IT’LL be mayhem at the Time Cafe in NoHo this weekend when a bunch of losers take the stage to pay tribute to Carole King.But make no mistake — these losers are winners, as the die-hard music lovers who cram into the Fez Under Time for the once-a-month Loser’s Lounge concerts can attest.
In a wildly popular and equally raucous seven-year tradition, a group of New York musicians get together to pay tribute to artists with a vast collection of songs, such as Todd Rundgren, Queen, Burt Bacharach, Abba, the Monkees, Paul McCartney, the Bee Gees and the Zombies.
Led by co-founder Joe McGinty, a keyboard player who formerly played with the Psychedelic Furs, the monthly show features the Kustard Kings and a group of regular backup singers. Surprise guests have included Deborah Harry, Space Hog, They Might Be Giants and J Mascis.
Martha Wainwright (Loudon’s daughter) and the Prissteen’s Lauri Yorkman are slated to sing King this weekend, with rumors that Ronnie Spector and Ellen Foley — the female vocalist from Meat Loaf — might take a tune.
Back in 1993, McGinty and singer Nick Danger sang pop songs around the Pink Pony piano before it was cool to admit to liking pop groups like the Carpenters.
The lounge grew from there and the Losers became more polished over time.
“I don’t know if we could have pulled off a Queen tribute four years ago,” said McGinty, referring to the group highlighted in February’s show. “We have enough good singers and the band is tight enough to pull off ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ live.”
As it turned out, the Queen extravaganza proved to be the Loser’s Lounge most rockin’ weekend.
“Queen fans are just particularly enthusiastic,” said McGinty. “That show and Abba brought out fanatics.”
Whether you’re an obsessive King fan or not, the tribute’s song list is anything but predictable. Beside the big hits fans expect, McGinty and company do a lot of research to find obscure songs and covers to perform.
While many fans know all the classics from 1971’s “Tapestry” such as “It’s Too Late Baby” and “So Far Away,” they’ll be treated to the King tunes covered by others, including the Grand Funk Railroad version (versus Little Eva’s) of “The Locomotion,” Herman’s Hermits’ “Something Tells Me I’m into Something Good,” and James Taylor’s “Up on the Roof.”
Her songs were also hits for the Monkees, Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, the Drifters and the Shirelles.
“There’s so many songs to pick from. It’s endless,” said McGinty.
While this weekend’s shows are already fully booked — Loser’s Lounge seats tend to go quickly — next up will be Electric Light Orchestra, for which they’ll have to add a string section.
For more information, see http://www.loserslounge.com