This monthly open mic is for standup only. No music or poetry. It has been going on since November of 2018. A gentleman named Garrett runs the room. Talent gets four minutes, longer if the list is scarce. There are no language restrictions. Signup is first come first choice. The room goes till the last comic has performed. The business is one giant room with pillars and suggested partitions to separate the place into the entrance where you will find a few arcade games, the pool area, and the main area where the bar is located to one side of the room and the stage on the other side. Plenty of seating allows for an easy view of the talent on the stage. I would say there are about 60 seats that can see the moderate-sized stage well. The lighting is not strong, however. Throughout the bar, there are 12 TVs on, three behind the bar. The immediate TVs near the stage, including the big screen behind the stage, are turned off before the mic begins. In addition to being a full bar, the business offers appetizers like cheese fries, wings and nachos, a couple sandwich choices, salad and burgers. Pints of beer run $7. I did not see Garrett when he came in at 7:45pm. When the signup sheet came out, there were 15 immediate signups. I got the sixteenth spot. The room started late on purpose, about 8:53pm, with Garrett welcoming everyone then bringing up a guest emcee whose name I did not catch. We had to wait for Thursday night football to end. I suppose in any month other than when football happens, the room would start on time. We had 32 people in the room total, but I’d say maybe 23 were watching the mic. Talent goes up in the order of the lineup, but instead of doing new material, this is an evening of riffing. Talent spins a wheel or draws a topic from a pitcher and that comic must make fun of the subject drawn. They can spend as much time on the subject or spin or draw again and riff on the next subject. No limit to times you can change subjects. You get the light at one minute. Guys, I get why this is such a frequented room. First, it happens only once a month. Second, it is a chance to do something other than new material. Riffing can be beneficial. It keeps a comic on their toes, helps them to be quick, especially if they have to deal with a heckler. This room should be done when you chose to want to work on your riffing. Not crowd control, but topic control. Can you be quick and witty in a few seconds just hearing something as general as “old age” and “drugs”. And who knows, if you have new material, it may very well coincide with a subject you pick or spin on the wheel. The room is called “The Friend Zone” because everyone gets this is not a room to heckle the comic, so much as let them shine by riffing on chosen topics. But pay attention to when the host comes in. You’re going to want to sign up earlier than when I did.
This monthly open mic is for standup only. No music or poetry. It has been going on since November of 2018. A gentleman named Garrett runs the room. Talent gets four minutes, longer if the list is scarce. There are no language restrictions. Signup is first come first choice. The room goes till the last comic has performed.
ReplyDeleteThe business is one giant room with pillars and suggested partitions to separate the place into the entrance where you will find a few arcade games, the pool area, and the main area where the bar is located to one side of the room and the stage on the other side. Plenty of seating allows for an easy view of the talent on the stage. I would say there are about 60 seats that can see the moderate-sized stage well. The lighting is not strong, however. Throughout the bar, there are 12 TVs on, three behind the bar. The immediate TVs near the stage, including the big screen behind the stage, are turned off before the mic begins.
In addition to being a full bar, the business offers appetizers like cheese fries, wings and nachos, a couple sandwich choices, salad and burgers. Pints of beer run $7.
I did not see Garrett when he came in at 7:45pm. When the signup sheet came out, there were 15 immediate signups. I got the sixteenth spot.
The room started late on purpose, about 8:53pm, with Garrett welcoming everyone then bringing up a guest emcee whose name I did not catch. We had to wait for Thursday night football to end. I suppose in any month other than when football happens, the room would start on time. We had 32 people in the room total, but I’d say maybe 23 were watching the mic. Talent goes up in the order of the lineup, but instead of doing new material, this is an evening of riffing. Talent spins a wheel or draws a topic from a pitcher and that comic must make fun of the subject drawn. They can spend as much time on the subject or spin or draw again and riff on the next subject. No limit to times you can change subjects. You get the light at one minute.
Guys, I get why this is such a frequented room. First, it happens only once a month. Second, it is a chance to do something other than new material. Riffing can be beneficial. It keeps a comic on their toes, helps them to be quick, especially if they have to deal with a heckler. This room should be done when you chose to want to work on your riffing. Not crowd control, but topic control. Can you be quick and witty in a few seconds just hearing something as general as “old age” and “drugs”. And who knows, if you have new material, it may very well coincide with a subject you pick or spin on the wheel. The room is called “The Friend Zone” because everyone gets this is not a room to heckle the comic, so much as let them shine by riffing on chosen topics.
But pay attention to when the host comes in. You’re going to want to sign up earlier than when I did.