Curious that I would be doing a mic on Easter Sunday, or as the host called it, “Zombie Jesus Day”, at a place called Devil’s Den. Parking is on the street, and it is free. The room is for standup only, no music or poetry. There are 20 slots on the paper, ten of which were already filled when I showed up at 5:30pm. No one phoned in their names. The sheet came out just a few minutes prior and already that many people were waiting to sign their names in a first come first choice manner. I took the 14th spot, as three people took 11 through 13 while I ordered a beer. As it turned out, comedians performing get a reduced price of $5 for a beer. They also offer wine and cider. There are no language restrictions. Talent gets six minutes. The room will accommodate more than 20 slots, I learned, and will go on till the last talent has gone up. The business is one big room that seats 30. The mic takes place on a nice stage that, no matter where you sat, you could see the talent no problem. On the stage was a mic and stool. The entrance to the bathroom was to the immediate right of the stage. People were good about using it when a talent just finished their set. Otherwise, there are no distractions. The room has been going on a year and is hosted by a gentleman named Robbie, who, with his flowing hair, could have played John Snow in Game of Thrones. There were 24 people in the room when we started at 6:03pm. Robbie welcomed everyone and opened with a few minutes of material. Attendance pretty much stayed the same in the first half of the evening, with 26 people total by 6:45pm. Talent went up one after the other, and at 7:15 Robbie announced a five minute intermission. That pause in the show sure reflected in the second half of the evening. A second host, Keith, emceed the rest of the night when we started again at 7:24pm. I think Robbie had to leave; I didn’t see him again for the rest of the night. Attendance dropped considerably, only 13 in the room supporting those going on stage, an increase of one attendee by 7:50pm. But that didn’t last. I played to 10 people at 8:05pm. Two comedians followed me, the last going up at 8:21, playing to about 16 in the room. Keith thanked everyone and announced that was it and goodnight. Guys, this is a good room to do. Even on a holiday, not only did Robbie commit to producing a show that day, but attendance was, I think, pretty good for an Easter Sunday. Imagine how filled the room would be were it not a holiday? That the room takes a pause after the tenth signup may be a mistake. If the reason to have it is to let people use the bathroom at that time, it didn’t work. People were using it throughout the evening. Having a break was a reason for all those having gone up to say, “see ya,” and those remaining, who were there from the beginning, supporting the room, played to half a crowd. Even so, I had a good time. People in the room were there for the show. If talent or anyone wanted to talk, from the pov of the stage you could see them go outside, lighting up or what have you, and not distracting those in the room. The focus is on standup in this room. Everyone here knows that.
Curious that I would be doing a mic on Easter Sunday, or as the host called it, “Zombie Jesus Day”, at a place called Devil’s Den.
ReplyDeleteParking is on the street, and it is free. The room is for standup only, no music or poetry. There are 20 slots on the paper, ten of which were already filled when I showed up at 5:30pm. No one phoned in their names. The sheet came out just a few minutes prior and already that many people were waiting to sign their names in a first come first choice manner. I took the 14th spot, as three people took 11 through 13 while I ordered a beer. As it turned out, comedians performing get a reduced price of $5 for a beer. They also offer wine and cider. There are no language restrictions. Talent gets six minutes. The room will accommodate more than 20 slots, I learned, and will go on till the last talent has gone up.
The business is one big room that seats 30. The mic takes place on a nice stage that, no matter where you sat, you could see the talent no problem. On the stage was a mic and stool. The entrance to the bathroom was to the immediate right of the stage. People were good about using it when a talent just finished their set. Otherwise, there are no distractions. The room has been going on a year and is hosted by a gentleman named Robbie, who, with his flowing hair, could have played John Snow in Game of Thrones.
There were 24 people in the room when we started at 6:03pm. Robbie welcomed everyone and opened with a few minutes of material. Attendance pretty much stayed the same in the first half of the evening, with 26 people total by 6:45pm. Talent went up one after the other, and at 7:15 Robbie announced a five minute intermission. That pause in the show sure reflected in the second half of the evening.
A second host, Keith, emceed the rest of the night when we started again at 7:24pm. I think Robbie had to leave; I didn’t see him again for the rest of the night. Attendance dropped considerably, only 13 in the room supporting those going on stage, an increase of one attendee by 7:50pm. But that didn’t last. I played to 10 people at 8:05pm. Two comedians followed me, the last going up at 8:21, playing to about 16 in the room. Keith thanked everyone and announced that was it and goodnight.
Guys, this is a good room to do. Even on a holiday, not only did Robbie commit to producing a show that day, but attendance was, I think, pretty good for an Easter Sunday. Imagine how filled the room would be were it not a holiday? That the room takes a pause after the tenth signup may be a mistake. If the reason to have it is to let people use the bathroom at that time, it didn’t work. People were using it throughout the evening. Having a break was a reason for all those having gone up to say, “see ya,” and those remaining, who were there from the beginning, supporting the room, played to half a crowd.
Even so, I had a good time. People in the room were there for the show. If talent or anyone wanted to talk, from the pov of the stage you could see them go outside, lighting up or what have you, and not distracting those in the room. The focus is on standup in this room.
Everyone here knows that.