Tag: open mic

Open Mic @ The Auction House

It took me a few months, but I finally made it out to the new open mic that is literally about 2 blocks from my house.? Audubon’s Auction House on Merchant Street now has a weekly open mic night on Wednesdays hosted by Russ.? There were about 50 people there!

I ended up going on 2nd to last, but I got to see some good acts.? Jerry Thompson is one of my new favorites.? He writes interesting songs that don’t fit into traditional categories or fall into the typical trappings of folk music.? I also loved a song written by another performer about selling his soul to the devil for pop tarts.? I can’t remember his name though!? Does anyone know it?

Open Mic @ Studio Luloo

Last night I stopped by Studio LuLoo’s open mic again and had a nice time. Mark Rice was the featured artist and he had a nice mellow sound. So mellow a guy near me passed out on the couch. Hah. A guy named Pat rocked a version of Mayonnaise by Smashing Pumpkins and I think my favorite new artists I’ve heard there is Jerry, who strongly resembles the coroner on CSI. Sara O’Brien let me play three songs near the end of the night, so I pulled out 99%, I Hope I Die on the Moon, and the Cut in Half Blues.

I went outside before my set to tune up and froze my ass off. I was so cold I swear I could feel my heart beating. The guitar didn’t stay in tune anyway, so it was a waste. The set went ok, and of course I had to make a joke about the guy sleeping on the couch. I hope he woke up the next day to a bunch of kids doing a music class.

Open Mic @ Studio LuLoo

John Shaughnessy suggested I check out the open mic at Studio Luloo so last Tuesday I did. Singer/songwriter/fire escaper Sara O’Brien owns the studio and she’s making a great effort in turning it into a successful business. She holds music events at night and other times has art classes and workshops for kids. I can imagine how difficult it must be to keep a place like that open, but I have to say my first experience there was a blast. My daughter has taken a high priority in my life and my knowledge of the local music scene isn’t what it was, but I didn’t expect to see so many talented performers I’d never heard before. I knew some of the artists, but only two or three. A woman recited The Raven from memory, hip hop artists spun records and rhymed, and a slew of songwriters played to a crowd of about 25.

Open Mic @ The Roadhouse

Last night was the first night I played out anywhere since ye olde hand injury. It’s healing well, but I’ll have a nice scar that may be my downfall if I ever commit a crime and the witness gets a good look at my hand.

The hand felt great and I played a long set consisting of On a Plain, Cut in Half Blues, I Hope I Die on the Moon, 99%, Ralph Wiggum, Why Now Satan, and The Genius of it All. My wrist actually felt better up there than it has in years.

The crowd was small, but the highlight for me was an old woman telling raunchy jokes on stage.

Open Mic Recap @ The Living Room

This is actually a recap of last Monday’s open mic at the Living Room in Collingswood. I was late in getting there, so I missed Broken Bones, the featured artists this week. Many of the regular performers were sick or at least pretended to be, but you couldn’t tell from the performances. Jason, Adrien, Willie and the guy Greg sounded great. The standout performance was definitely Cathy’s. I’ve heard her play a few times and she definitely played at a higher level than usual on Monday. She sounded terrific. She’s headed off to college, but I’m sure she’ll be around as long as the Living Room doesn’t go out of business while she’s gone (that’s what happened to all the places I played in high school).

This is actually a recap of last Monday’s open mic at the Living Room in Collingswood. I was late in getting there, so I missed Broken Bones, the featured artists this week. Many of the regular performers were sick or at least pretended to be, but you couldn’t tell from the performances. Jason, Adrien, Willie and the guy Greg sounded great. The standout performance was definitely Cathy’s. I’ve heard her play a few times and she definitely played at a higher level than usual on Monday. She sounded terrific. She’s headed off to college, but I’m sure she’ll be around as long as the Living Room doesn’t go out of business while she’s gone (that’s what happened to all the places I played in high school).

How I Would Run an Open Mic

I’ve played at dozens of open mics and I’ve seen the good, the bad, the dead, the crowded, the annoying, etc. There are a few things the host should always do when hosting an open mic.

  1. The sign up sheet should be available well before the show starts. Ideally the open mic has an Internet sign up, but I understand why venues want the people to come out in person.
  2. The host should always be on time (20-30 minutes before the advertised start time). This prevents anything from slowing down the start of the night.
  3. The host should play no more than the other performers and should either go on first, last, or not at all. When the host treats the open mic as a weekly gig, don’t be surprised if people don’t show up to do his sound check.
  4. The host should make sure performers know when they are going on. Many hosts do not do this enough and it creates a show where you hear a lot of tuning and stage preperation. This also includes the host asking what the performer needs (sitting or standing? Does his guitar plug in or need to be miked?).
  5. The host should make sure the performers know how long they can play. I have been to open mics where they would have limited Bob Dylan to two songs but let your average teenager playing Indigo Girls covers railroad the host into playing three.
  6. The host should encourage the crowd to support the performers. Jason Wheatley @ the Living Room does this better than any host I’ve ever seen.

If a host follows these rules and the venue has a decent sound system the open mic will be a success. Is that enough? I think the open mic format can go beyond its typical form into something more interesting. One thing I have never seen at an open mic is a theme, although I’ve heard the Point does a Bob Dylan night on his birthday. I think it would be fun if the host said, “Next week let’s all play songs with the word ‘death’ in the title” or “Blues songs.” They’d always be optional, but how would you encourage people to participate? I would bring a large notebook with me to each open mic and write down the name of any performer who hadn’t played there before. Each time they came back another night I’d put a star next to their name. If they participate in the theme they get an extra star. “What the hell good is a star,” you ask?

  1. 3 stars and I’ll post a link to your site from the open mic’s webpage (oh yes, we have one of these with lists of who played each night).
  2. 15 stars and I’ll sign up you early so you don’t have to come down, but you may get put in any spot on the list.
  3. 25 stars and I’ll sign you up early on the list wherever you want.
  4. 50 stars and you get invited to play at some sort of “Open Mic Regulars” gig.
  5. 100 stars and you some sort of status when introduced. It could be “Legendary”, “Notorious”, “Infamous”, “Critically Acclaimed”, etc.

There are obviously tons of things you could do with this idea. If you sign up early and don’t show up, I’d have to take away some or all of you stars since that is the ultimate in rude open mic behavior. I’d also give bonus stars to anyone who covers another regular artist at the open mic. Maybe I’ve give a bonus to the artist being covered, too, since she wrote such a good song.

Maybe this star idea is lame, but that’s how I would do it.

I’ve played at dozens of open mics and I’ve seen the good, the bad, the dead, the crowded, the annoying, etc. There are a few things the host should always do when hosting an open mic.

  1. The sign up sheet should be available well before the show starts. Ideally the open mic has an Internet sign up, but I understand why venues want the people to come out in person.
  2. The host should always be on time (20-30 minutes before the advertised start time). This prevents anything from slowing down the start of the night.
  3. The host should play no more than the other performers and should either go on first, last, or not at all. When the host treats the open mic as a weekly gig, don’t be surprised if people don’t show up to do his sound check.
  4. The host should make sure performers know when they are going on. Many hosts do not do this enough and it creates a show where you hear a lot of tuning and stage preperation. This also includes the host asking what the performer needs (sitting or standing? Does his guitar plug in or need to be miked?).
  5. The host should make sure the performers know how long they can play. I have been to open mics where they would have limited Bob Dylan to two songs but let your average teenager playing Indigo Girls covers railroad the host into playing three.
  6. The host should encourage the crowd to support the performers. Jason Wheatley @ the Living Room does this better than any host I’ve ever seen.

If a host follows these rules and the venue has a decent sound system the open mic will be a success. Is that enough? I think the open mic format can go beyond its typical form into something more interesting. One thing I have never seen at an open mic is a theme, although I’ve heard the Point does a Bob Dylan night on his birthday. I think it would be fun if the host said, “Next week let’s all play songs with the word ‘death’ in the title” or “Blues songs.” They’d always be optional, but how would you encourage people to participate? I would bring a large notebook with me to each open mic and write down the name of any performer who hadn’t played there before. Each time they came back another night I’d put a star next to their name. If they participate in the theme they get an extra star. “What the hell good is a star,” you ask?

  1. 3 stars and I’ll post a link to your site from the open mic’s webpage (oh yes, we have one of these with lists of who played each night).
  2. 15 stars and I’ll sign up you early so you don’t have to come down, but you may get put in any spot on the list.
  3. 25 stars and I’ll sign you up early on the list wherever you want.
  4. 50 stars and you get invited to play at some sort of “Open Mic Regulars” gig.
  5. 100 stars and you some sort of status when introduced. It could be “Legendary”, “Notorious”, “Infamous”, “Critically Acclaimed”, etc.

There are obviously tons of things you could do with this idea. If you sign up early and don’t show up, I’d have to take away some or all of you stars since that is the ultimate in rude open mic behavior. I’d also give bonus stars to anyone who covers another regular artist at the open mic. Maybe I’ve give a bonus to the artist being covered, too, since she wrote such a good song.

Maybe this star idea is lame, but that’s how I would do it.

Open Mic Recap @ The Living Room

The Living Room has a great mix of regular performers these days, although I’d like to see someone new once and a while. The inbreeding is getting a little rampant and I think someone needs to come in and throw something new into the show. I think my favorite point of the night was when four youngish teenagers came in wearing sunglasses at 9:30PM. I thought to myself, “These guys need to start a band and call themselves the Fishstick Overlords. That would be great.”

I saw Girl Upstairs for the 2nd time last night and they seemed a lot more solid. I loved their last song and hope it was an original. Somewhere along the way Maria has gone from a quiet performer to someone I wait to hear play/speak every night. I like hearing people get better over time. Roz King, Mike Scanlon, and Keith Lewis’s new band “W Bench” did some great stuff although the keyboard was really drowned out. James Collins played some great covers, but I’d really like to hear what this guy’s own material sounds like. Jack Sparks did a couple of covers as well, including “Hey Jealousy” by the Gin Blossoms. I can’t stand the song, but it reminded me of when I saw them at the Y-100 Feztival years ago. They were horrible live and I think Jack did their song better than they did. Willie Tapps has a show this Saturday at the Living Room (8:30 – 11:00PM). Adrien and Cathy are opening up for him and I assume playing during his break. I won’t be able to make it, but it should be a good show.

I played “Thesis” and “Why Now Satan?” And honestly, Why now?

The Living Room has a great mix of regular performers these days, although I’d like to see someone new once and a while. The inbreeding is getting a little rampant and I think someone needs to come in and throw something new into the show. I think my favorite point of the night was when four youngish teenagers came in wearing sunglasses at 9:30PM. I thought to myself, “These guys need to start a band and call themselves the Fishstick Overlords. That would be great.”

I saw Girl Upstairs for the 2nd time last night and they seemed a lot more solid. I loved their last song and hope it was an original. Somewhere along the way Maria has gone from a quiet performer to someone I wait to hear play/speak every night. I like hearing people get better over time. Roz King, Mike Scanlon, and Keith Lewis’s new band “W Bench” did some great stuff although the keyboard was really drowned out. James Collins played some great covers, but I’d really like to hear what this guy’s own material sounds like. Jack Sparks did a couple of covers as well, including “Hey Jealousy” by the Gin Blossoms. I can’t stand the song, but it reminded me of when I saw them at the Y-100 Feztival years ago. They were horrible live and I think Jack did their song better than they did. Willie Tapps has a show this Saturday at the Living Room (8:30 – 11:00PM). Adrien and Cathy are opening up for him and I assume playing during his break. I won’t be able to make it, but it should be a good show.

I played “Thesis” and “Why Now Satan?” And honestly, Why now?