Before this trip to New Orleans, I was under the (very wrong) impression that Cat's Meow was a strip club! I have no idea why, since I had never been there. This time around, some friends steered me in the right direction. It turned out to be a really fun karaoke club.
We began the night there at about 10 PM. It was already packed and the karaoke was going. Cat's Meow consists of one large room with the stage in the corner (where the karaoke happens), a small dance floor, lots of tables, and a bar up on a platform in the back. There's a couple smaller rooms off to the sides, including a tiny patio that only serves daiquiris (machine made) and hurricanes.
I had heard that their hurricanes were "better than Pat O's," so I definitely had to try one. At $7.25 a pop, they better be good! The light pink concoction (I thought hurricanes were red?!) comes in a large plastic cup with lots of ice. It was ok, but I couldn't taste any alcohol, and it didn't affect me at all. After that, I switched to Crown&Cokes. They were good, but pricey @ $5.75!
The karaoke is lead by an emcee who interrupts every few karaoke songs with his own karaoke to get the crowd up and running. He also sometimes sings along/makes up new words with the people who are up there performing their own karaoke. The songs ran from anything and everything, based on what songs the karaoke singer chooses.
The crowd is good and friendly. There are a lot of bachelorette parties and older couples here, but there's still the young party crowd too. It's definitely crowded, and you can dance almost anywhere in the place. It's a fun place to start the night and get going, although maybe you shouldn't buy too many drinks while you're there!
For more info, visit their website at: http://www.catsmeow-neworleans.com/