Café Sevilla is located in downtown Long Beach. Parking is on the street or at very nearby parking lots. The lot I got, just a block and a half away was $5 for the whole evening. The business itself is a full bar and Spanish restaurant. Their menu was extensive. Suffice it to say, I brought my friend here for her birthday and she enjoyed the food immensely. So did I. Worthy of date night. And as a bonus, because their drink menu is new, all their cocktails, prices as much as $11 and $12, were only $5. Don’t know how long that is going to last. So act on this review asap. The restaurant seats well over 50, but it’s only about 50 seats that can see the stage well. The stage itself is quite elevated, not terribly well lit, which is a hindrance to a comedian but okay for a musician. I don’t know what a poet would do, so poor was the lighting. The venue is open to all forms of art, but it mostly attracts musicians. Talent gets three songs and comedians seven minutes, the light (an index finger from the host in the front row) at one minute. There are no language restriction after 9pm. But before nine, I was asked to be clean. Signup is first come first choice. There are six signups, then a featured act, then six more signups, the latter allowing adult language. A gentleman named Vaughan runs the room, but he was not present the night I attended. I did not get to ask questions I normally would. The venue is called “Som Open Mic” and it goes from 8pm to 11pm. The venue has been going on for quite a number of years, I am told. The guest emcee did not arrive till 8pm. We didn’t start the evening till 8:23pm. While the restaurant was full, only about 17 people were sitting where they could see the talent. I took the fourth spot. The host brought up the first talent who did three songs, as did the second talent and the third. The third talent got an encore, so he ended up doing four. The room is informal that way, and it is biased towards music. Not a bad thing. Just don’t feel slighted if you get bumped for an extra song. After my set, it was back to music for the remainder of the night. I performed my set after the host made sure the audience knew I was a comedian and to pay attention. I must say, they were very good about listening. People not interested in the show – those that could not see the stage – kept talking, but I was surprised to see those who could see me were watching and listening. I think I did pretty well, all things considered. Guys, this is a good room to do. People who came to hear music will give you as much attention. A general audience to gauge your material. That’s a plus. Seven minutes on stage is not bad, either, especially when we made an evening out of it by having a fine dinner there. Where the location is, it’s a safe area. You’ll walk to your vehicle feeling safe.
Café Sevilla is located in downtown Long Beach. Parking is on the street or at very nearby parking lots. The lot I got, just a block and a half away was $5 for the whole evening. The business itself is a full bar and Spanish restaurant. Their menu was extensive. Suffice it to say, I brought my friend here for her birthday and she enjoyed the food immensely. So did I. Worthy of date night. And as a bonus, because their drink menu is new, all their cocktails, prices as much as $11 and $12, were only $5. Don’t know how long that is going to last. So act on this review asap.
ReplyDeleteThe restaurant seats well over 50, but it’s only about 50 seats that can see the stage well. The stage itself is quite elevated, not terribly well lit, which is a hindrance to a comedian but okay for a musician. I don’t know what a poet would do, so poor was the lighting. The venue is open to all forms of art, but it mostly attracts musicians. Talent gets three songs and comedians seven minutes, the light (an index finger from the host in the front row) at one minute. There are no language restriction after 9pm. But before nine, I was asked to be clean. Signup is first come first choice. There are six signups, then a featured act, then six more signups, the latter allowing adult language.
A gentleman named Vaughan runs the room, but he was not present the night I attended. I did not get to ask questions I normally would. The venue is called “Som Open Mic” and it goes from 8pm to 11pm. The venue has been going on for quite a number of years, I am told.
The guest emcee did not arrive till 8pm. We didn’t start the evening till 8:23pm. While the restaurant was full, only about 17 people were sitting where they could see the talent. I took the fourth spot. The host brought up the first talent who did three songs, as did the second talent and the third. The third talent got an encore, so he ended up doing four. The room is informal that way, and it is biased towards music. Not a bad thing. Just don’t feel slighted if you get bumped for an extra song. After my set, it was back to music for the remainder of the night.
I performed my set after the host made sure the audience knew I was a comedian and to pay attention. I must say, they were very good about listening. People not interested in the show – those that could not see the stage – kept talking, but I was surprised to see those who could see me were watching and listening. I think I did pretty well, all things considered.
Guys, this is a good room to do. People who came to hear music will give you as much attention. A general audience to gauge your material. That’s a plus. Seven minutes on stage is not bad, either, especially when we made an evening out of it by having a fine dinner there. Where the location is, it’s a safe area. You’ll walk to your vehicle feeling safe.