this year we celebrated 15 wonderful years that the abbaye has been our favorite place to eat and drink in philly. as always we celebrated by performing live band karaoke for a packed house of abbaye employees and loyalists. this was the 12th year of karaoke and the quality of singers seems to get better every year.  this year’s song list hit a high of 248 songs and everyone took full advantage. we started things off with two of our originals and then the crowd took over the mic. as always we had some very special guests from the abbaye join us throughout the evening. in addition to the many employees who performed owner marc played drums on “queen bitch” and “the kids are alright’ (and an impromptu rendition of “the gold heart mountaintop queen directory”) and to start off the second set owner meghan sang david bowie’s “heroes” (which was kept off the list as her surprise song) and later on her annual favorite “glad girls’. The night ended at almost 2:30 with our friend steve on top of the bar belting out “(what’s so funny ’bout) peace, love and understanding”. it was another amazing year at the abbaye and all 48 songs performed are listed below for those of us who’s memories of the night are a little hazy.

butterfly
stock
(you gotta) fight for your right (to party!) (beastie boys)
fuck & run (liz phair)
about a girl (nirvana)
color me impressed (replacements)
girlfriend in a coma (smiths)
paranoid (black sabbath)
creep (radiohead)
psycho killer (talking heads)
surrender (cheap trick)
paranoid (black sabbath)
just what i needed (cars)
jumping jack flash (rolling stones)
queen bitch (david bowie)
web in front (archers of loaf)
o valencia (decemberists)
motor away (guided by voices)
dreaming (blondie)
cut your hair (pavement)
where is my mind? (pixies)
that’s when i reach for my revolver (mission of burma)
headache (frank black)
anarchy in the uk (sex pistols)

“heroes” (david bowie)
american girl (tom petty & the heartbreakers)
free fallin’ (tom petty)
a salty salute (guided by voices)
say it ain’t so (weezer)
last caress (misfits)
glad girls (guided by voices)
our lips are sealed (go-go’s)
here comes your man (pixies)
tired of sex (weezer)
highway to hell (ac/dc)
suspicious minds (elvis presley)
the gold heart mountaintop queen directory (guided by voices)
the kids are alright (who)
the bends (radiohead)
whole wide world (wreckless eric)
breed (nirvana)
attitude (misfits)
100% (sonic youth)
that’s how i escaped my certain fate (mission of burma)
i need to know (tom petty & the heartbreakers)
helter skelter (beatles)
i wanna be sedated (ramones)
(what’s so funny ’bout) peace, love and understanding (elvis costello and the attractions)