It sports a small stage in the back where all the magic happens, with two mics, screens for your sing-a-long pleasure, and lighting, so anyone with a camera/cameraphone can document it for YouTube posterity. 

Outside of the bar, there is a side lounge area with generous seating, but no view of the stage, and some seating with full view of the stage.

The food menu is small, but you're not really there to eat and the drink menu is pretty decent, as well as the drink prices for the area.

You've got to pay per song, cash.  No exceptions.

Now for the aficionado's breakdown...

• The sound system is pretty good, so you don't have to worry about screaming into the mic.
• The song list (non band) is the same offered in Pulse & Karaoke Cave.
• They do not offer pitch shifting.
• They do offering a catering menu, which is different than their bar menu.
• Live band karaoke happens on Thursday nights.  Their song list is available here.

They tote themselves as a live band venue as well, so head over to their website and take a look at their calendar for a listing of all their upcoming events, and go check them out.