Open mic at Blakely Hall, which is the community center in Issaquah, takes place on the last Friday of each month. All genres of talent are welcome. There are no language restrictions unless children are present. Talent gets two songs or ten minutes, and the signup is first come first choice. Signup sheet comes out 6:15pm. There is no stage. Two mics are set up, as were eight chairs in two rows. The room has been going on since Sept of 2016 and is hosted by a gentleman named Dino. Parking is on the street and free. The hall is a giant cathedral, really, with a high vaulted ceiling. Wherever you stand or sit, you can see the talent easily. This is a very informal room. If there are not a lot of signups, talent can do more time, even go a second round once everyone signed up has performed. Sure enough, I got to do a second round after first getting to do close to 15 minutes. Overall, I got 25 minutes of stage time and was offered more. Of the four people to sign up, three of us were comedians, and the remaining talent, the last to go up before doing a second round, was a singer. But after her performance she and her younger brother and mom left, but were almost replaced immediately by a couple who came only for the show. Sometimes the room starts late, as Dino hopes more people will show up. I had no problem with that. It was the only open mic in this community that we had planned to do that night. Dino started the evening at 6:41pm, playing three songs himself before bringing up the first comedian, a local. We all performed with everyone supporting the other talent. The second round started at 7:50pm. With only three talent doing a second round, and Dino adding a couple of songs, round two did not go as long as the first round. Again, everyone supported the talent. The two addition people watching laughed when they heard something they liked, and I must say, our host who sat in the center of the first row could barely contain his laughter. I thoroughly enjoyed feeding off his energy. Guys, I will say the small attendance was concerning. When the room first began I was told it could pack as many as 60 people. But as the months passed, attendance dropped, both in sign ups and a general audience. Still, even as small as the room was when I performed, I had a great time. There’s not a whole lot of open mics on Friday in the Seattle area, so this once a month event should be a welcomed mic, especially if you get the amount of stage time that I did. Issaquah will remind you of a New England town, and there are plenty of places in walking distance to eat before or after the show. And maybe when the weather gets better (April is the worst month of the year, I am told) so will attendance.
Open mic at Blakely Hall, which is the community center in Issaquah, takes place on the last Friday of each month. All genres of talent are welcome. There are no language restrictions unless children are present. Talent gets two songs or ten minutes, and the signup is first come first choice. Signup sheet comes out 6:15pm. There is no stage. Two mics are set up, as were eight chairs in two rows. The room has been going on since Sept of 2016 and is hosted by a gentleman named Dino. Parking is on the street and free.
ReplyDeleteThe hall is a giant cathedral, really, with a high vaulted ceiling. Wherever you stand or sit, you can see the talent easily. This is a very informal room. If there are not a lot of signups, talent can do more time, even go a second round once everyone signed up has performed. Sure enough, I got to do a second round after first getting to do close to 15 minutes. Overall, I got 25 minutes of stage time and was offered more.
Of the four people to sign up, three of us were comedians, and the remaining talent, the last to go up before doing a second round, was a singer. But after her performance she and her younger brother and mom left, but were almost replaced immediately by a couple who came only for the show. Sometimes the room starts late, as Dino hopes more people will show up. I had no problem with that. It was the only open mic in this community that we had planned to do that night.
Dino started the evening at 6:41pm, playing three songs himself before bringing up the first comedian, a local. We all performed with everyone supporting the other talent. The second round started at 7:50pm. With only three talent doing a second round, and Dino adding a couple of songs, round two did not go as long as the first round. Again, everyone supported the talent. The two addition people watching laughed when they heard something they liked, and I must say, our host who sat in the center of the first row could barely contain his laughter. I thoroughly enjoyed feeding off his energy.
Guys, I will say the small attendance was concerning. When the room first began I was told it could pack as many as 60 people. But as the months passed, attendance dropped, both in sign ups and a general audience. Still, even as small as the room was when I performed, I had a great time. There’s not a whole lot of open mics on Friday in the Seattle area, so this once a month event should be a welcomed mic, especially if you get the amount of stage time that I did. Issaquah will remind you of a New England town, and there are plenty of places in walking distance to eat before or after the show. And maybe when the weather gets better (April is the worst month of the year, I am told) so will attendance.