A Chill Night at Nabucco Karaoke

TianaAmazon
Jan 31, 2019
4 min read

Nabucco is the only Karaoke Bar in Madrid that's open super late. They are open until 5:30am Sundays through Thursdays, and 6am on Fridays and Saturdays! I wanted to check them out for a couple of reasons. First, I was super hungry and they have a restaurant next door, and second, because I wanted to check out another Karaoke place. Like I've mentioned, I am a creature of habit, but let's see what else is out there, right?

I took an Uber there and my anxiety got the best of me... I didn't go to the restaurant. I just felt anxious and thought I would calm myself down with a drink and a song. Not the best thing to do (drink wise) on an empty stomach. And mind you, I hadn't actually eaten since the wee hours that morning (around 2am) and it was now just after 10:30pm. I hadn't eaten breakfast, lunch, no snacks... nothing, nada, zippo, well I think you get it. I was hangry. I also, have been feeling under the weather, which suppresses my appetite. All in all, I went into the Nabucco hungry and thirsty.

I started with ordering a drink, a Cuba Libre-light. (Rum and Diet Coke). In Spain (and Europe for that matter), there's no "diet" coke or soda, it's actually "light". So you would order a "coke light" if you wanted a "diet coke". I order my Cuba Light with a 5 year old Havana Club rum (because I'm fancy -_- lol I'm not, the bartender asked me if a "5 year old" rum was ok, and I was like "Absolutely". I also order a shot of Jose Cuervo.

This is actually my second drink and shot, with a refill of trail mix and an addition of chips.

You don't know how happy I was when the bartender not only handed me my order, but also a fresh bowl of trail mix! Now you know, you shouldn't eat peanuts at the bar. But this is way different, it's served to you directly, not just a bowl sitting at the bar grabbed by pee-pee hands. Plus, hello!?! I hadn't eaten anything all day, so I was like "Yessssss!" By the end of the night I had trail mix, bugles, chips, and even sour gummy worms.

Then of course I had to sign up to sing! I signed up for a couple of songs, and if you see from the first pic I posted.. it was kind of dead in this place. I'm thinking people probably show up after 3am, when most other clubs close. I handed the bartender my songs and he in turned handed me the mic!

There was probably like 6 people when I first sang. And it actually made me more nervous! The layout of the bar is almost backwards. So you walk in and you're directly at the bar. That's where you also give your song choices. Then the stage is in the middle of a big room, and the monitors aren't relatively close. You can look directly ahead, or towards the right. There is a nice space if you want to dance. Otherwise there is seating along the walls, nice bench seats, or small stools. My first song went well, but there was so few people, that I sang my second song right away. I felt like an Lounge Singer on a slow night lol

I think I sang 8 or 9 songs. I know that I would return the mic, and be handed more papers to fill out songs. I turn in a song, and waited no more than 5 minutes. More people did come, at most maybe there was 15 people or so. The environment while it was fun for me, and I'm glad I got out of my shell and went by myself, isn't one I'd revisit by myself. I think Nabucco is more for a group of friends. I did observe some couples, and while it could possibly be a romantic sort of evening. If you're on a date and go to the restaurant next door, then it would be a nice followup to go to the karaoke bar for a drink. FYI- they don't serve wine. I still think a group outing would be the best.

I chatted with a few people around me, or that came up to me. But no one was like OUTSTANDING lol I take that back, one bartender was super nice, and made sure my snacks were filled lol Plus he had a great voice, and we did sing a duet. There was also this, um, interesting bouncer. He walked around every 15 minutes with a super serious face. He'd patrol the room, then push both the men's and women's restroom door as if he were waiting to catch a illegal act taking place. I imagined him saying "Hi-yah" as he karate chopped the door open. He'd also take away empty soda bottles, and remind patrons not to put their feet on the little stools. I tried so hard to get him to crack a smile! My charming smile did not work. I mean I was showing every tooth in my smile, my eyes were lighting up, and nothing! He must have had a lot on his mind, but in the end he did hold the door open for me when I left.

I left just before 3am and it never got packed.

If you want a quiet sort of place, or a chance to practice singing without a crowd, then I would recommend this place for you!