Parking at Drake Bar is on the street, and you have to pay for a spot. The gentleman who runs the room is Rich, and he has been doing this for over a year. There are no language restrictions, just don’t say anything hateful. Other rooms I have done in Oregon gave similar warning. Signup is first come first served, and talent gets five minutes. It’s standup only, no other genres allowed. The room where the mic takes place is separate from the bar, so there are no distractions from people talking, not interested in seeing the open mic. However, there are four muted TVs in the room where the mic happens, including a TV on the wall on stage. The room seats about 34 who can see the stage well. Even those sitting at the bar, while a distance away, a couple of the stools are visible to the stage. The stage itself is quite elevated, more than four steps to get up to it, and while it is well lit, to deviate from the main light does diminish your visibility some, especially if someone is watching you from a distance. A shuffle board, one pool table, a pinball machine and even a foosball table were in or nearby the room, but no one was playing anything during the show. The business is a full bar, but it also serves comfort food like appetizers, sandwiches, wraps, wings, simple foods like that, but not just fried foods, either. Drink-wise, pints of beer ran only $5. The signup sheet came out at 6:30pm. We took the fourth and fifth spot. By 6:57pm we had only four signups. The room can’t go past 9:30pm, and if there were a slew of signups, Rich would cut the amount of stage time to make sure everyone went up. Otherwise, figure you get five minutes. We started the room late on purpose, as Rich wanted to give more time for people to show up. As the evening went on, sure enough, comedians did come in here and there. At the beginning, when the room started at 7:10pm, we had six people in the room plus the bartender and a couple patrons at the bar in the distance. Rich himself did not do any material. He brought up the first talent, and that was that. I noticed comedians performing well past five minutes, and that was purposeful. I ended up doing ten minutes, which is what Rich gave everyone, since signups were so scarce. I ended up playing to four people in the room, but I saw and heard the bartender and a couple patrons also enjoying my set. By 8pm, the next comedian played to five people. This is how the evening went. Small attendance but extra stage time. Some of the comedians who performed early left, but a couple other people filtered into the room and hovered for a little time to watch. The whole evening ended at 8:15pm. Guys, this is a good room. Yes, I played to four people, one of them my friend, but I didn’t care. The other talent enjoyed my set, and I got laughs from everyone listening at one point or another. I felt my new material was validated, if I could get so small an audience to outright laugh, and fellow comedians to boot. This is a friendly and supportive room. Yes, a couple of the comics left, but some of them stayed to the end, and the occasional general audience listening only helps. If you look in the distance you can see the bartender and patrons looking in your direction. I can just imagine what a night here is like when the room is packed.
Parking at Drake Bar is on the street, and you have to pay for a spot. The gentleman who runs the room is Rich, and he has been doing this for over a year. There are no language restrictions, just don’t say anything hateful. Other rooms I have done in Oregon gave similar warning. Signup is first come first served, and talent gets five minutes. It’s standup only, no other genres allowed.
ReplyDeleteThe room where the mic takes place is separate from the bar, so there are no distractions from people talking, not interested in seeing the open mic. However, there are four muted TVs in the room where the mic happens, including a TV on the wall on stage. The room seats about 34 who can see the stage well. Even those sitting at the bar, while a distance away, a couple of the stools are visible to the stage. The stage itself is quite elevated, more than four steps to get up to it, and while it is well lit, to deviate from the main light does diminish your visibility some, especially if someone is watching you from a distance. A shuffle board, one pool table, a pinball machine and even a foosball table were in or nearby the room, but no one was playing anything during the show.
The business is a full bar, but it also serves comfort food like appetizers, sandwiches, wraps, wings, simple foods like that, but not just fried foods, either. Drink-wise, pints of beer ran only $5.
The signup sheet came out at 6:30pm. We took the fourth and fifth spot. By 6:57pm we had only four signups. The room can’t go past 9:30pm, and if there were a slew of signups, Rich would cut the amount of stage time to make sure everyone went up. Otherwise, figure you get five minutes.
We started the room late on purpose, as Rich wanted to give more time for people to show up. As the evening went on, sure enough, comedians did come in here and there. At the beginning, when the room started at 7:10pm, we had six people in the room plus the bartender and a couple patrons at the bar in the distance. Rich himself did not do any material. He brought up the first talent, and that was that. I noticed comedians performing well past five minutes, and that was purposeful. I ended up doing ten minutes, which is what Rich gave everyone, since signups were so scarce. I ended up playing to four people in the room, but I saw and heard the bartender and a couple patrons also enjoying my set. By 8pm, the next comedian played to five people.
This is how the evening went. Small attendance but extra stage time. Some of the comedians who performed early left, but a couple other people filtered into the room and hovered for a little time to watch. The whole evening ended at 8:15pm.
Guys, this is a good room. Yes, I played to four people, one of them my friend, but I didn’t care. The other talent enjoyed my set, and I got laughs from everyone listening at one point or another. I felt my new material was validated, if I could get so small an audience to outright laugh, and fellow comedians to boot. This is a friendly and supportive room. Yes, a couple of the comics left, but some of them stayed to the end, and the occasional general audience listening only helps. If you look in the distance you can see the bartender and patrons looking in your direction. I can just imagine what a night here is like when the room is packed.