Karaoke Elite Event @ Backstage Bar & Grill

Long overdue.
First Unilocal Elite event! Thanks Jaymie S. and Brittany B. for the invites.
Why haven’t I finished this review? Because I’m probably still embarrassed by Jaymie S. and I bouncing before it was our turn to go up to karaōke (BSB’s I Want It That Way, man), jkjk. But no, we honestly didn’t last long at this event because we were stuffed prior to this going on a fatty fat funday adventure.
We were early to the party and they let us in before they started checking before off on the guestlist. The bartender made us special drinks as we sat at the bar waiting and mm, I had no idea what he made us, but they were good and potent with alcohol – my kind of drinks.
The food they were served was good ol’ comfort stuff, every table started off with some chips and salsa; there were chicken skewers, mac and cheese, quesadillas, and sliders. Drinks were plentiful, some cranberry vodka concoction, something called a Culver City Slut, other drinks, can’t even remember.
Oh, and can’t forget the karaōke. Fun times, but for me who’s a young’n, the music wasn’t my thing (I know, I know, I’m too young to understand), but it’s cool (;
Pretty cool bar overall. Big ups for hosting!

******My 200^th review and it is so fitting that the review goes to the Karaōke Elite Event @ Backstage Bar & Grill!
This event was so much fun!
My favorite part was the food! I absolutely loved the sliders. They were little bundles of tasty goodness, cooked to perfection! Well seasoned and just as juicy as they wanted to be! The chicken skewers and the quesadillas were pretty good as well. I didnt get a chance to try the cake or the mac n cheese but my guest enjoyed both!
My favorite drink served was the AFF (Absolutely F*****g Fabulous). I love fruity drinks that are full of alcohol that you can barely taste and the AFF was just that. I also had the cadillac margarita – this really pushed me over the edge, in a good way :)
The entertainment was great! I was so surprised that so many Unilocalers actually participated in the karaōke. There are flatscreens all over the bar to remind you that you dont really know the lyrics like you think you do! The staff was extremely friendly and attentive!
Needless to say, I left full, feeling really good and ready to party some more!
‘Twas great!

So awesome. Food, drinks, entertainment… day drinking on a Sunday afternoon in a dark bar. Nice way to end the weekend.
After entering, we were presented with a California beer pint glass and a certificate to return for two drinks and an appetizer. Great start!
Servers were bringing trays of the three drinks for the night. I started with the Absolutley F*ing Fabulous, which immediately reminded me of Mom’s Bar, which is owned by the same owners as Backstage. Then a few more Ab Fabs (Absolut Raspberry, Chambord, Peach Liquer, Cranberry and Lime Juice) as the night went on… They even started pouring the drinks into pint glasses as they ran out of the short glasses. It still only counts as one drink, right?
There was a lot of food going around, sliders and chicken skewers were everywhere I turned. They looked pretty popular! There were a couple of vegetarian friendly options too– mac n cheese, quesadillas, and chips and salsa. I pretty much missed the others, but had a bite of the mac n cheese from the wifey’s plate and it was pretty tasty, but I’m not really a mac n cheese fan. Towards the end of the evening, the beautiful cakes from Edie’s Pastries in Tarzana
were cut. Strawberry shortcake, red velvet, and chocolate sounded delicious and the bites of I had of the chocolate confirmed it! If cake wasn’t enough, out came the deep fried snickers! I’ve never had deep fried candy before and it was good, but probably not worth the fat and calories!
The entertainment was great. I love that the night started with a Little Mermaid song (sung by our CM, Brittany); it’s probably not the most popular bar-​scene karaōke song, so that made it even better. I applaud everyone that got up and sang. Some were great, others had lots of fun, and that’s why we were all there, so why not? It’s too bad that not everyone that signed up got to sing, but at least we know Unilocalers are not shy folks (like there was any question anyway).
The restaurant staff did a great job. They were pleasant and always seemed to have a tray full of drinks or sliders. Thank you to Backstage for hosting this great party, and thanks to Brittany, Monique, Katie, and Christina for making it happen!

I love watching covers on youtube. I love it even more when I’m watching fellow Unilocalers singing it up on stage at Backstage Bar & Grill.
We were able to get great seats with a good view of the singers. Most of them were pretty good. And I am proud of Erin for going up to sing Karaōke even when she says it’s not her thing! And Mike F for singing even when he knows he’s still a «little G». I’ve had many favorites, including Love C’s version of Last Dance. It really got the crowd dancing. Judy W and Betty’s «Take on Me» including their crazy dance moves. ;)
I was only able to try the mac n cheese, turkey sliders, and chicken skewers that were being passed out. My favorite between the three were the turkey sliders. I didn’t try the beef sliders, but they looked good.
Brittany did an amazing job on this event, and a great kickoff song from The Little Mermaid. Thanks Brittany! I’m coming back to Backstage!

Damn I love being Elite, had a ridiculously good time. I thought drinks were going to be half off and somehow they were all free for 2 hours. Luckily I knew i could only stay for 2 hours so I took advantage of the situation remembering to tip. But yeah I had a couple beers and one of everything to drink, Backstage really is the coolest for providing all the booze and food, will really have to go back soon.
This event was a lot of fun with all the Unilocalers singing great song selections. Great food, drinks, karaōke and Unilocalers.
Thanks Katie B and Brittany B for throwing such a dope event.

I’ve been here before and I’ve had a great time at this little cozy karaōke bar. The people are usually hardcore and seem like regulars with a good set of pipes. I was so scared to sign up to sing (since i DON’T! lol) but I wish I could have because the people that went up, whether they could sing or not (most couldn’t, hehehe) they just seemed to be having a great time! So not intimidating!
The place was dark, and rockin’ and it felt like it was 10 pm on a friday night, not 5 pm on a Sunday afternoon. The drinks were delicious, I LOVED the AFF drinks… I had a headache this morning to prove it! I think I had one to many! The waitresses were very friendly and came by frequently to check up on us, and pass out food and drinks.
The people are always friendly, and the only thing that breaks my heart is I missed out on the fried snickers!!! My love handles, on the other hand are thankful that i DIDN’T have any ;)

After my eyes adjusted to the dark bar at 4:00 in the afternoon I really enjoyed the event at Backstage Bar & Grill
I LOVE mom’s bar, and I’ve wanted to try it’s sister bar Backstage for a while now… this Unilocal party was definitely a good first time at the place.
Not only was it amazing to listen to all of the other Unilocalers sing (I wanted to sing but unfortunately we signed up too late… no worries though I was able to sing along :)) but it was great seeing familiar faces again.
The drinks were amazing. The AFF (which I had at moms) and margarita were both STRONG. Like WOW I can’t believe I’m having this much liqueur at 4:00 in the afternoon strong. But delicious none the less. The culver city slut was just the right amount of creaminess balanced with generous amounts of vodka/​kalua.
The food sliders were amazing, and the deep fried snickers were delicious (though probably a heart attack on a stick…)
The staff was friendly, and attentive.
Thanks Brittany, Katie, Christina, and other Unilocalers for making this event extremely memorable (or not, due to the constant rounds of margaritas and AFFs brought out by the servers).
Will definitely be back to Backstage to check it out on a night that it’s not full of Unilocalers!

F**K Yeah, Baby !! Bring it on !! Can I give six stars???
From even before the moment I got here, I had high expectations and I was not disappointed.
First…parking along Culver Bl. was ‘easy peasy lemon squeezy’. I parked and walked up to Backstage to find a few Elites hanging around before the event started. We all checked in with Katie who was super-​professional (i.e. efficient, helpful and knowledgeable) and friendly (i.e. knew most of us Elites before we even said our names).
Then, getting inside, we were given a special Unilocal pint glass plus a Backstage drink certificate by Brittany (she was [along with Katie] indescribably THE BEST). The hostesses and wait staff were awesome.
I made friends with some people and promptly found a table and immediately we were offered some ‘sluts’; the trademark Culver City Slut drinks.
Then we were offered some Margaritas and some Burger Sliders (yummy!). About two minutes later, more drinks (‘sluts’) came around as well as quesadillas, mac and cheese and more sliders. Oh… did I mention there were already some Unilocal mints, buttons, wristbands, chapstick and other stuff already at each table?
Then, the karaōke got going. It started with classics like ‘Hey, Jude’ and continued with ‘Georgia’ and even a song from Disney’s ‘Little Mermaid’. The waitresses were super-​nice and kept the drinks coming. For a proud career-​drunk like me, that says a lot!!!
A group of us decided to get some AFFs (a drink; absshholuutelu fukkhinh fabbuhloushhh) and we enjoyed them. Promptly after, some chicken skewers (yeah!) came around. There were even three cakes on a separate table. All this time, people were singing.
It was just the perfect amount of people; busy and happening but not too crowded. I had no idea the drinks and appetizers were comped and made sure to tip the wait staff.
All other Elites were really friendly and nice; talked to some people I had met at a previous event and made more new friends.

So much fun! I’m glad I dragged my ass out to Culver (not that far, I know), but this was worth it!
Thanks for putting on a great event, Brittany!
Would have liked it if they started fading songs from the start, and you Unilocalers shouldn’t have gotten so upset since there’s a bajilion ppl wanting to strut their stuff!
Whatevs, props to everyone who went up there and sang their hearts out!
Peace out.
*drops mic*

Another AWESOME Unilocal Elite event! Thank you Brittany B., and the rest of the Unilocal Crew for throwing on such a fun rendezvous!!! It’s been a while since I’ve karaokeed and this event reminded me that it needs to be more of a constant occurrence in my life — such fun!
Everything from the free Unilocal swag to the delicious chicken sticks (tender & saucy) and mac n’ cheese (light, but flavorful) to the generous complimentary drinks (Culver City Slut & Absolutely Fucking Fabulous were well… fabulous!), resulted in an amazing time with my fellow Unilocal Elites, new friends and old!
The Unilocal community ROCKS and I’m so glad to be a part of it ;)
To Steve, the super friendly bartender, I promise to be back!

Another wonderful time with the Unilocal crew! Time flies when you’re having fun… I felt like I blinked and the 2 hours were over. So sorry I didn’t get to say hi, Michael F, Fara A, Lin, or anyone else I missed.
Part of what made this event so much fun is that the Backstage staff was soooooo cool. My BFF and I unfortunately got trapped in the back of the booth behind the fireplace, but the servers still went out of their way to come back and offer us snacks, drinks, and cake (yes, there was CAKE!) Everyone I talked to was incredibly nice, from the guy checking IDs to the bartenders to the servers.
Drinks were free-​flowing and almost too much of a good thing… did I just say that? Culver City Sluts were delicious, but the margarita was amazing! The Perfect Margarita more than lived up to its name. I forgot the name of the 3^rd drink, but I loved that one too. They were given to us faster than we could drink them, without us having to ever go to the bar. The necessary ingredients for a good karaōke night, right?
As for the karaōke, it was lots of fun to hear fellow Unilocalers take the stage (great «Part of Your World,» Brittany! We sang with you!). Veneill L. and I tried to sign up to sing when we first arrived, but the list was already full and we were put on a waitlist. I was sad we didn’t get to sing (you guys missed out on a good «No Diggity») but was happy everyone had fun. Could we do more karaōke Unilocal events, please? Maybe this calls for a UYE!
I loved the food… didn’t get to try the macaroni and cheese, but I loved the chicken sticks and sliders, and food was passed out freely the whole afternoon.
All in all, it was a great afternoon. I’m glad we had a DD, and it was a little weird to walk out of a dark bar and have the sun still be out! Thank you Brittany, Katie, Monique and Christina, and it was good to see Jen, Michael, Andrea, Matt, and anyone else I had the pleasure of seeing again. To the girl whose Unilocal pint glass I knocked over, I’m sorry again… I’m tall and my arms and legs always swing further than I expect them to. :(Can’t wait for the next one!

First, and foremost: Props to our fearless leader, Brittany B, for being the first person to «set foot on the battlefield.» She OWNED the mic, and paved the way for the rest of us. It’s not whether or not you’re scared… It’s how you act in the face of fear, or in this case, the face of fear teamed with shocking sobriety. Britster, you are one kick-​ass CM.
***SPECIAL SHOUT OUT: Congrats to the lovely Andrea T. and equally stunning (and vocally talented) Andrew W on their engagement!!! I speak for all the Unilocalers at the party when I say: You two are nauseatingly perfect, together. I look forward to years of partying it up with both of you! CHEERS!***
The staff at Backstage was all over it. Drinks flowed freely and ((cough)) strongly, I might add. The booze lubed the wheels of courage, and the Unilocalers flocked to sign up for their chance to sing.
Always good to see familiar faces, and meet some new folks. Got my change to catch up with Michael S and meet his friend, John. Always nice to hug it out with Javier… The dude is lovable – what can I say? Erin and Andrea… I’m SO glad I got to see you both, and tell you about my Unilocal «christening» via Andrea. Erin, you have chops, girl – I thought you were awesome on the mic. Michael F, you have some serious balls to get up there knowing you are, as you put it, a «terrible» singer. I thought you brought it, so good job, man.
Katie, Christina, Monique… Job well done, as always. An event without a smile from Katie B is like a day without sunshine. I don’t know how you girls manage to make it look so easy, but you do.
THE FOOD was shockingly good, for the volume they were cranking out. Furthermore, it came out still piping hot. The turkey slider was phenomenal (IMO), and I was double fisting those chicken skewers like it was my first meal in weeks. Didn’t get to try the Mac-​n-​Cheese, but then again, I had my hands full of chicken skewers.
DRINKS were strong and tall. Cool thing is: They were serving from the bar AND had passed cocktails. The Absolutely Forkin’ Fabulous was dangerously strong but tasted like nothing more than cranberry juice with lime. The margarita was pretty ass-​kicking too.
STAFF. Friendly, helpful, mindful, sweet, and understanding. As a group, us Unilocalers are kind of like that bus that takes «individuals» to the mall. Some are senile, some are a little slow, some are spastic and need to wear protective mittens and shit, and some are just plain retarded. I am somewhere between spastic and retarded, so thank you to the AWESOME staff at Backstage Bar & Grill for allowing us to have such a great time despite our shortcomings. I will return… and oh yes, I will bring some boozers with me.
Overall, one of the best venues I’ve seen yet… Right up there with Mom’s bar. I hear this is no coincidence, as the two are share the same owner of something. All I know is that the formula works, and I left with a huge smile on my face. Thanks to all the Unilocalers who had the sack to sing, and thanks to those who sang along. A standing ovation to the folks at Backstage, and of course, our CMs. Because let’s face it: Without the CMs, we’d all be pretty miserable. :)
Great party, great company, and a brand spankin’ new Unilocal Pint Glass?!? Mission accomplished plus a bonus objective. Suh-​weet.

Is it over already?! This event was super and time passed by like it was nothing! The drinks kept flowing and the waitress kept the appetizers coming… I never waited too long for my next treat! Thank you Backstage for the great service even when everything was compensated: D
To top it all off, Katie, Brittany, Christina, and all the Unilocal crew, provided cakes for us!!! You’ll never find me too far from the dessert station!
I’m glad I was able to sing one song from Paramore. I don’t even care that I was faded out because I wanted everyone to sing and have fun! Shall we have another event with Karaōke??? YES PLEASE!!!
I’m glad I got to meet some new faces and hope we’ll see each other on the next Unilocal Event ! Ciao!!!
PS, I’m super sad that I forgot my Unilocal Pint Glass at the very end of the night. I guess I’ll see it as a donation to Backstage or maybe I can ask for it back next time, lol!

Another amazing Elite event in LA. From the outside I was a little skeptical about how the event was going to turn out. With no intentions of getting involved with karaōke, I walked in and was greeted by a pretty hostess who gave me a «I Love Cali Beer» souvenir glass and a certificate to come back for two free drinks and a appetizer. That’s great!
After finding a table to sit at by the karaōke floor, I snatched up some Unilocal!buttons, a waistband and a shot glass. Then three different beautiful waitress’ offered me the drinks of the night. The Culver City Slit was the best drink I’ve ever had! The Pink Lady and the Margaritas were strong and the definition of what a $ 8+ alcoholic drink should be. I had three drinks and was ready to partake in the karaōke festivities.
After performing «When Doves Cry» by Prince I had the chance to enjoy some good grub. Turkey sliders, mac & cheese, grilled chicken kabobs, and cheese quesadillas were very filling.
Definitely had a great Sunday evening thanks to being an Elite for Unilocal!I can’t wait to see myself at another event. And I just became a fan or possibly the best after work bar in LA.

Aww… shucks! I missed Brittany B. and her rendition of Little Mermaid’s «Part of Your World»! I’m sure she was fantastic!!!
This was a classic Unilocal event — freebies (wristbands, lip gloss, pins, and beer glasses) and bountiful food (sliders, chickens skewers, macaroni & cheese, and the best part… alcoholic beverages, THREE cakes from Edie’s Pastries in Tarzana, and fried snickers on a stick)!
Brittany B. and her intern, Monique were gracious hosts and overall the event was fun and different (yay for karaōke)!. I love that this event was held a) close to home and b) on a weekend. Minus ½ star for a very few in attendance who seemed to have left their manners at the door or perhaps never had any to begin with? I saw some good old friends and met some very friendly new ones, but there were a few of the singers who were quite obnoxious and rude. It’s a shame that these few could mar an otherwise wonderful event.

**BACKSTAGE WITH BRITTANY B. WAS ALL GOOD IN DA HOOD**
This was my second LA YEE and HOLY MOLY, it was FUN.
Ambiance was super casual and chill.
Friendly bartenders and great smiling staff.
Plenty of food to go around:
*SLIDERS
*MINI SANDWICHES
*CHICKEN SKEWERS
Etc. Etc. Etc.
Margaritas and cake, too?!
Wow, it was FUN, FUN, FUN.
Of course I killed it with AHA’s TAKE ON ME (should have been renamed Take on Betty) with my co– singer and dancer, Ju Dy.
Fantastical experience meeting all the West LA Unilocalers.
Represent! Represent!
Thank you, Brittany B. et al for throwing down another memorable event!
P. S. Love the Unilocal beer glasses. You guys are soooo rad.
MUCH LOVE!
xoxo

Unilocal Elite know food & restaurants, however, they sure can’t sing. Regardless, I still love seeing all my old & new Unilocal friends. Mad props to the few, the proud, the brave, … the fun and fabulous Unilocal karaōke stars.
No surprise, but Brittany, Katie, Christina, Monique and the other Unilocal crew made this one memorable night. Except it isn’t super memorable, because I’m still drunk as a skunk … and feelin awesome. The bartenders were fantastic.
The crowd was even better! Loved meeting some of my favorite Unilocal stars like Travis, Lin, Jen, Matt, Ben, Christine, Erin, Sal, Bridget, Andrea, John, Chris, Sokey, Olivia, and more. My bad if I didn’t mention you because, like I said, I’m still 3 sheets to the wind (even after a post-​party drive to K-​town for some Soon Tofu with some fellow Unilocalalots).
As for Backstage, it is what it is: 1 part Karaōke Bar, 1 part Dive Bar, and a mix of other bars all rolled into one. The food may not be the best attraction, but the fun and drinks are good enough to bring me back.

First LA West Elite Event! :)
This place is awesome! I thought stage-​karaōke places only existed in movies! (I’m used to norebangs). Backstage Bar & Grill also had a great selection of music as well!
The drinks were delicious — my personal fav was the margarita. Yummy tequila!
The food was pretty good as well! I was the most surprised by the skewers. Tender with tons of flavor.
Oh and the chips&salsa was DELICIOUS! The salsa had just the right amount of kick & the chips were a little thicker.
Nicole L. & I had to leave early so it looks liked we missed out on the cakes & deep fried snickers :(But, we got awesome sweat bands, pins, a COUPON (yay!), shot glasses and other awesome Unilocal swag!
Thanks Brittany B & the Backstage Bar & Grill wait/​bar staff!

Had a blast at yet another amazing Unilocal Elite event :)
I love love love the Backstage Bar and Grill and even had my birthday party here last year, so I jumped at the chance to attend this event.
Upon arriving we received «I love California Beer» glasses and shortly after received a yummy AFF cocktail (absolutely fucking fabulous) which was really good. They also had margaritas which were delish, and their famous Culver City Slut which was quite tasty as well.
They had chicken skewers, turkey sliders, and quesadillas among other delicious appetizers. They even had deep fried snickers on a stick. which were way better than I thought they were going to be, yum!
Karaōke was poppin’. Everyone was really into it. I sang «Toxic» by Britney Spears and had a lot of fun doing it.
Ran into some cool friends and overall had a blast! Well done Brit, you pulled off another rockin’ event.

Yay @BackstageBarCC! Oh @Yelpla elite events… where have you been all my life :)? .
Today was my first ever Unilocal elite event! Ahh so fun!
My friend Jacklyn D. and I arrived a little bit before the event started and Backstage Bar and Grill were very kind with offering us free drinks. Soon after, we checked in with Katie B. and us elites were given free «I heart/​yelp California beer» glasses. As we sat down at the tables, each table had lots of free goodies: pins, Unilocal mints, «blood, Unilocal and tears» cotton wrist bands. So cool!
Various waitresses were passing out drinks and appetizers. I got to try their special drink that is basically like a white russian drink with vanilla. As for the appetizers, I got to try the homemade chips and salsa, the chicken sticks, turkey burger sliders, cheese quesadillas and their deep fried snickers. All the appetizers were yummy. The chicken sticks were a bit on the spicy side. The deep fried snickers were interesting and awesome — sweet and on the side of crispy. They also had three types of Unilocal cakes: red velvet, chocolate and strawberry shortcake. I got the shortcake which was great.
Plenty of Unilocalers sang karaōke songs of various artists: Nsync to Paramore to Adele. Antho L. asked me if I could be Christina Aguilera for a duet of «Moves Like a Jagger» and I went up more for moral support than singing lol. It was so good to finally meet Unilocalers Antho L., Tony Y. Jr. Y and Julia K!
Awesome event Britanny B. and Backstage Bar and Grill! This is my first Unilocal elite event and will definitely NOT be my last. I had a great time! I’m already looking forward to the next event :). Yay!