This was my first time going out to karaoke in Boston. Â The owner/staff was really nice and helpful. Â It would be great if this place has a liquor license. Â For one thing, karaoke and drinking go hand in hand. Â But aside from that, we usually play drinking games while people wait around to sing. Â I wish the karaoke system was computerized because it was difficult finding songs in the books. Â At the very least, the books should be reorganized. Â I didn't bring in any snacks/beverages but it's a great idea if you plan on staying for a while. Â Going to karaoke in Boston is more expensive and there's just less of everything if you compare it to other cities.
Review Source:Great for groups and parties. Lots of fun and you basically get to sing whenever you want, since you're at a personal karaoke bar! They had lots of current songs in the back of the books -- I was impressed! Bathrooms were a bit sketchy, but eh, who cares! And the couches are... kind of old, but again... you're singing, stand up and own it!
Parking is tricky -- there are only a limited number of spots in the tiny lot behind the building, and you CANNOT park in the bigger lot next door for any extended period of time,
Also: Let me clarify something for all the folks who think they're so smart: If you bring in bottles of alcohol, it will be taken away from you (and returned at the end of the night, they're not monsters!). It's not a "don't ask, don't tell" kind of place. It's a "I will be searching your bags and periodically checking in" kind of place.
So, you should either be a group of folks who don't mind not drinking (aka this is the perfect place for a tween birthday party) or your alcohol should be so stealth that even  Sherlock Holmes couldn't find it.
God, I love Do Re Mi. Â When you walk in, you will find a rather sketchy looking music studio. Â Sign up and head back to one of the karaoke rooms which comes complete with disco ball, several books of songs and, of course, karaoke equipment. Â You can also get some tambourines at the front (which always ends in hilarity).
There are a couple of downsides. Â It's actually pretty expensive per person to sing here for an extended period of time (which you will want to do once you realize how awesome this is). Â And there's no alcohol allowed. Â I have gotten a backpack full of beer taken from me and returned at the end of the night. Â Long story short, bring things that you can fit in your purse if you feel like drinking (not that I'm condoning that :) ).
The best night I've had here was when the front desk guy fell asleep and we ended up staying until 3 am even though they close at 2. Â Classic.
A great karaoke place if you're looking for private rooms. I have come here multiple times and have enjoyed myself each time. They have a great selection of songs. The videos that accompany the songs are funky/weird at times but mostly they produce a lot of laughter bc they are so off base from the actual song. The best thing about DoReMi is that they let you bring in your own food and beverage. Though they also have some snacks and beverages there if you forget your own. Lastly, I thought it was adorable when I asked the old man at the front to charge my credit card. The bill was almost $400 (for like 20 people) and he expressed surprise/concern that I wanted to charge the whole thing to my card instead of splitting it. Where else can you find this kind of paternal concern? Thanks DoReMi :)
Review Source:We had fun!  Everyone was just singing along most of the time.  It was obvious that we did not have any alcohol, just water and soda, so the owner  never checked up on us.  We were charged correctly too.  The $1 per person is royalty fee for the songs.  It is still reasonably priced.
Not related to this place, we made the mistake of parking at the strip mall where Domino pizza is. Â We thought it was parking for all of them, including the DoReMi. Â There was no visible sign that we could not park. Â There was just a small sign posted at one side. Â We all got towed, and had to pay $130.50 each by Brighton Towing. Â
It definitely put a sour end to a wonderful evening.
I can't outdo the review below by Laura W. (5/23/11), but I really need to review this place considering that I am their best customer.
I used to be a fan of karaoke in public places such as bars. I was convinced that making a fool of myself in front of strangers was part of the fun. I enjoyed the adrenaline rush from my stage fright. But DoReMi has completely won me over to private-room karaoke.
For one thing, you don't have to spend 3 hours waiting for the DJ (or should I say KJ) to play your song, as he or she plays multiple selections for other people and you start to feel worse and worse, wondering if you're being refused service due to the incredible suckiness of your voice. For another, if you make an awful song choice, you can just press "cancel" and move on. (For the record, if you really want to kill the energy in a room, I suggest  "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins.)
They have an unbeatable selection of music, with a few quirks. They offer music in about 10 foreign languages, but the Spanish-language list has almost nothing by Shakira. Certain songs will be broken/refuse to play (for awhile this was the case with "I Wanna Sex You Up," but thank heaven it is fixed now). There are other puzzling omissions (almost nothing by *NSYNC... Hey DoReMi owner guy, what do you have against *NSYNC????)
You can adjust the music and voice volume levels here--and if you've ever sung at a place where the "KJ" turns the mic down so far that the singing can't be heard over the backing vocals, you know why this is appealing. Lastly, if you want, you can turn your songs into a big group singalong, which is less scary than being up there on your own.
A few tips from a DoReMi veteran:
* Even if you have a lot of people, skip the "party room." People who actually want to sing get annoyed when they have to wait through 20 other people's song selections. Get two smaller rooms instead; people can pop back and forth, and you don't have to put down a credit card/the hourly minimum for the room is less/etc.
* If you are the one organizing, stay sober and keep a tally of how many people are in the room at what time. The owner comes into your room once an hour to count how many people are there, and you are charged per head. However, the bill is often slightly "off." Also ask your friends whether they intend to pay when they leave, and how much. The owner tends to "forget" to subtract these payments from your room unless you can give him specific details about the amount and when the person left.
* I'd tell a hilarious story about the alcohol policy except that I really don't want this place to get fined since it doesn't have a liquor license. So instead, I'll just say that there is a no-alcohol policy. There is not a bag check as you enter - but don't come in with a 6-pack or carrying a wine bottle. And you're not safe once you get in the room, either: on those hourly check-ins, the owner will yell at you and threaten to kick you out if he sees something that is obviously alcohol. That's all I'm going to say.
* Learn how to use the music and voice volume knobs on the stereo. You're welcome.
* Nobody tells you about the super-secret "priority" button on the remote... Except me. Want your song to magically play next? Just don't show your friends this Yelp review or they'll be pissed.
* Don't miss DoReMi's extra bonus features: the ATM in the women's bathroom, the exercise bike in the lobby, and the selection of Asian-flavor snack chips for sale.
* Come wearing layers. It gets super steamy in the rooms (yuck) so they blast the A/C (good) but this means you will be freezing at the beginning of the night before things get started.
I think I have just succeeded in taking my DoReMi review way too seriously--am I right?
I was looking for an Asian-style Karaoke place that had diverse Chinese, Korean, and Hindu songs for my friends. This place DID have these.
BUT! There was a catch. A staff member came into our room multiple times for no reason, looking around and counting the people we had. He kept telling us we had more than we did. We wanted the room for an extra hour (we were already about to pay about $330 for 1 room/2hours for 26 people), and he said this would bring our price up to OVER $500. So, we had to cut it short and left.
Pros:
There was a good variety of songs in different languages.
The cost was relatively cheap per person.
Cons:
It's hard to find if you don't know where it is.
Random charges pop up.
After this visit, I went back 3 times and had a great time. I would not go here with over 10 people as random charges come up and it does get confusing. The owner needs to keep track of everyone who comes in and out of your room and it gets really annoying. Come with a small group you can track easily, and come together, and you'll have a great time. This place does not allow alcohol and the owner is strict about it so drink before you go!
My advice for anyone going is to have someone pay close attention to how many people are in your room, and how long you're staying. This place has a no alcohol policy, which is of course violated nightly. Unfortunately, a common side effect of drunkenness is that you completely lose track of time.
The payment plan is slightly confusing, especially after you've been drinking. The rooms charge a per hour fee, plus a per head cost over a certain number, depending on the room size. Unfortunately, since you can be having a good time and quickly forget how long you've been there (and since going a minute into the next hour will, of course, charge you the full hour), the prices can skyrocket.
I've had a good time each time I've gone, but since alcohol is such a huge part of karaoke you have to be a little careful. You're going to have people, even friends, leave without paying. The bill, at the end of the night, is going to seem like you're being ripped off, especially if you're inebriated. So, after 5 hours of drinking and singing, you might find yourself alone to pay a $600 bill.
This place is fun and karaoke is a good time. My suggestion would be to be able to control your group size and have someone (maybe a DD?) watch the clock to be sure everyone knows how much you're going to be paying. You have to be on top of it, otherwise the bill at the end of the night will seem insane.
Other than that, I like this place. Big selection of songs, good equipment, good space to dance. Good times.
To be honest, I had no idea what an asian karaoke studio was until a huge group of us came here for my friend's birthday a few fridays back. Oh boy was I in for a surprise: Not only do these mythically hilarious places exist, but they exist all over the country! Although it's rather unassuming from the front, here, instead of singing in front of random strangers they lead you to a private room with a disco ball, couches, and a few tambourines. For an hour we just went from song to song singing, talking and dancing like the crazy college kids we are, with no one else there to judge us. So much fun.
I was really impressed at their massive song selection--I mean I feel like they had everything! It might have been hard to find, but once you found that code you were golden. And sure, it might have smelled a little funny and sure, the videos that went with the songs may have been random/borderline creepy, but we had a really good time! Just don't go over the time limit if you can help it--not even a minute--because they WILL charge you extra for it.
And it's really close to the bus stop that takes you to Harvard Square so there's minimal time spent walking in the cold after. (Which is a big plus for the California girl in me when it's like 17 degrees out)
Not too shabby, DoReMi, not too shabby. Â Although you lack the glorified glamour of true late-night asian karaoke-ing (that is, with luxuriously decorated private rooms, plush lounge chairs, AYCE buffets and waiter service), you still hit it home on the basic necessities to deliver an epically awesome night of karaoking.
You've got:
+ An extensive and up-to-date repertoire of English pop songs.
+ Actual karaoke lyrics+audio (none of that BS where the audio is just the original song played at a lower volume)
+ Way affordable rates (perfect for students). Â ~$5/person/hour
+ Fun gaudy party lights
+ "Outside food+drink are welcome" policy
What you've don't got:
+ Tambourines (FIX THIS PLEASE!)
+ An alcohol license =. Â Can't bring booze into this place
Word of advice:
MAKE RESERVATIONS. Â We showed up at 9pm on a Sat night w/o a reservation, but didn't get a room until 10:30. Â Their peak hours starts at 9 (yea, unfortunate for us). Â Huge crowds of people kept coming in one after another. Â We were lucky enough to be squeezed in b/c one party cancelled their reservation.
I have the sense, a few days after my fledgling karaoke visit, that I may have fudged the experience. I forwent my usual research before heading to Allston, and was completely unprepared for the alternate dimension that is a private room at DRM; the laser assault on my senses, the Day Glo wall murals and the inexplicable music videos.
You're not supposed to drink there, so I didn't bring drinks, but you kind of need to drink there, so I took a little field trip to Blanchards with a few peeps. We lost some good men in the battle of the booze; a few of my compatriots were busted by the Fun Police and spent a little time in parking lot purgatory, nursing their contraband.
In the course of two hours I got to sing one song. Yes, some people were hogging the karaoke remote, but I was all fired up to sing Hold On, and it never came. The TV ate my request. This happened to several other people, and I would have been far more irritated had my good friend Jack D not whispered sweet nothings in my ear. As it was, I belted out Blister in the Sun and didn't question the $20 I was asked to fork over at the end of the night (but now that I'm sober, it seems a liiiiiitle bit steep.)
Just went to Doremi with a group of friends. Â
The owner was interrupting us and harassing us the entire time we were there. Â Disgusted, we left after only 1 hour because no one was having a good time. Â When we went to pay for an hour of mistreatment, he attempted to charge us almost DOUBLE what we actually owed. Â I had to explain to him his own pricing and that we didn't have 3 extra invisible people with us.
(BTW when they say its $5 per person per hour, they mean $6. Â There is a hidden $1 fee per person that is not mentioned anywhere but at the counter, added manually to their laminated pricing guide at the desk.)
As the icing on the cake, after we paid he pretended to forget to give us our change!
We will NEVER go to Doremi, EVER AGAIN ! ! After being treated like criminals by someone who was trying to steal from us. Oh the irony! Â
The owner is a freaking psychopath and will try to rip you off any way he can!!!
BEWARE of DOREMI !
Karaoke nights are defined by a couple things:
1) Â The people you're with
2) Â The song selection
DoReMi has no control over who I sing karaoke with, but just for the record, I have an elite group of karaoke singer friends who just won't settle for a lame night out. Â We could be singing tunes in an Al-Qaeda basement, and it'd be radder than New Years in Vegas.
The song selection, however, CAN make or break a locale, and DoReMi does not disappoint. Â On Jan 15, 2011, their most recent songs spanned to the last quarter in 2010. Â Totally acceptable for guilty pleasure Ke$ha and Lady Gaga duets.
And just for kicks - it's pretty easy to sneak alcohol in, and I don't think the owners care too much, so long as you're not a D-Bag and trash the rooms.
As for other people being too drunk/loud in other rooms... Â if you can hear anyone outside your room, you're not doing karoke right. Â Maybe check out the Flight of the Conchords at the nearest library?
I could sing for free in bars, but if you have your elite squadron of Karoke-ers flanking you, DoReMi is totally cost efficient, and will be a fantastic night out.
I am not made of stone.  A good karaoke session will set my heart alight, my loins afire.  And while this may be the place where sketch comes to die, I cannot deny the off-key, thin-walled glory of a place that lets you and your friends do your own karaoke business without the constant fear of public embarrassment.  I will not wait in line to share these bad-boy pipes with a big, anonymous drunken bar crowd  when I can gain total acceptance from my smaller, self-selected drunken crowd, now.
Private rooms. Â Swirling lasers. Â Background videos that will make your snarf your snuck-in booze all over the catalogs. Â Food delivery. Â A healthy amount of Billy Joel. Â A rendition of "Love Shack" that, despite popular belief or desire, can all be performed entirely by one person.
And a word about the booze thing. Â Be smart. Â Little nips, water bottles. Â Don't make them be the bad guys. Â They're pretty live and let live, all the better so we can Live and Let Die.
On Saturday night, a friend from out of state came to town, and wanted to go to DoReMi.
We got a private room for cheap. 2 hours and 10 minutes for $90 (split by 7 people).
You can pick songs in English, Japanese, and Korean. One member of our group spoke Japanese, so he's the reason we chose DoReMi.
The songs are chosen from a song book, then you use a TV remote to set them up to play in your room. Our remote kept sticking, but that's what you get for cheap karaoke.
I did not like the lighting system in the private studio. In fact, it gave me a headache. As soon as the door closed, green and red lazer beams were projected on the wall, with no way to turn them off.
The rooms were not soundproof, so you often had to sing over noise from other rooms.
It was a fun night out with some friends, but I probably won't go back without a lot of advil in my purse.
Probably the dingiest hole I've ever been in.
To sum up DoReMi in a  few sentences...
Overcrowded rooms.
-They packed 13 of us into a room that should of had 6-8.
Your rooms wreak of sweat and stink and are way too warm-DoReMi has no A/C or at least they do not use it.
They say no alcohol allowed yet everyone brings back packs full of beer and liquor and no one checks ID's on that stuff. So Little Miss 16 Yr old can be found puking up in a bucket outside the bathroom because drinking a bottle of vodka didn't turn out the way she intended. Bla.
You can hear Karaoke from the other rooms-DoReMi is not sound proof.
The karaoke selection is vastly out of date and you couldn't care less.
Your equipment is in need of replacing. The mic's keeping buzzing and cause tremendous amounts of feed back. Your speakers are the worst excuse for a sound system in the history of the world and I challenge anyone to not find a puke stain on the floor or worse.
The novelty of this place wears off after about 20 seconds.
Not if the earth moved and life depended on it, will I or my friends EVER be going here again.
This place sucks.
This is a SPECIAL place.
80's cheesy videos, weird pleather couches, a smell of stall booze with sweat... AWESOME!
Every song you can imagine... THOUSANDS, and you get into a room with all your friends and sing through the night.
There is no bar. Be creative if you need to drink.
Its a lot of fun... not kidding.
Extensive and current song list - CHECK.
Solid sound system - CHECK
Mood lighting - CHECK
Decently clean rooms - CHECK
DoReMi has all the ingredients for a very fun evening of Karaoke. I came here with a rag tag bunch of folks... about 12 of us... and we each paid about $20 for 4 hours of karaoke.
Yes... I am a karaoke freak. Â We had so much fun. Â Our crew sang in English, Hindi, Chinese, and Tagalog. Â I told you... rag tag! Â Very little singing happened that evening, but there was a whole lot of karaoke, which is all about entertainment and letting out your inner performer.
In terms of songs... I appreciated all the old skool hip hop available and almost all Michael Jackson songs were available. They have lists of more recent songs in the back of binders... where I found songs by M.I.A., Beyonce, etc. etc. Â So good! Â
Since I was visiting family from L.A., where there are tons of karaoke spots, I was horrified to see that Boston only has a few karaoke options, and really only DoReMi for private room option. Â Thankfully, the place rocks!
When I heard that Do Re Mi had undergone some renovations recently, I got worried. Â Would it still retain its seedy charm? Â Could you still mistake it for a front for overseas prostitutes in the evening hours?
Let me assure you: nothing's been lost. Â Do Re Mi's still the late-night hangout with the soundproof rooms and the bizarre karaoke videos. Â What it loses in cleanliness, it makes up for in selection - the songbooks are thick and well-organized, full of recognizable classics.
Several signs out front warn against drinking on the premises. Â Do Re Mi does not have a liquor license, so do not get caught drinking. Â I trust I make myself obscure.
Protip: bring a group of a dozen or more and rent out the party room in the back. Â Huge open space, several tables to spread out your DIET SODA, HONESTLY on, and even a piano in the back. Â What's the piano there for? Â Atmosphere, suckas. Â That's how they roll at Do Re Mi.
This place has an amazing song selection and the private room setting is perfect for those nights when you just want to make a fool of yourself and sing Whitney Houston songs. Great music videos that have nothing to do with the songs also add to the experience.
The hourly rate is reasonable -- I think it's like $6/person per hour -- and they are pretty lax about smuggling in booze. Â Technically, they don't serve liquor, which is sad since karaoke pairs well with drunkenness, but they don't search bags or anything, so it's easy to bring in flasks etc. Â
They have a lot of different room sizes, good for various party scenarios.....basically, if you could order food and drinks here, it would be perfect. Â And if it were closer to the T.
Before they fixed up their exterior, I thought this was a dingy hole-in-the-wall that would be no bigger than a Tedeschi's. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I came in to see it was really nice and quite expansive! They have *several* spacious karaoke rooms down a long, long winding hallway. Each room is complete with the charming and cheezy blacklights and disco balls.
Their selection is great! They have just about any song you can think of, and most importantly their sound system is loud and clear so you can hear every single off-key note your buddies hit.
They have a strict no alcohol policy, but you know... *wink* You know...
I would definitely recommend this place for a celebration or a group outing.
Holy crap this place ROCKS!!!!
I don't know what everyone is talking about when they say this place is run down and has seen better days, i think its always been like this! Walls painted colors straight out of a mid 90's swatch book, cheesy paintings. A 60's exercise bike in the lobby, and atm that faces the wall in the women's restroom. Sagging leather couches that I am pretty sure pull out into beds because my ass could feel the frame when I sat down.
This all adds to the charm. Because lets face it, you didn't come to sit around and take in the atmosphere, you came to sing till your voice is gone! They have a very extensive collection of music, just about every song your heart could desire. They even have Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese from the what I could see in the music books. Plus there is no waiting around listening to hordes of drunk girls sing the entire Bon Jovi catalogue and just hoping the DJ gets to your request and then worrying about making a fool of yourself and being judged by "the regulars".
We were in the party room which is $80 bucks and hour for 10 people, we were there with a reservation for 15 for two hours and payed about $13 each. Ordered pizza to the building, brought in cakes and two liter soda bottles filled with pre-made drinks. So with food we all probably spent between $20-$25 each. Compare to what you would spend at any other bar on karaoke night, and even if you would spend less, this is way more fun!
Bottom line: This is a place for karaoke lovers new and old!
Also, don't order pizza from Dominos next door. Support a local business and order from Alfredo's around the corner on Brighton Ave. It's about the same price and 1,000 times better.
Dark private room, rotating light ball hanging off the ceiling, colorful bits of light shining here and there, long couches against the wall, coffee table in the middle, huge flat screen, song books by song title or by artist, Chinese songs also available.
Dial in the song # you want and confirm to add it to the queue. Â Skip to the next song if you like. Â A number pops up after each song - rating the singing? Â Not sure... Â Drinks and snacks available for purchase. Â Ended up being about $16.50 each for 11 people for not quite 3 hours.
Would be nice if they'd upgrade the couches - I couldn't help but slouch and it wasn't very comfortable.
The videos didn't always go with the songs, but what can you do?
Do Re Mi was ROUGH.
The place is kind of sketchy, which I'm fine with. There is also a no-booze policy, but it is so easy to sneak it in that they should really just get rid of that rule. How can you have a karaoke place without alcohol? That seems blasphemous to the whole point of karaoke. It's not a classic karaoke joint, though. It doesn't have a big stage where you can sing in front of your friends and strangers. Instead you get a private room and you can sing in front of however many people there are in your party. The price is kind of steep though, and it grows by the hour.
Nice music selection though. There's nothing like rocking out to "Killing Me Softly" or having a duet to "The Boy is Mine." And don't forget the classic karaoke songs like "Don't Stop Believin'" and "The Power of Love." So many choices, so little time.
My friends and I were locked in by the owners, though. It was creepy. Some random people who were friends-of-friends showed up to be part of our karaoke night, which was awesome, except they didn't help pay for the hourly rate. When it came time to pay, we didn't have enough money and the owners wouldn't let us out until we paid the difference. My friend and I escaped before we even knew there was a problem, so we didn't have to deal with it, but my other friend ended up coughing up the difference and was never paid back by the mooches who came along. Jerks.
I'm still in search for the perfect karaoke joint where you can get cheap beer and sing in front of total strangers. Do Re Mi was just not my scene, so I won't be returning there any time soon.
I haven't done karaoke anywhere else in Boston...actually I haven't done karaoke ever so this was a first time experience with nothing to compare it to.
I've probably driven past this place like a million times and never noticed it it's so nondescript. Inside it's pretty clean and there is a snack machine. The nice guy at the counter asked us what languages we wanted our songs in, asked us if we had any alcohol (of course not...ha) and then led us to our room. It was one of the regular rooms so it wasn't huge but big enough for four people. It included a black light, a colored mirror ball, a crookedly hung Monet print, and a waterfall print that glowed under black light. It was also clean (much appreciated) and had a really nice big-ass flat screen TV.
In my opinion they have a really large collection of songs and there is bound to be something you'll like and want to sing along to. The microphones worked great and the cheesy awful early 90s videos in the background provided endless amusement.
Overall we had a fun time (and accidentally stayed 4 hours...OOPS) and it was nice to be able to do it without having strangers staring at you.It's also nice to be able to sneak in the booze since no one checks. My one main gripe is that it's $30 an hour which seems steep but I guess the more people you have the better (we only had 4...that was painful).
Also, I didn't see any designated parking. The parking lot next door says they'll tow you if you aren't parking for specific businesses but I don't know if they check. We parked on the street to be safe.
I would not be surprised if I read one of the following stories in the newspaper tomorrow:
"Do Re Mi Really Front For Organ Trafficking Ring"
"Fifty People Found Living In Do Re Mi"
"Do Re Mi Collapses Into Heap of Rubble"
"Hellgate Discovered Under Do Re Mi"
The place smells bad, is falling apart and is just far enough down Cambridge Street from Harvard Ave that you feel like you're in the bad part of the Bronx.
That said, if you want to do some karaoke Lost In Translation style, go here. Â You get a private room, a pair of microphones, some bongos and the deaf ear of the owner. Â The price is something like $6 per person per hour, but I'm fairly certain they'll charge you whatever you want. Â I was there for 3 hours and got charged $10, then the next time charged $15. Â Whatever. Â Just show up with a $20, understanding friends, and some time to kill.
We park the car and enter Do Re Mi to find outselves in a room equipped with rocking chairs and those glorious motion paintings of waterfalls you might see when hitting up Chinatown Hit! and approach the counter to make sure our party is still in fact here. Room 10? You got it. Upon entering the room, we could hear the melodic stylings of a Ms.Joke and Kirs, wailing their cold hearts out to "Rush, Rush" by the one and only Paula Abdul. HURRAY HURRAY LOVAH COMEEE TO MEEEEEEEEEE.
Guys are farting, du-rags are adorned, and I embarked on a really shitty rendition of "endless love" as I couldn't figure out the book well enough to look through the section organized by artist. The selection is incredibly varied and they have books upon books of songs in alernate languages. So bring your foreigners, but only if they're asian. I didn't see any song books in Swahili. But I could be mistaken. We someone managed to swagger 9 people together to sway to the tunes of Slayer, Britney Spears, and Coheed. The music is pretty up to date, many of the songs I dont even think I knew, so no worries about having to be forced to sing "like a virgin". While fun, it's gotten a little old, and quite frankly....I'm more apt to look for a little U-S- - H-E-R R-A-YM-OND or Ja Rule. Let's be creative here. IMPRESSED.
"far, a long, long way to run"
Yes, ghetto. Yes, scary. Yes, a little worn down. But I am first going to challenge some of the reviews and your mind by saying that you can bring in your own food and drinks. This is between you and me. You can't walk around the corridors with your bottle but if you keep it to yourself, and clean afterwards, you can have the best drinks and snacks!
"sew, a needle pulling thread"
No stranger anxiety. No public singing fear. It is you and your friends. Couple of mics, comfortable, leather couches and thick (and I mean, thick) folders of songs. Even in French and Spanish!
"la, a note to follow sew"
The bigger your group, the bigger the room, the better, as the smaller ones are a little claustrophobic. For $7/8 an hour, this is a great deal.
"tea, a drink with jam and bread
that will bring us back to do.."
Ghetto karaoke!
Where I come from we often sing karaoke like this, in fact I had never seen it happen on a stage until I moved here, so my expectations of the rooms are high.
In Hawaii, you would find a karaoke den like this in the sketchy part of town with drugs being sold out front and old guys looking at you.
Do Re Mi is dirty, the bathrooms feel diseased, and the whole place is old and cracked.
The music selection sucked and the price was way too high for something so shitty.
The mic broke and kept breaking up during the songs, which was annoying.
I will though give a few stars out there to a business that's keeping the culture of karaoke alive-I just may wear gloves next time I go.
Always a good time, whether it's planned or the idea to go just comes up at the last minute. Sometimes, karaoke is best enjoyed in a private room full of people you know, not a bar full of drunken strangers.
Gather up 50 of your closest friends, "sneak" your alcohol in (as long as it's in some sort of bag, they don't care), rent the really big room aaaaall the way at the end of the long, winding hallway (the one with the out-of-tune piano in the corner!), and go crazy for 2-3 hours. Rinse, lather, repeat.
They have a pretty decent selection of songs to choose from, in English, Korean and several other languages. They also make attempts to stay current as well, so they'll have updated lists of songs that were popular on the radio a few months before floating around (whatever the kids are listening to these days, you know).
Definitely one of the better places to go hang out for a few hours when you're really not in the mood to just bar-hop and get shitfaced. You can get shitfaced to the sounds of your friends belting out the lyrics to "Since U Been Gone" instead! I only wish there were more karaoke studios like this in Boston/Cambridge.
Skeezy the way you like it, Do Re Mi has been a nerd staple for me for years.
I really can't understand how you can really be into American-style Karaoke. I thought the whole point of karaoke is to be 1) absolutely obliterated, and 2) in front of good company. Waiting around for 20 minutes while some guy warbles out Black Hole Sun isn't my idea of fun.
Enter Do Re Mi. No, there's no liquor, the booths are kinda out of date, but the track lists are updated often, and yes, they do turn a blind eye to liquor being brought in. Stick to Rum and Cokes, maybe vodka tonics, and pack 'em in a bag. They don't really care, as long as you don't puke your guts out. Once you're in, you get the couches, and then it's time to go hog wild and throw some tracks down.
Recommendations (in case you're absolutely clueless):
Buddy Holly - Â Weezer (If you don't know the chorus, then you should just give up.)
Never Gonna Give You Up - Rick Astley (For obvious reasons)
Humpty Dance - Digital Underground  (If you're fast and clever, it's a great song to wind down with)
Bohemean Rhapsody - Queen (always a classic)
Anything by Wham! (I prefer Last Christmas, but that's just me....)
Enjoy the Silence - Depeche Mode (for that sensitive you)
Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division (more sensitivity, and put on your biggest teary eyes for the girls you're with)
Goodnight Goodnight - Hot Hot Heat (Depends on your sensibility, but it's got very whiny lyrics which are good to mush mouth with)
Remember kids, stick with big pop hits. I know everyone loathes Liam Gallagher, but I'll be damned if Wonderwall isn't a huge karaoke hit.
Five stars if they started nomihoudai, but the chances of that ever happening in the states is next to nil, but worth going to.
Do Re Mi, you gave me some of my best memories from high school.
This is Asian-style karaoke, the way it's meant to be. None of that getting up on a stage at a bar bullshit. Â You get your own room and you and your pals get to belt out the tunes without one iota of shame. Â THAT is how karaoke is done, ladies and gentlemen. Break out the tambourines!
I'm pretty sure Do Re Mi is Korean-owned but it also has a great selection of Chinese and Japanese pop as well, which are pretty up to date! Oh yea, they do have English, if you care for that. When I want to croon some shameless J-pop with my pals, we head on over to Do Re Mi for our fix.
Do Re Mi is a private room karaoke studio where only your friends can witness your embarrassing neil diamond impressions. Â It's a great idea for people who love to sing but have stage fright. Â You also dont have to compete with the weird american idol wannabes who frequent many a bar's karaoke night.
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  I am writing this review in response to some other reviews I have seen posted around the internet that state Do Re Mi is an unfriendly and expensive establishment.  I am here to say that this simply is NOT true.  I'm not sure what people are expecting from the owners of a family run non corporate karaoke studio...praise for their singing? free shit? a reach around?? Every time I've gone to Do Re Mi (about 5 times now) I always receive precise, informed, and friendly service. Â
   I have also seen it posted that Do Re Mi is too expensive when it's hourly rate is right in line with it's karaoke competitors.  Yes it is a no frills place (except for the awesome black lights and velvet posters) but I prefer their non-pretentious atmosphere to that of a place like limelight karaoke studios (theater district, Boston MA) where they skimp on knowledgeable staff for fancy high def tvs and computer consoles.     Â
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  Do re mi has a giant song book (japanese and english) with a very comprehensive listing and they constantly update the songs (Gnarls Barkley's Crazy was in the book just a few months after release).  They have just about every rock/pop hit dating back to the 1950's and quite a wide variety of jazz standards, musical numbers, and themes from TV shows!
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  The only drawbacks I've encountered here are the temperature control and the sometimes non functioning equipment.  The rooms are either boiling hot or freezing cold...in fact I dont think it's ever been at a normal temp in there.  Also the karaoke equipment can sometimes go on the fritz and requires restarting from the front desk attendant.  These problems are fairly minor however and don't really detract from one's enjoyment.
  Take my advice if you want to make Do re mi an even more enjoyable experience...  The more the merrier!  Since Do re mi operates on the hourly rate system ($30/hour for up to 5 people, $5 hour for additional people) get a big group together.  Also BYOB since Do-re-mi does not serve alcohol.  Just don't flaunt your 40 oz. and you'll be fine.  Have an idea of what songs you want to sing before hand and don't waste time/money searching through the songbook.  And lastly try to pick songs (unfortunately you just have to guess) that have videos!  They are freaking hilarious!
Everyone arrived with PET bottles of booze and the gentleman at the counter didn't question the contents. Â At 9pm the place looked deserted, but he asked us if we had reservations anyway. Â We did not, but it wasn't a problem. Â The first room's equipment malfunctioned, so we were taken to a large room with plush seating right behind the main counter. Â Well, plush for a place like this.
The Asian concept of the private room is the only way to do karaoke right, and this orchestra was anything but empty. Â Four hours of damn fool rock stardom ensued, the songs getting sillier and slurrier as we drained our contraband. Â Keep in mind these songs aren't edited, so they can go on and on and on, including instrumental sections for air guitar or, worse, air saxophone, but don't dare skip to the next song or you'll get hit upside the head with one of the weighty tomes. Â Selection is excellent (if a place has Tony Orlando & Dawn's "Knock 3 Times" they get 5 stars), and they even have foreign language songs for your awkward expat friends.
The best Do Re Mi strategy is to bring a ton of friends (split up the hourly cost between more people), some food and drinks, and well-hidden booze. You're allowed to bring food and such, but no alcohol, and no one's going to search your entire Trader Joe's bag. With the right attitude you'll come to enjoy the sketchy appearance of the place, the Spanish-dubbed Chuck Norris movie playing in the "lobby," and the cheesy 80's videos for the karaoke songs. Song selection is pretty decent, and watching your friends make asses of themselves is fun. Me and Shannon B. and Russ S. and a bunch of other folks came here one time and had a blast. I did my best Freddie Mercury impression.
Things to avoid: the B train (although if you MUST, you can walk here from the Harvard Ave stop).
Forget about the crazy moving waterfall painting in the corner, the cracks in the big screen TVS, the supremely ghetto bathroom with one working bathroom door or the fact that all the Karaoke tracks have super campy CINEMAX style Karaoke videos in the background.
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This place is seriously a BLAST. Booze isn't allowed persay, but they don't mind you sneaking it in as long as it's concealed and you clean up when you leave (bring backpacks and mixed drinks in Sprite bottles or something). The Karaoke list is HUGE and you don't have to wait for a bunch of loserbags to sing before you can because HEY those loserbags are your drunken friends! Karaoke can get a bit pricey if you're not careful (they charge you for every person in the room-even if they're not singing) so be sure that the people who go with you know that they have to PAY UP too. It usually is about 11 bucks a person for about 15 people or so for 2 hours. So, when you start Karaoke you're on the clock! 2 hours is plenty of time though--and you can always hit up the Allston bars after or before for a more complete night. Â
For easier times--call and make a reservation  with an idea of how many people will be there so you can get a quote for the room--that way you can tell people who are coming how much it's going to be. Also, there is a Dominos right almost right next door--so you can grab a pizza to eat with your friends !
(PST--It's best on a Thursday/Friday or Saturday night when you can hear all the other rooms singing crazy Japanese pop songs but keep in mind, people outside the rooms can prob. hear you too!)
EDIT: I wanted to add to my review that since this was written I went back to Do Re Me and it looks like they spruced up the place with a new paint job and maybe even TV repairs to get rid of the cracks. The people there are awesome, efficent, and let you enjoy yourself in their Karaoke Rooms. Great people. Great place. Fun to go to. If you don't think this place is a brilliantly funny time, you obviously didn't sing your heart out right. GO DO RE MI!
Let's be honest here, when you go out to karaoke, you're not going so that you can sing your one song then spend three hours watching strangers garble their way through the Rent soundtrack. Â No, you're there to watch your friends. Â So why not go to a place that cuts to the chase and lets you rent a private booth for you and your friends to sing your fool heads off?
Enter Do Re Mi. Â From the outside, it looks like an abandoned laundromat, and I had to walk by a couple times to make sure I was in the right place. Â Inside, though, are some pretty comfy studios that come cmplete with leather couches and maracas. Â The music selection is no Courtside, but it's pretty solid. Â The background videos are about as hillariously campy as they come in the karaoke universe. Â Just be warned that when you are put in charge of the music selection, you will inevitably hit the wrong key a few times and have to sit through some Korean pop song whose lyrics are a mystery to everyone in your entourage.
There are a few rules here, such as "no booze in the studios" and "pay $40 an hour", but they all seem to be fairly negotiable.
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