Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Wednesday Mic at Mel's Lounge

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1 comment:

  1. Let me say right off the top, however far away this room is from Los Angeles, it is worth doing. They treat you justly. More later.
    Mel’s has a limited parking lot. I arrived at 7:55pm and already the lot was full. Street parking is free, though, so not a biggy. It wasn’t raining that night. The business itself is a full bar and offers some food servings. Items include a variety of sliders, fries, wings and burgers. A couple dinners were offered, including salmon and chicken. Pints of beer ran $5. In an adjacent room, you can find a pinball machine and a pool table. Where I sat at the main bar, I could not hear people in that room, if someone was playing. Five TVs at the bar where the mic takes place were on, but they are all turned off just before the show starts.
    The venue is standup only, and it is called “Comedy On Tap”. While there is no stage, the mic is set up on an elevated alcove in the room, maybe six inches, giving the illusion of being a stage. Everyone can see the talent. The room has been going on at least two years, from what I gathered, and it is run by five gentlemen, two of whom, I learned, were there that night, but I did not get their names. There are no language restrictions, and talent got eight minutes that night. The room goes till the last comic has gone up.
    The signup sheet came out about 8:30. At first I was turned off, because no one was on the honor system. It looked like a feeding frenzy, people couldn’t wait to sign up. I would learn minutes later it did not matter. The signup sheet is just a place to put your name while the host goes around the room and talks to you, determines your “importance” to the room and decides where to put you up himself.
    I sat at the bar, same seat since arriving, and the host came up to me and asked about me, if I had any shows coming up and more. I said I drove out here from Los Angeles and I run a venue on Thursdays, which is true, a monthly one and seasonal at that. Another open micer said to me they take into account the distance you drove to do the room. I ended up getting the third spot, and we had around 15 talents wanting to perform.
    This is the reason why I recommend the room: you’re definitely going to get a good spot, and the room was packed that night, in spite of the possible rain keeping people home. We had 32 peeps in the room when we started at 9:10pm, and there were still 20 to 22 people supporting the room when it ended and I left at 11:40pm.
    Guys, I elected to get a room for the night, rather than deal with the two hours plus drive. There is one open mic on the two days prior to Wednesday. My suggestion is, if you want to plan a trip to Santa Barbara, or make it part of a bigger caravan to canvas the west coast – and there are plenty of towns to hit till you reach San Francisco (even more way further north) – then this room should get your attention. As I’ve suggested in the past, go with a friend or two. Share the cost. Staying at the same motel can every night save you money, if you do all three mics in Santa Barbara. There are other mics that I found in Santa Barbara, but they are music only.
    But get out of L.A. and visit new places where no one has heard of you. Test your material there. For visitors from out of state or northern California, Santa Barbara is a beautiful town, Solvang just 40 plus minutes north. This town is worth staying, and Mel’s is a room worth doing.

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