Open mic at Five Threads happens the last Saturday of the month, and it is for music and comedy only, no poetry. And even of the two accepted genres, this room chiefly draws musicians. The mic has been going on a year. Signup is first come first choice. There are no language restrictions. Musicians get three songs, and comics get ten minutes. There are ten spots on the signup sheet, and the room goes till 11pm. The business, being a brewery, serves beer. Lots of it. To eat, they offer beef jerky in packets at $7. Come having eaten. Where the mic takes place is in a room separate from the bar and seats about 36. There is no stage. Two mics are set up in the corner of the room. There is a TV just above the stage area, but it is turned off. In the bar room, they have a shuffleboard table, but it is not a distraction. The business also has a number of board games. Parking is in a shared lot. The signup sheet came out 7:43pm. I didn’t sign up second, but I saw the second spot was open and took it. We had four signups by 7:50, and six by 8pm. A gentleman named Tom ended up hosting the mic when normally he is there only to set up the mic and one of the managers of the business hosts the room. The room started at 8:07pm with Tom simply introducing the first talent. I went up second at 7:25pm and played to a room filled with 23 persons. Of those 23, five were watching me. Of those five, three could hear me. Wow, this room was loud. I get that this place is not used to standup, but even so, it is just a noisy place. For those who could hear me, I think I did pretty well. But I think those sitting farther away, when they realized they could not hear me, gave up on me. And certainly those farthest back were not there for the mic at all. Periodically, I asked the whole room, who wants me to continue. The three watching me said yes, so I plugged away and did about ten minutes of material, often having fun with the situation, commenting on the room as a whole. Guys, I don’t know that I can recommend this room, but at the same time, I’m not that quick to dismiss it. Yes, I was playing to five people at my peak, but damnit, when they could hear me, they were on board, and I’ll go so far as to say that if we had had one of the regular hosts, someone used to the dynamics of emceeing and reading the room, they might have made a better effort to let the room know to give the comic a chance and maybe quiet down a little. I will say there was this one table that was so especially loud – in talking to two of them before I went up, I knew they were plastered – that the rest of the room may have had to raise their voices to compensate. Perhaps, if you’re looking for a challenge, or want to find a room that has never seen you before, unlike the comedy circuit that is known in Los Angeles, where everyone has their favorite rooms as well as their own geographical zone -- going to mics say within a five mile radius -- this room may be the challenge or departure you want to try.
Open mic at Five Threads happens the last Saturday of the month, and it is for music and comedy only, no poetry. And even of the two accepted genres, this room chiefly draws musicians.
ReplyDeleteThe mic has been going on a year. Signup is first come first choice. There are no language restrictions. Musicians get three songs, and comics get ten minutes. There are ten spots on the signup sheet, and the room goes till 11pm.
The business, being a brewery, serves beer. Lots of it. To eat, they offer beef jerky in packets at $7. Come having eaten. Where the mic takes place is in a room separate from the bar and seats about 36. There is no stage. Two mics are set up in the corner of the room. There is a TV just above the stage area, but it is turned off. In the bar room, they have a shuffleboard table, but it is not a distraction. The business also has a number of board games. Parking is in a shared lot.
The signup sheet came out 7:43pm. I didn’t sign up second, but I saw the second spot was open and took it. We had four signups by 7:50, and six by 8pm. A gentleman named Tom ended up hosting the mic when normally he is there only to set up the mic and one of the managers of the business hosts the room. The room started at 8:07pm with Tom simply introducing the first talent. I went up second at 7:25pm and played to a room filled with 23 persons. Of those 23, five were watching me. Of those five, three could hear me.
Wow, this room was loud. I get that this place is not used to standup, but even so, it is just a noisy place. For those who could hear me, I think I did pretty well. But I think those sitting farther away, when they realized they could not hear me, gave up on me. And certainly those farthest back were not there for the mic at all.
Periodically, I asked the whole room, who wants me to continue. The three watching me said yes, so I plugged away and did about ten minutes of material, often having fun with the situation, commenting on the room as a whole.
Guys, I don’t know that I can recommend this room, but at the same time, I’m not that quick to dismiss it. Yes, I was playing to five people at my peak, but damnit, when they could hear me, they were on board, and I’ll go so far as to say that if we had had one of the regular hosts, someone used to the dynamics of emceeing and reading the room, they might have made a better effort to let the room know to give the comic a chance and maybe quiet down a little.
I will say there was this one table that was so especially loud – in talking to two of them before I went up, I knew they were plastered – that the rest of the room may have had to raise their voices to compensate.
Perhaps, if you’re looking for a challenge, or want to find a room that has never seen you before, unlike the comedy circuit that is known in Los Angeles, where everyone has their favorite rooms as well as their own geographical zone -- going to mics say within a five mile radius -- this room may be the challenge or departure you want to try.