{"id":946824,"date":"2026-10-26T10:44:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T10:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/946824\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T10:44:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T10:44:19","slug":"why-does-this-sad-song-karaoke-night-in-l-a-feel-so-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/946824\/","title":{"rendered":"Why does this sad-song karaoke night in L.A. feel so good?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A man dedicates U2\u2019s \u201cWith or Without You\u201d to the ex-boyfriend who ghosted him. A woman sings \u201cI\u2019m Coming Home\u201d from \u201cThe Rocky Horror Picture Show\u201d for the late Tim Curry. The room pounds their fists on the tables to the bridge of Metallica\u2019s \u201cOne,\u201d a harrowing anthem about the horrors of war. <\/p>\n

This is Blue Mondays, a karaoke night dedicated to sad songs that\u2019s become a ritual of catharsis for its regulars. It happens the first Monday of every month at the Fable, where singers compete for what KJ (karaoke jockey) Teri Gamble calls, \u201cthe most coveted shirt in all of Eagle Rock\u201d: a blue T-shirt featuring a pajama-clad Garfield<\/a> (the cat, not the president) with the caption \u201cI hate Mondays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gamble, an actor, musician and podcaster, has sung karaoke since childhood with their babysitter. They host several karaoke events, including a Broadway night<\/a> at Akbar in Silver Lake, and have helmed Blue Mondays for about two years.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

Singers gather at the Fable on the first Monday of the month to belt out their saddest songs.<\/p>\n

Gamble doesn\u2019t always choose the best singer to win the Garfield shirt. They consider performers who make a song their own, get everyone singing along, or seem like they need a win. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a girl who \u2026 had a cast on her arm. She cried her whole song. I said, \u2018you don\u2019t have to tell me what happened, but I love you and I hope everything gets better.\u2019 And then I definitely gave her the shirt that night,\u201d Gamble said. <\/p>\n

Thom Sigsby, who owns the Fable with his wife, Monica Katzenell Sigsby, enjoys the low-key performances. \u201cSomeone did [Sara Bareilles\u2019 \u201cShe Used to Be Mine\u201d] and it was just devastating. There wasn\u2019t a single moment of feeling like she realized there was anyone else in the room,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d expect long faces nursing their drinks, but it\u2019s often the opposite. There\u2019s something freeing about exorcising negativity through song that keeps people coming back. There\u2019s community here, across the dedicated regulars and the staff \u2014 Gamble\u2019s an incredible singer, and bartender Megha Wescombe absolutely crushes \u201cMaybe This Time\u201d from \u201cCabaret.\u201d As Nicole Kidman might say, \u201cHeartbreak feels good in a place like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Patrons <\/p>\n

Patrons cheer after a performance during Blue Mondays. Regulars tell stories of forging new friendships at the event.<\/p>\n

\"Mel <\/p>\n

Mel Minghelli can perform both parts in \u201cPhantom of the Oprah\u201d thanks to her wide vocal range.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I end up feeling less sad about my own personal sads because we are sharing them together,\u201d Gamble said. \u201cSo it feels like the burden is lessened by the end of the night every time.\u201d <\/p>\n

Akhil Indurti, a software engineer who also performs musical improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade, won October\u2019s shirt. He sang System of a Down\u2019s \u201cChop Suey\u201d (frontman Serj Tankian owns Kavat Cafe<\/a>, two doors down), though his go-to is Chris Isaak\u2019s \u201cWicked Game.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI think oftentimes [people] listen to sad songs because they\u2019re sometimes more musically interesting,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re not just a major chord progression. It\u2019s not usually just sadness. There\u2019s nuance and subtlety. There\u2019s some storytelling.\u201d <\/p>\n

Soraya Sebghati won September\u2019s shirt with Linda Ronstadt\u2019s \u201cLong Long Time.\u201d She fronts the band Night Talks<\/a>, and said sometimes people tell her she shouldn\u2019t be allowed to do karaoke because she\u2019s a professional. She still loves it, both as a performer and a spectator, and \u2014 despite her seemingly upbeat demeanor \u2014 enjoys Blue Mondays as a \u201csafe space for the freaks and the goths and people who want to sing sad stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hands <\/p>\n

Fable owner Thom Sigsby says his karaoke book, with more than 12,000 songs, may feel antiquated compared with digital karaoke platforms, but that\u2019s the point. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the kind of person, when I\u2019m sad, I like to listen to more sad music. I\u2019m also a big cinephile. Bleak Week at Cinematheque\u2019s [Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair] is my favorite week of programming of the year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Hands <\/p>\n

Fable owner Thom Sigsby says his karaoke book, with more than 12,000 songs, may feel antiquated compared to digital karaoke platforms, but that\u2019s the point. <\/p>\n

\"Dave <\/p>\n

Dave Child lays it all out on the karaoke stage.<\/p>\n

The Fable\u2019s crowd and the songs they choose are eclectic, spanning generations and musical tastes. Some songs you\u2019re guaranteed to hear every time \u2014 Radiohead\u2019s \u201cCreep\u201d and Johnny Cash\u2019s cover of \u201cHurt\u201d are staples \u2014 but some performers choose more subversive tracks.<\/p>\n

For example, OutKast\u2019s \u201cHey Ya\u201d sounds happy, but it\u2019s about loveless relationships. Barry Manilow\u2019s high-energy \u201cCopacabana\u201d describes a woman who drank her life away following her lover\u2019s murder. Gamble recalled a performer who writhed on the floor while sob-singing Lou Bega\u2019s \u201cMambo No. 5,\u201d which could be sad considering the protagonist\u2019s inability to maintain a steady relationship. <\/p>\n

Blue Mondays didn\u2019t start at the Fable. Sigsby was already a karaoke enthusiast when he began KJing at Bigfoot Lodge in Atwater Village about 14 years ago. By his own admission, he \u201cgot way too into it,\u201d spending his own money to add songs to his book. A former theater kid and commercial actor, karaoke gave Sigsby a new way to express himself on stage and make friends. He and his wife even bonded over karaoke before they married. <\/p>\n

\"Lyrics <\/p>\n

Lyrics for \u201cSolitaire,\u201d a Neil Sedaka ballad, plays during a karaoke performance.<\/p>\n

Given that Mondays are usually slow, Sigsby and his co-workers began adding shticks: single-artist blocks, nights where KJs chose singers\u2019 songs, and Blue Mondays, which offered a free \u201cProzac\u201d shot for each depressing tune (a mystery blend with an on-theme hue). Free booze \u2014 which singers still receive today \u2014 was a motivator, but so was the theme, which seemed to \u201cresonate\u201d more than the others. <\/p>\n

Sigsby later founded his own karaoke company, HiHo Karaoke<\/a>. It operates at bars including Ye Rustic Inn, Glendale\u2019s the Gold Rail and Bigfoot Lodge, whose own Blue Mondays, Sigsby said, draws a younger crowd. Compared with some karaoke outfits, Sigsby admits HiHo may appear \u201cantiquated,\u201d but that\u2019s intentional. \u201cThere\u2019s no app, there [are] no [paper] slips. You literally just come talk to us because we want to meet you and talk to you and have a relationship with the singer[s],\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

The same goes for HiHo\u2019s book. Streaming services may offer 50,000-song catalogs, but HiHo\u2019s 12,000-plus book is curated by its hosts and clientele. Licensing each song ensures musicians and rights holders are paid, and lets people request the songs they\u2019ve been dying to sing, from emo deep cuts to Puccini operas. <\/p>\n

\"Brian <\/p>\n

Brian Collins performs during Blue Mondays.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Sigsby and his wife purchased the Fable (formerly the Old Chalet and before that, the Black Boar) less than six months before the pandemic. It was after stay-at-home orders lifted that Blue Mondays really took off. \u201cI think it really was just this need for everyone to reconnect coming out of COVID and also have a safe space \u2026 where they really could emote,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Through the Eaton fire in nearby Altadena and today\u2019s economic uncertainty \u2014 Sigsby notes the first Monday means everyone\u2019s just paid rent \u2014 the Fable has continued to offer that space. <\/p>\n

Regular Mel Minghelli, whose impressive four-octave range let her nail both the Phantom and Christine in \u201cThe Phantom of the Opera,\u201d said, \u201cI think in the way that sad music has helped people as a comfort, it\u2019s really nice to be able to perform it and have other people \u2026 hear it or also feel comforted.\u201d Minghelli used to treat her unique talent as a \u201cparty trick,\u201d but now wants to record her own music with singer-songwriter Johnny Mace, another regular she met at the Fable. <\/p>\n

Mace chose Calum Scott\u2019s cover of Robyn\u2019s \u201cDancing on My Own\u201d that evening, though he said he often does Black Sabbath\u2019s \u201cWar Pigs.\u201d He described the Fable as a \u201cmagical\u201d place where he\u2019s found numerous friends and opportunities. \u201cI was in the deepest depression and coming out here got my confidence back and I found my voice again. I [had given up] on my music career. I was really hurting and this place gave me life again so I owe this place a lot,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

He won the shirt once singing the Goo Goo Dolls\u2019 \u201cIris\u201d but has since given it away, to whom he can\u2019t remember. Why? Unlike Garfield, he likes Mondays.<\/p>\n

The next Blue Monday<\/a> is Nov. 2, 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., at the Fable, 1630 Colorado Blvd. in Eagle Rock.<\/p>\n