Monday, October 24, 2016

Wednesday Mic at Northern Spirits

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1 comment:

  1. Northern Spirits is conjoined with the Thai restaurant next door. Whichever business you walk into, you can enter the other from inside. As such, know that this place serves some very good Thai food. Northern Spirits is a full bar, which seats close to 50. Even though there is no stage, wherever you sit, you can see the talent. There is a shared parking lot with other businesses, but the lot is huge. No problem parking.
    Open mic has been going on over a year, but only for the last two and a half months has it been hosted by Andre, who is a musician himself, opening the show with four songs on his guitar before starting the order. Signup is first come first choice. Talent gets three songs or 15 minutes, sometimes longer if the list is short. There are no language restrictions unless children are present. All kinds of talent are welcome, but most of the time it’s music only. A staff member said I was the first comedian that she knew of that ever performed at the open mic.
    The signup sheet came out at 6:12pm. I was the first one to arrive and Andre accommodated me when I inquired about the sheet. I took the third spot, but since no one signed up before me, I ended up going first. By 6:50pm, there were only three signups. I was told the room picks up between 7:30 and 8pm. By 7pm, if you include the staff, there were eight people in the room. I ended up performing for 6 when I was up at about 7:30pm. We didn’t start till 7:10pm.
    The room goes from 7pm till everyone has gone up, which usually is around 11pm, but they’ve been known to go longer. The “stage” is already equipped with a piano and drum set. The sound system is good, and Andre sets up two mics. I will say the place has atmosphere. The woman who owns the business is Kristina, quite the sociable person, I must say.
    Guys, even though the audience was small, I have to say it was one of the better sets I’ve had that I can remember. The audience was small – four seniors and Andre, who was in his mid 20s, and the bartender (who was only sort of listening) – but they had a great time. It helped that they had never seen standup there before – and they’re all regulars at the venue -- but they also congratulated me on my being clean. I purposefully chose not to do any jokes with profanity and I was rewarded for it. Reminds me of that adage, “Know your audience.”
    I think if you come later in the evening, you’ll have a bigger and better experience. I left maybe ten after eight, because I had a two hour drive, and people were just coming in at that time. Fifteen minutes is also a good chunk of stage time. There’s a lot of open mic happening in the neighboring towns: Vista, Oceanside, Escondido, Encinitas. If you’re vacationing in the area, there’s plenty happening. Make a point of doing this venue if you can.

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