It is with a kind of sadness that I write this review. I say that because it does not end well for comedians. But if you’re willing to read. . . . This last-Wednesday-of-the-month venue at Coffee Bandits is run by Tanisha, who used to assist before, now runs it herself, the night I was there being her debut night. The room goes from 7pm to 9pm. Talent gets about 5 minutes. Signup is 6:45pm. You may also signup on her event page each month on Facebook. Just look up Coffee Bandits. Then when she has all the names from FB and actual signups, she does the lineup by lottery. She allows up to ten signups. There are no language restrictions. Parking is on the street and in a lot almost next door to the business but it fills up fast. The business itself serves coffee & tea, but on display they offer quiche, desserts, salads and more. No alcohol. The room seats almost 50. There is no stage. Tanisha sets up a mic to one corner of the room, but wherever you sit, you can see the person performing. The mic is not strong, and some of the talent was hard to hear. Also, noise from behind the counter did not help. The evening started 7:08pm with 25 people in attendance and 9 of them there to perform. By 7:30pm, over 40 people packed the room. Everyone in attendance was there for the open mic, save for man who sat in the back with his laptop and wearing earphones. Otherwise, all were listening. And now the sad news. . . . When I phoned the venue I was told that comedy was allowed. However, I learned from Tanisha that she plans to run it primarily for poets. No music, no magic, no ventriloquism, no comedy, only poetry. But what she did was have a 15 minute intermission before recalling all the poets to come back and do a second round. In that time I was allowed to go up and perform and split the time with another man who thought the open mic was open for his talent as well, which was rap. I performed and had a rocking set. The audience was incredibly attentive and polite. Here, they came for poetry but accepted me as a comedian, and, boy, did I feel welcomed. I did not want to get off, though after about 7 minutes I stepped down but not before publicly saying how saddened I was that comedy was not a part of the open mic, because Tanisha runs such a great room that brings in a great audience. That everyone can see you and everyone is there for the show is only a blessing. Many venues you’re splitting the attention of the audience with other distractions. Tanisha described the open mic as primarily for poets. But she did not say exclusively. My recommendation is to FB Tanisha that you’re a comedian and ask if she could use some talent for “Intermission”. I think because of the success of the night I went up, she would be on board to have something like that. Remember, this was her first week as producer of the open mic. She’s making decisions that to her make for the best open mic possible. While primarily an evening of poetry, I can easily see her having a mini open mic for other talent in the 15 minute window between poets. And even if my suggestion does not become a part of the show, while musicians and comedians are being denied a great room, to all poets looking for a place to perform, this is THE go-to room in Merced. The audience doesn’t just listen and support. They care. You’ll hear it in their applause, their snapping of the fingers when they connect with your words, and, in my case, connect with them and hear it through laughter. I left the venue both happy and sad. But that’s okay. I am reminded that I feel.
UPDATE: This mic is now hosted by Raven Batson and takes place every 1st and 3rd Wednesdays at Coffee Bandits in Merced. Sign-up is at 5:45pm and the show starts at 6.
It is with a kind of sadness that I write this review. I say that because it does not end well for comedians. But if you’re willing to read. . . .
ReplyDeleteThis last-Wednesday-of-the-month venue at Coffee Bandits is run by Tanisha, who used to assist before, now runs it herself, the night I was there being her debut night. The room goes from 7pm to 9pm. Talent gets about 5 minutes. Signup is 6:45pm. You may also signup on her event page each month on Facebook. Just look up Coffee Bandits. Then when she has all the names from FB and actual signups, she does the lineup by lottery. She allows up to ten signups. There are no language restrictions. Parking is on the street and in a lot almost next door to the business but it fills up fast.
The business itself serves coffee & tea, but on display they offer quiche, desserts, salads and more. No alcohol. The room seats almost 50. There is no stage. Tanisha sets up a mic to one corner of the room, but wherever you sit, you can see the person performing. The mic is not strong, and some of the talent was hard to hear. Also, noise from behind the counter did not help.
The evening started 7:08pm with 25 people in attendance and 9 of them there to perform. By 7:30pm, over 40 people packed the room. Everyone in attendance was there for the open mic, save for man who sat in the back with his laptop and wearing earphones. Otherwise, all were listening. And now the sad news. . . .
When I phoned the venue I was told that comedy was allowed. However, I learned from Tanisha that she plans to run it primarily for poets. No music, no magic, no ventriloquism, no comedy, only poetry. But what she did was have a 15 minute intermission before recalling all the poets to come back and do a second round. In that time I was allowed to go up and perform and split the time with another man who thought the open mic was open for his talent as well, which was rap.
I performed and had a rocking set. The audience was incredibly attentive and polite. Here, they came for poetry but accepted me as a comedian, and, boy, did I feel welcomed. I did not want to get off, though after about 7 minutes I stepped down but not before publicly saying how saddened I was that comedy was not a part of the open mic, because Tanisha runs such a great room that brings in a great audience. That everyone can see you and everyone is there for the show is only a blessing. Many venues you’re splitting the attention of the audience with other distractions.
Tanisha described the open mic as primarily for poets. But she did not say exclusively. My recommendation is to FB Tanisha that you’re a comedian and ask if she could use some talent for “Intermission”. I think because of the success of the night I went up, she would be on board to have something like that. Remember, this was her first week as producer of the open mic. She’s making decisions that to her make for the best open mic possible. While primarily an evening of poetry, I can easily see her having a mini open mic for other talent in the 15 minute window between poets.
And even if my suggestion does not become a part of the show, while musicians and comedians are being denied a great room, to all poets looking for a place to perform, this is THE go-to room in Merced. The audience doesn’t just listen and support. They care. You’ll hear it in their applause, their snapping of the fingers when they connect with your words, and, in my case, connect with them and hear it through laughter.
I left the venue both happy and sad. But that’s okay. I am reminded that I feel.
UPDATE: This mic is now hosted by Raven Batson and takes place every 1st and 3rd Wednesdays at Coffee Bandits in Merced. Sign-up is at 5:45pm and the show starts at 6.
ReplyDelete