"By 3:50 p.m. last Friday, Jeff Cheng already had everything set up, soft lo-fi music playing through a speaker as he sat by his computer and waited for people to trickle in. For the next hour, the 40-year-old librarian became the DJ for a crowd of six neighborhood residents who'd gathered in the program room at the San Francisco Public Library's Excelsior branch for the karaoke night hosted on every second Friday of the month."
"Ishamael arrived first, in a dark green polo shirt and matching pants, left hand settled into his pocket and right hand holding the microphone. He requested America's “Tin Man;” the remastered version, with lyrics. By the chorus, feet were tapping, bodies swaying, people mouthing the words under their breath. He went on to sing two more songs that evening."
"So started off her night with “Let It Be” by the Beatles, a classic she hadn't performed before. But then she moved onto the familiar. “This is a love song,” she told the crowd before singing Teresa Teng's “Moon Represents My Heart,” a slow love song that's also a Mandarin Chinese classic. So also sang a cheeky Thai song that had the room laughing."
"“She just thought he was handsome,” She explained the singer's way of flirting with a man who's taken. “'Oh, I didn't know you had a girlfriend. Sorry, sorry, I didn't know.'” Leo followed, with Matt Monroe's “ Born Free,” his deep voice echoing in the room. Lisa, one of the younger faces that evening, sang Sublime's “ Badfish,” a reggae rock song."
A librarian set up karaoke equipment and played soft lo-fi music while residents arrived at the San Francisco Public Library’s Excelsior branch. A small group gathered in the program room for karaoke hosted every second Friday. Ishamael requested “Tin Man” and sang multiple songs, with others tapping and mouthing lyrics. Anna So, who owns a Thai restaurant nearby, closed her restaurant for an hour and joined after traveling to Italy, performing Beatles and Mandarin classics and a humorous Thai song. She explained the flirtatious lyrics of the cheeky number. Leo sang “Born Free,” Lisa performed “Badfish,” and children outside watched through the sliding glass door while library readers continued nearby.
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