Although open to all genres of talent, there is a definite bias towards music in this room. Musicians get three songs while all other talent gets five minutes. There are no language restrictions. Signup is first come first choice. There is no stage. Two mics are set up to the immediate left of the entrance of the place. A TV by the open mic is turned off, but another one, muted, stays on. The room is run by a gentleman named Marty. He has been producing the open mic for three years. A second gentleman, Lare, joined Marty in February of 2017, and served as the announcer of talent the night I was there, speaking into a mic at the sound board and sounding much like a pro-wrestling announcer. I arrived at 7:45pm, and the signup sheet already had ten spots filled. I took the eleventh. Open mic had just started, which surprised me, as I thought the room started later. Kupros is a full bar but also serves tavern food and seats about 39. Parking is on the street. The room was packed with people, ordering drinks and food like appetizers, salads, sandwiches, wings and fish & chips. Know that the kitchen closes at 10pm. First thing I noticed was the volume of noise. I mean, damn, it was loud. I reasoned this room is used to only music. Sure enough, I was right. I was the only comedian signed up for the night, and I honestly was not feeling good about competing with a room full of talking heads. I sat by the bar and waited my turn, watching the talent that preceded me. There was a lot of down time between acts, as musicians had to set up keyboards and what have you, plugging in cords, testing the volume. But it did not take away from an already distracted room. The whole room centers around the bar. If you’re sitting at a table, you might not be able to see talent. By 8:28pm Lare announces that because of the high volume of talent, musicians may only do two songs. By 8:40pm the room had thinned to 23 people. Some left because they had already gone up; others left, having never paid any attention to the mic to begin with. I suppose a less noisy room would work in my favor, so I continued to watch the talent, waiting my turn. The audience dwindled more as the evening went on. By 9:15pm there were 18 people in the room. By the time I went up about 10:08pm, I was performing for 14 people, including staff. As it turned out, I killed that night. I ended up doing more than five minutes, and I got myself off stage. Everyone became silent when I started performing. I got an applause break after my first joke. A couple that I sadly did not get to meet or say thank you to bought me a drink after my performance, and another gentleman came up to me and asked if I would do his room. I said yes. The whole evening ended about 10:55pm. Guys, I think it was a blessing that I performed only after the room had thinned more than half. Had the room stayed packed when I went up, I think it would have been some time before everyone would have quieted down for me. Certainly, this venue is known for its music. It’s a rarity they get a poet or comedian. I think I understand why, but I would not discourage a comedian from doing this room. Quite the contrary. Do this room, but maybe signup for a later spot, say after the seventh, to weed out the undesirables who’ve finished up their last drink and have gone home. Those staying for the mic will give you the respect any comedian deserves who goes on stage.
Although open to all genres of talent, there is a definite bias towards music in this room. Musicians get three songs while all other talent gets five minutes. There are no language restrictions. Signup is first come first choice. There is no stage. Two mics are set up to the immediate left of the entrance of the place. A TV by the open mic is turned off, but another one, muted, stays on.
ReplyDeleteThe room is run by a gentleman named Marty. He has been producing the open mic for three years. A second gentleman, Lare, joined Marty in February of 2017, and served as the announcer of talent the night I was there, speaking into a mic at the sound board and sounding much like a pro-wrestling announcer. I arrived at 7:45pm, and the signup sheet already had ten spots filled. I took the eleventh. Open mic had just started, which surprised me, as I thought the room started later.
Kupros is a full bar but also serves tavern food and seats about 39. Parking is on the street. The room was packed with people, ordering drinks and food like appetizers, salads, sandwiches, wings and fish & chips. Know that the kitchen closes at 10pm. First thing I noticed was the volume of noise. I mean, damn, it was loud. I reasoned this room is used to only music. Sure enough, I was right. I was the only comedian signed up for the night, and I honestly was not feeling good about competing with a room full of talking heads. I sat by the bar and waited my turn, watching the talent that preceded me. There was a lot of down time between acts, as musicians had to set up keyboards and what have you, plugging in cords, testing the volume. But it did not take away from an already distracted room.
The whole room centers around the bar. If you’re sitting at a table, you might not be able to see talent. By 8:28pm Lare announces that because of the high volume of talent, musicians may only do two songs. By 8:40pm the room had thinned to 23 people. Some left because they had already gone up; others left, having never paid any attention to the mic to begin with. I suppose a less noisy room would work in my favor, so I continued to watch the talent, waiting my turn. The audience dwindled more as the evening went on. By 9:15pm there were 18 people in the room. By the time I went up about 10:08pm, I was performing for 14 people, including staff.
As it turned out, I killed that night. I ended up doing more than five minutes, and I got myself off stage. Everyone became silent when I started performing. I got an applause break after my first joke. A couple that I sadly did not get to meet or say thank you to bought me a drink after my performance, and another gentleman came up to me and asked if I would do his room. I said yes. The whole evening ended about 10:55pm.
Guys, I think it was a blessing that I performed only after the room had thinned more than half. Had the room stayed packed when I went up, I think it would have been some time before everyone would have quieted down for me. Certainly, this venue is known for its music. It’s a rarity they get a poet or comedian. I think I understand why, but I would not discourage a comedian from doing this room. Quite the contrary. Do this room, but maybe signup for a later spot, say after the seventh, to weed out the undesirables who’ve finished up their last drink and have gone home. Those staying for the mic will give you the respect any comedian deserves who goes on stage.