Lander's Brewing Co. was the second open mic I did on a Thursday night. As such, I may not be able to give a complete review in that I wasn’t there from the beginning. However, as informal as the room is, I don’t think it will matter. But first, the facts. As informal as the room is, I was told it can start anywhere from 7 to 7:30pm. The people who run it show up, set up, and start playing once their ready. When I arrived at 9:20pm, on the signup sheet there was only one name in the first slot. There are no language restrictions, and all genres of talent are welcome. Talent gets 20 minutes. The room goes till 11pm, and the venue has been going on for one year. Signup is first come first choice. Mostly, this room attracts musicians. I stopped in earlier in the day to confirm that open mic was happening. The bartender gave me a history on both the business and open mic. I learned that sometimes the people who run the mic get no signups and just play the whole evening. Hence, the informal open mic format. When I showed up, the person who was hosting that night, was named Chad. Two people were performing, a guitarist and a drummer. I saw the signup sheet and put my name on the second spot. I assumed the people currently performing were the first. Chad came over to me after a few minutes and introduced himself. He said he was going to let the current performers do one more song then I could go up. When the time came, he was very good about making sure everyone knew I was doing standup and to pay attention. The business itself is a brewing company. They served beer only, and a very little offering of champagne. They don’t serve food, but they did offer bags of chips. Come having already eaten. The place seats about 30. There is a small stage in the furthest corner from the bar, but wherever you sit, you can see the stage, minus one beam that may impede the view of a couple seats. Unfortunately, between the stage and the seating at the bar, they have two pool tables, a soccer table, and a pinball machine, which was put to use more than once while talent gave it their all. Finally, in the last quarter mile the road ends and you’re driving on dirt. Their parking lot is a dirt lot, but not a lot of dust kicks up when you pull up. Still, don’t come having just washed your car. Guys, this room was good, despite the distractions. When I showed up, someone was playing pool, which did not impede the performers, as their jamming was loud. But for a comedian, ouch. During my set someone decided to play the pinball, which I was told made it hard for some of the audience to hear. There were 12 people in the room when I showed up, not counting the bartender or the two people on stage. The audience for the most part was good about listening. The bartender was so taken with my act, she came out from behind the counter and started taping me on her phone (or going live?), telling me afterwards how much she enjoyed my act. Made me feel good. Admittedly, this room is not conducive for comedy, but do it anyway. There is another room you can do earlier the same evening, then drive for 20 minutes to this room. Even if you show up late, you’re going to get stage time, and the audience was pretty good about supporting the room. Keep in mind, I arrived after 9pm, and there was only one other signup. On top of that, 20 minutes is a huge amount of stage time, and the audience (certainly the host and staff) were eager to have some laughs.
Lander's Brewing Co. was the second open mic I did on a Thursday night. As such, I may not be able to give a complete review in that I wasn’t there from the beginning. However, as informal as the room is, I don’t think it will matter. But first, the facts.
ReplyDeleteAs informal as the room is, I was told it can start anywhere from 7 to 7:30pm. The people who run it show up, set up, and start playing once their ready. When I arrived at 9:20pm, on the signup sheet there was only one name in the first slot. There are no language restrictions, and all genres of talent are welcome. Talent gets 20 minutes. The room goes till 11pm, and the venue has been going on for one year. Signup is first come first choice. Mostly, this room attracts musicians.
I stopped in earlier in the day to confirm that open mic was happening. The bartender gave me a history on both the business and open mic. I learned that sometimes the people who run the mic get no signups and just play the whole evening. Hence, the informal open mic format. When I showed up, the person who was hosting that night, was named Chad. Two people were performing, a guitarist and a drummer. I saw the signup sheet and put my name on the second spot. I assumed the people currently performing were the first. Chad came over to me after a few minutes and introduced himself. He said he was going to let the current performers do one more song then I could go up. When the time came, he was very good about making sure everyone knew I was doing standup and to pay attention.
The business itself is a brewing company. They served beer only, and a very little offering of champagne. They don’t serve food, but they did offer bags of chips. Come having already eaten. The place seats about 30. There is a small stage in the furthest corner from the bar, but wherever you sit, you can see the stage, minus one beam that may impede the view of a couple seats. Unfortunately, between the stage and the seating at the bar, they have two pool tables, a soccer table, and a pinball machine, which was put to use more than once while talent gave it their all. Finally, in the last quarter mile the road ends and you’re driving on dirt. Their parking lot is a dirt lot, but not a lot of dust kicks up when you pull up. Still, don’t come having just washed your car.
Guys, this room was good, despite the distractions. When I showed up, someone was playing pool, which did not impede the performers, as their jamming was loud. But for a comedian, ouch. During my set someone decided to play the pinball, which I was told made it hard for some of the audience to hear. There were 12 people in the room when I showed up, not counting the bartender or the two people on stage. The audience for the most part was good about listening. The bartender was so taken with my act, she came out from behind the counter and started taping me on her phone (or going live?), telling me afterwards how much she enjoyed my act. Made me feel good.
Admittedly, this room is not conducive for comedy, but do it anyway. There is another room you can do earlier the same evening, then drive for 20 minutes to this room. Even if you show up late, you’re going to get stage time, and the audience was pretty good about supporting the room. Keep in mind, I arrived after 9pm, and there was only one other signup. On top of that, 20 minutes is a huge amount of stage time, and the audience (certainly the host and staff) were eager to have some laughs.