The night I did standup at Old Town, it was not a typical night. The host, Dan Anderson, was not going to emcee that night, relying on talent to respect the honor system. Also, Dan had no mic and sound system to set up. As it turned out, Dan ended up staying the night, and it went pretty well. But first, the facts. Talent gets three songs or 10 to 15 minutes. The first person to sign up gets 20 minutes. Signup is first come first choice. After 11 spots, if there are more signups, and only if time permits, will they go up. The room goes till 9pm. Because it’s a family-friendly business, no foul language if children present. If not, no restrictions. There is no stage or platform. A corner of the room is devoted to talent, and Dan can set up to four mics, if necessary. In an separate room, the business itself offers coffee, tea and sodas, but also bottled beer and wine. To eat they have bagels, soup, salads, wraps and waffles, even bags of chips, and chocolates. Dan has been hosting this room for six years. He also works for Old Town Coffee. Dan told me they rarely get comedy, maybe three comedians in six years. As it turns out this room attracts a bigger audience in the summer. A typical week will get a split between signups and a general audience. The room seats 27. The signup sheet came out at 6:28pm. I took the third spot. Present were 18 people in the room. That increased by 3 by 7pm when the show started. The host calls out your name when it’s your turn. Dan did not go up himself. By the time I went up there were 26 people in the audience. Guys, I have to say, for a room not used to standup, they sure received my comedy well enough. A few people in the audience were especially on board, but mostly I saw everyone in the room watching me, nodding, smiling, sometimes laughing audibly. Still, I just felt their approval. Dan lit me at nine minutes and I wrapped it up. Like other venues I’ve written about in far Northern California, give this room a chance. It will certainly receive comedy well enough, and if you had a mic, you’d do all that much better. And if what Dan says is true, you’ll have a terrific-sized audience if you come in the summer.
The night I did standup at Old Town, it was not a typical night. The host, Dan Anderson, was not going to emcee that night, relying on talent to respect the honor system. Also, Dan had no mic and sound system to set up. As it turned out, Dan ended up staying the night, and it went pretty well. But first, the facts.
ReplyDeleteTalent gets three songs or 10 to 15 minutes. The first person to sign up gets 20 minutes. Signup is first come first choice. After 11 spots, if there are more signups, and only if time permits, will they go up. The room goes till 9pm. Because it’s a family-friendly business, no foul language if children present. If not, no restrictions. There is no stage or platform. A corner of the room is devoted to talent, and Dan can set up to four mics, if necessary.
In an separate room, the business itself offers coffee, tea and sodas, but also bottled beer and wine. To eat they have bagels, soup, salads, wraps and waffles, even bags of chips, and chocolates.
Dan has been hosting this room for six years. He also works for Old Town Coffee. Dan told me they rarely get comedy, maybe three comedians in six years. As it turns out this room attracts a bigger audience in the summer. A typical week will get a split between signups and a general audience. The room seats 27. The signup sheet came out at 6:28pm. I took the third spot. Present were 18 people in the room. That increased by 3 by 7pm when the show started. The host calls out your name when it’s your turn. Dan did not go up himself. By the time I went up there were 26 people in the audience.
Guys, I have to say, for a room not used to standup, they sure received my comedy well enough. A few people in the audience were especially on board, but mostly I saw everyone in the room watching me, nodding, smiling, sometimes laughing audibly. Still, I just felt their approval. Dan lit me at nine minutes and I wrapped it up. Like other venues I’ve written about in far Northern California, give this room a chance. It will certainly receive comedy well enough, and if you had a mic, you’d do all that much better. And if what Dan says is true, you’ll have a terrific-sized audience if you come in the summer.