Karaoke Punk Singers Show Heart, If Not Ability

How do you get punk-rock fans into the Christmas spirit? Give ‘em the spotlight for a few minutes. Inviting audience members onto the House of Blues stage Tuesday to sing their favorite fast-’n’-loud classics during Epitaph Records’ holiday bash, a quintet of veteran artists engaged in an amusing, freewheeling and not entirely successful demonstration of punk’s egalitarian ideals.

As explained by NOFX guitarist Eric Melvin, the rules of “punk-rock karaoke” were simple: Put your name on the sign-up sheet next to the song you want to sing. When you’re called, get up on the stage in front of all your friends and wail, baby!

The 50-minute session was really just a warmup for the main event, a sold-out performance by local heroes NOFX. The karaoke band, which also included bassist Mike Watt and former Bad Religion and Circle Jerks guitarist Greg Hetson, mustered enough enthusiasm for favorite tunes by such icons as the Sex Pistols, Black Flag, the Descendents, the Dead Kennedys, the Ramones and the Misfits.

Most of the audience was indifferent to the various frontmen and frontwomen, who universally gave it their best shot but almost universally failed to be engaging, except for being brave enough to do it in the first place. As NOFX singer-bassist Fat Mike proved later with his authoritative snottiness and confessionally inept charm, compelling band leadership isn’t just about knowing the words (or having the lyric sheet). You also gotta have something going on.

Still, the guy who sang Fear’s “I Love Living in the City” managed to generate a half-hearted mosh pit after taunting the audience. His performance was appropriately blustery, but it was the fired-up “Chris” who ultimately stood out with his take on Sham 69’s anthem “If the Kids Are United.”