[ATTENDED: November 13, 2025] WXPN Thank A Member Live Band Karaoke Party
When WXPN announced this event, it sounded like a lot of fun.
A chance to mingle with other members and to see (and maybe sing) karaoke. But the mostexciting part for me was that the live music was being performed by Pat Finnerty and the Full Band. I’ve seen Pat twice and I love his videos. It would be cool just to see him play and maybe hear him do a Little Stinker.
I put in my song choice–The Boys Are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy. And kind of regretted it. It’s in my range but I realized I don’t know the words all that well. But when we arrived we were allowed to put more songs in so that the band had more options to choose from.
My wife suggested I put in Surrender by Cheap Trick and I knew she was on to something.
So the night was quite a lot of fun. We aren’t minglers and my hip was bothering me, so we sat in the (empty) ADA section while people around us danced and drank (free drinks, but as my wife pointed out they didn’t use the top shelf stuff–we found out a few weeks later that World Cafe Live had lost its liquor license and probably shouldn’t have been serving anything!).
The night was emceed by Kristen Kurtis and Robert Drake. I always wonder if Radio DJs are “celebrities” or not. It was fun seeing them in person, but even if you listened to the radio, would you care that I got to see or meet them? We met Robert Drake at a Sloan show a few years ago and he was super nice, but I feel like he’s so present in Philly that everyone has probably met him.
I can’t remember all of the songs that people sang. But I did appreciate that they projected the lyrics to the songs on the wall so we could follow along. It also meant that I learned the words to a few songs that I had NO IDEA about.
A woman sang David Bowie’s Moonage Daydream. I’ve heard that song hundreds of times and realized I never knew any of the words and certainly never guessed they were:
I’m an alligator
I’m a mama-papa comin’ for you
I’m the space invader
I’ll be a rock ‘n’ rollin’ bitch for you
Keep your mouth shut
you’re squawking like a pink monkey bird
And I’m bustin’ up my brains for the words
Someone else did Space Oddity.
The night opened with DJ Jim McGuinn singing and playing guitar (Pat informed everyone else that Jim was the only other person who was going to be playing guitar–nobody get any ideas) on an Elvis Costello song.
Two women did Pink!’s Get the Party Started (and even brought little megaphones to sing into).
And as they introduced all of the singers, they were all listed as in choirs or singers in bands–one was even in a tribute band to the artist she sang. And I wondered if I was called up if I would be okay (having never done karaoke or sung in front of people before). (more…)
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I enjoy a Free at Noon show, but it is just such a hassle. I have to really want to see a band to head all the way there midday. I really enjoyed seeing Remember Sports a few months ago and would have really enjoyed seeing them again. But, and this seemed like the best reason to not go to this Free at Noon–I was going to see them that night at Philly Music Fest!
