It’s Japanese for “empty orchestra,” and for some devotees, karaoke remains a hollow version of their real dream: fronting a live band and bringing a crowded room under their sway.
Well, sayonara, second-best. The Downtown, one of Red Bank’s few remaining live-music venues, now features an entire rock band trucked in from New York every Thursday night to play behind would-be Pat Benatars and Billy Idols. No more lame instrumental tracks: this is full-on rock though do-overs are allowed for some flubs.
Today’s edition of Red Bank oRBit pops in for a sound check.
Also on today’s radar screen: it takes balls to get up on stage dressed as Barbra Streisand and put on an entire show from her songbook. Steven Brinberg would seem to qualify.
Only in Red Bank oRBit, your simulacrum of art and entertainment, if only for today…