Crab Cakes hosts open mic upstairs in their bar. The business shares a large parking lot; parking will never be a problem. There are two entrances to the room, one of which people will be crossing the stage when they come in. The place seats more than 25, but there are only 25 seats that can see the stage. Also, there is no stage. Two mics are set up in one corner, and talent can either sit or stand. Mostly, this room attracts musicians, but all genres of talent are welcome. I was the third comedian they ever had in the five months this venue has been running. Hosted by a gentleman named Mike, who also owns the business, Mike himself is a musician and opened the room -- which promptly started at 9pm -- with three songs. There was no signup sheet, so informal this room is. Mike pretty much remembers who came in and after the current talent has done a few songs, asks if the next person is ready. Often musicians combined their talent, at times, as many as four people playing together, which I found very entertaining. The bartender, Billy, often came out from behind the counter and sang with Mike, and the room just rocked. By 9pm, I was the only talent present to go up. After the third song, Mike introduced me. When the room started, we had eight people in the audience, not counting Mike or the bartender. By the time I went up about 9:18pm, I was playing to a room of 12. There are no language restrictions, so I felt very comfortable, and what times I used an expletive, it got the laughs I wanted. I did about 20 minutes, then got myself off. Normally, non-musicians get ten to 15 minutes, but since the turnout of talent wasn’t much at the time I was performing, Mike left me alone to do extra. Plus, it didn’t hurt that I killed. During my set, other talent had showed up, and for the rest of the night, we listened to music and singing. I stayed there till after 11pm, and still the room was swinging. At its peak, there were 15 people in the room total; but even by 11pm, it had only dropped to 11. Open mic can go till 1am or longer. Musicians get more stage time than other talent: three or four songs, 15 to 20 minutes, even longer if, again, the turnout of performers is not high. The general audience is, for the most part, good about respecting the talent. Dinner can be brought up from downstairs, and I must say, this restaurant serves some very good food. One of the better places I’ve eaten in Oakhurst. Four TVs are mounted on various walls, only two of which were on, and they were muted. Guys, this is a good room. Even if I had not gotten to do 20 – and I could have kept going – 15 minutes is still a good amount of stage time. Yes, the attendance was not astronomical, but this is Oakhurst, not Carnegie Hall. What matters is that they are respectful and want to hear what you have to say. The laughs were plentiful; they did not hold back when they heard something funny. A couple of times I had to pause to let the laughter from one or two people die down. Also, after everyone has performed, they go back to the beginning and talent can go up again, so you may very well be able to do another 15 minutes.
Crab Cakes hosts open mic upstairs in their bar. The business shares a large parking lot; parking will never be a problem. There are two entrances to the room, one of which people will be crossing the stage when they come in. The place seats more than 25, but there are only 25 seats that can see the stage. Also, there is no stage. Two mics are set up in one corner, and talent can either sit or stand. Mostly, this room attracts musicians, but all genres of talent are welcome. I was the third comedian they ever had in the five months this venue has been running.
ReplyDeleteHosted by a gentleman named Mike, who also owns the business, Mike himself is a musician and opened the room -- which promptly started at 9pm -- with three songs. There was no signup sheet, so informal this room is. Mike pretty much remembers who came in and after the current talent has done a few songs, asks if the next person is ready. Often musicians combined their talent, at times, as many as four people playing together, which I found very entertaining. The bartender, Billy, often came out from behind the counter and sang with Mike, and the room just rocked.
By 9pm, I was the only talent present to go up. After the third song, Mike introduced me. When the room started, we had eight people in the audience, not counting Mike or the bartender. By the time I went up about 9:18pm, I was playing to a room of 12. There are no language restrictions, so I felt very comfortable, and what times I used an expletive, it got the laughs I wanted. I did about 20 minutes, then got myself off. Normally, non-musicians get ten to 15 minutes, but since the turnout of talent wasn’t much at the time I was performing, Mike left me alone to do extra. Plus, it didn’t hurt that I killed.
During my set, other talent had showed up, and for the rest of the night, we listened to music and singing. I stayed there till after 11pm, and still the room was swinging. At its peak, there were 15 people in the room total; but even by 11pm, it had only dropped to 11. Open mic can go till 1am or longer. Musicians get more stage time than other talent: three or four songs, 15 to 20 minutes, even longer if, again, the turnout of performers is not high. The general audience is, for the most part, good about respecting the talent. Dinner can be brought up from downstairs, and I must say, this restaurant serves some very good food. One of the better places I’ve eaten in Oakhurst. Four TVs are mounted on various walls, only two of which were on, and they were muted.
Guys, this is a good room. Even if I had not gotten to do 20 – and I could have kept going – 15 minutes is still a good amount of stage time. Yes, the attendance was not astronomical, but this is Oakhurst, not Carnegie Hall. What matters is that they are respectful and want to hear what you have to say. The laughs were plentiful; they did not hold back when they heard something funny. A couple of times I had to pause to let the laughter from one or two people die down. Also, after everyone has performed, they go back to the beginning and talent can go up again, so you may very well be able to do another 15 minutes.