Open mic at Stone Way takes place on two nights -- Tuesday and Thursday -- same time and same format. While open mic has been going on over a year, only recently has it been run by the current host, a young gentleman named Jake. He’s been setting up and hosting the venue for just over a month. It takes place in a room separate from where you order drinks and food, so there are no distractions. Even persons in the room not there for the open mic were good about keeping their conversation to a whisper. There is no stage; however, open mic takes place in an elevated portion of the room, so everyone can see the talent. Jake sets up two speakers and four mics (with a fifth on hand) for talent to perform for a room that seats about 45. The signup sheet was out when I showed up at 6:35pm. No one else had arrived before me, so I took the third spot. Talent gets two songs or ten minutes; non-musicians may get less time. Ninety percent of the people who perform are musicians, but all forms of talent are welcome. After everyone has gone up, they go down the list again and ask if talent wants more stage time. On nights when signups are low, talent can perform more than ten minutes on their first run and still go up later in the evening. If there are more than ten signups, chances are very good you won’t get a second performance. There are no language restrictions. The room goes from 7:15pm to 9:50pm. On a side note, I am told they average one comedian a week. Stone Way serves café food like tacos, salads, wraps, sandwiches and some breakfast burritos, and on display at the counter, you can order muffins. To drink, the place serves beer, wine, cider, coffee and other non-alcoholic beverages. Parking is on the street only. The night I performed, it was a slow night. There were five signups. I went up second, even though I signed up third. Jake started the evening at 7:20pm. While a musician himself, he did not open with any songs, just welcomed everyone and brought up the first talent. Jake was speaking to a room of 17. I went up at 7:25pm and did just over ten minutes. I never got the light; at some point I stopped myself and finally asked how much more time I had. Jake thanked me for being considerate enough to ask if my time was up and then gave me the one-minute index finger. I think he would have let me go longer, since the turnout for talent was not high. That and because I was killing. I summed up my act, thanked everyone and stepped down. Before Jake brought up the next talent, he asked if I would come up again after the rest of the lineup had gone up. I said yes. By 7:45pm, the attendance had dropped to 13. The number dwindled when I was performing again at 8:25pm. All the talent were musicians, save for myself and the last performer who did an interpretive dance. Jake tells me Thursdays are always more full. Two other talents, a male and female singer, and a guitarist, also did a second round on stage. Guys, this is a very good room to do. If you want a larger audience, Thursday is the night to do this room. However, if the signups are high enough in number, you may not go a second time on stage, and Jake once told me of a time when he had to cut talent down to one song in the first round because there were so many signups. But if you do Tuesday, yes, attendance may not be as high, but you’ll definitely get plenty of stage time. Your choice what matters more. But whatever you decide, do this room.
Open mic at Stone Way takes place on two nights -- Tuesday and Thursday -- same time and same format.
ReplyDeleteWhile open mic has been going on over a year, only recently has it been run by the current host, a young gentleman named Jake. He’s been setting up and hosting the venue for just over a month. It takes place in a room separate from where you order drinks and food, so there are no distractions. Even persons in the room not there for the open mic were good about keeping their conversation to a whisper. There is no stage; however, open mic takes place in an elevated portion of the room, so everyone can see the talent. Jake sets up two speakers and four mics (with a fifth on hand) for talent to perform for a room that seats about 45.
The signup sheet was out when I showed up at 6:35pm. No one else had arrived before me, so I took the third spot. Talent gets two songs or ten minutes; non-musicians may get less time. Ninety percent of the people who perform are musicians, but all forms of talent are welcome. After everyone has gone up, they go down the list again and ask if talent wants more stage time. On nights when signups are low, talent can perform more than ten minutes on their first run and still go up later in the evening. If there are more than ten signups, chances are very good you won’t get a second performance. There are no language restrictions. The room goes from 7:15pm to 9:50pm. On a side note, I am told they average one comedian a week.
Stone Way serves café food like tacos, salads, wraps, sandwiches and some breakfast burritos, and on display at the counter, you can order muffins. To drink, the place serves beer, wine, cider, coffee and other non-alcoholic beverages. Parking is on the street only.
The night I performed, it was a slow night. There were five signups. I went up second, even though I signed up third. Jake started the evening at 7:20pm. While a musician himself, he did not open with any songs, just welcomed everyone and brought up the first talent. Jake was speaking to a room of 17. I went up at 7:25pm and did just over ten minutes. I never got the light; at some point I stopped myself and finally asked how much more time I had. Jake thanked me for being considerate enough to ask if my time was up and then gave me the one-minute index finger. I think he would have let me go longer, since the turnout for talent was not high. That and because I was killing. I summed up my act, thanked everyone and stepped down. Before Jake brought up the next talent, he asked if I would come up again after the rest of the lineup had gone up. I said yes.
By 7:45pm, the attendance had dropped to 13. The number dwindled when I was performing again at 8:25pm. All the talent were musicians, save for myself and the last performer who did an interpretive dance. Jake tells me Thursdays are always more full. Two other talents, a male and female singer, and a guitarist, also did a second round on stage.
Guys, this is a very good room to do. If you want a larger audience, Thursday is the night to do this room. However, if the signups are high enough in number, you may not go a second time on stage, and Jake once told me of a time when he had to cut talent down to one song in the first round because there were so many signups. But if you do Tuesday, yes, attendance may not be as high, but you’ll definitely get plenty of stage time. Your choice what matters more. But whatever you decide, do this room.