Open mic at Uptown is mostly intended for musicians, but once in a while, comedy. Nothing else. Going on now for 3 years, the room is run by a gentleman named Brian K. There is a reason he doesn’t have standup often at his show, but more about that later. First, the facts. Parking is on the street. Signup sheet is supposed to be 6pm, according to Brian, but the staff at Uptown has been known to post it earlier. When I arrived at 7:15pm, 7 names were already on the list. Talent gets 3 songs or 15 minutes. No language restrictions. The room seats over 50, and the mic is set to one side such that mostly wherever you sit you can see the talent, even with no stage. The lounge offers a full bar and a decent selection of food: pizza, tacos, salads, wings, sandwiches, hot dogs. They have two pool tables, which were put to good use during open mic all evening. There were televisions all over the walls, but they are muted when the show starts, and the ones nearest “the stage” were turned off. Brian started playing guitar at 8:20pm. There were about 21 people in the bar. After a couple songs, Brian welcomed everyone at 8:30 and started the show with the one comedian for the night. Spots 2 through 8 were taken, so I took the first spot. Everyone else was a musician. When I started my act, I gauged the audience. Maybe 7 were truly paying attention. However, soon the room quieted down when they realized it was standup happening and not more music. Thankfully, no one was playing pool during my set. It wasn’t long before maybe 17 or 18 peeps were listening. The evening went well. Got some good laughs, even an applause break. I did have some rough language in my set, but the material was not controversial or anything worthy of upsetting someone. Which leads me to why comedy is not often done here. Brian shared a story with me about a comedian they had some time ago who was asinine, I mean recklessly thoughtless to the point of being harmful by talking derogatory and using words like n**ger. He did not finish his set. He was literally grabbed and removed from the lounge. Of course, even after the shock subsided, it left a scar on the lounge and understandably Brian was reluctant to embrace comedy at his venue again, even though he says he personally loves comedy. As someone who runs their own open mic, I completely and unequivocally sympathize with him. When I first approached him, introduced myself, I asked if comedy was allowed. As he spoke, looking into his eyes, I could see the hesitation, the recalling of bad memories the last time he knew of comedy at the lounge. He told he the story I am sharing with you, and I told him he wouldn’t have that problem with me. After my set he told me he thought I was very good and encouraged me to invite my comedian friends to stop in. Know that the room will be predominantly music, but I left Brian feeling good about comedy, the importance of laughter, and since the room had a good time during my set, I can see him wanting maybe one comedian per show. Guys, Santa Barbara is a tourist town. If you’re passing through or staying in, give this room a shot. 15 minutes is a great amount of stage time, and as long as your material is devoid of hate, even under the guise of “trying to be funny” or “finding the humor in all things,” find it somewhere else, and when you know it’s funny and non-offensive, bring you’re A material to this room and rock it. The audience was respectful towards me in that no one played pool till after my set, when henceforth music was going on. And the vantage you have is you’re most likely to be the one comedian for the night, and the audience will appreciate the variety. I know I did.
Open mic at Uptown is mostly intended for musicians, but once in a while, comedy. Nothing else. Going on now for 3 years, the room is run by a gentleman named Brian K. There is a reason he doesn’t have standup often at his show, but more about that later. First, the facts.
ReplyDeleteParking is on the street. Signup sheet is supposed to be 6pm, according to Brian, but the staff at Uptown has been known to post it earlier. When I arrived at 7:15pm, 7 names were already on the list. Talent gets 3 songs or 15 minutes. No language restrictions. The room seats over 50, and the mic is set to one side such that mostly wherever you sit you can see the talent, even with no stage.
The lounge offers a full bar and a decent selection of food: pizza, tacos, salads, wings, sandwiches, hot dogs. They have two pool tables, which were put to good use during open mic all evening. There were televisions all over the walls, but they are muted when the show starts, and the ones nearest “the stage” were turned off.
Brian started playing guitar at 8:20pm. There were about 21 people in the bar. After a couple songs, Brian welcomed everyone at 8:30 and started the show with the one comedian for the night. Spots 2 through 8 were taken, so I took the first spot. Everyone else was a musician. When I started my act, I gauged the audience. Maybe 7 were truly paying attention. However, soon the room quieted down when they realized it was standup happening and not more music. Thankfully, no one was playing pool during my set. It wasn’t long before maybe 17 or 18 peeps were listening. The evening went well. Got some good laughs, even an applause break. I did have some rough language in my set, but the material was not controversial or anything worthy of upsetting someone. Which leads me to why comedy is not often done here.
Brian shared a story with me about a comedian they had some time ago who was asinine, I mean recklessly thoughtless to the point of being harmful by talking derogatory and using words like n**ger. He did not finish his set. He was literally grabbed and removed from the lounge. Of course, even after the shock subsided, it left a scar on the lounge and understandably Brian was reluctant to embrace comedy at his venue again, even though he says he personally loves comedy. As someone who runs their own open mic, I completely and unequivocally sympathize with him. When I first approached him, introduced myself, I asked if comedy was allowed. As he spoke, looking into his eyes, I could see the hesitation, the recalling of bad memories the last time he knew of comedy at the lounge. He told he the story I am sharing with you, and I told him he wouldn’t have that problem with me.
After my set he told me he thought I was very good and encouraged me to invite my comedian friends to stop in. Know that the room will be predominantly music, but I left Brian feeling good about comedy, the importance of laughter, and since the room had a good time during my set, I can see him wanting maybe one comedian per show.
Guys, Santa Barbara is a tourist town. If you’re passing through or staying in, give this room a shot. 15 minutes is a great amount of stage time, and as long as your material is devoid of hate, even under the guise of “trying to be funny” or “finding the humor in all things,” find it somewhere else, and when you know it’s funny and non-offensive, bring you’re A material to this room and rock it. The audience was respectful towards me in that no one played pool till after my set, when henceforth music was going on. And the vantage you have is you’re most likely to be the one comedian for the night, and the audience will appreciate the variety.
I know I did.
Uptown Lounge no longer boasts an Open Mic night as of 10/22
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