Open mic at Otter has been going on just over six months. Parking is on the streets. Signup is first come first choice. The venue allows all mediums of talent, but principally, this room attracts musicians. Talent gets 3 songs or ten minutes. The signup sheet had slots which say 15 minutes, but the additional time is for talent to plug in their instruments and also take down and put away their instruments before the next talent went up. There are no restrictions. The room goes on to 10pm, but sometimes it has gone on as late as midnight, but that is very rare. The business in which the room runs is a full bar. I arrived at 6:17pm. The gentleman who runs the room, Ben, was just setting up when I showed up. There is no stage. Ben sets up two mics just to the right of the entrance, and the backdrop is a window where you can see street traffic outside, as well as the limited outdoor seating. Inside, the business could seat about 60 who can see the stage, including an upstairs. I ordered a beer ($8 a pint), while I waited for the signup sheet to come out. The server brought the beer to my table, as well as a bottle of water for free. That was nice. Ben told me there is no light. Non-musicians are expected to know when they’ve done about ten minutes. Guys, don’t abuse this. Ben does not like having to interrupt a performer to tell them they’ve gone over their allotted time. When I went up, I did about 8 or 9 minutes, then thanked the audience and walked back to my seat. The signup sheet came out at 6:37pm, and I signed up first, taking the third spot of 12 slots (740pm to 7:55pm). We had 8 signups by 7pm. The room started at 7:05pm with Ben opening with a couple of songs on the guitar, playing to a room of about 25, including the two bartenders and host. Because no one took the first spot, I ended up performing second. I made the mistake of choosing an early spot. With daylight still outside, I was backlit, which from the audience POV, I was just a silhouette. No one could see my face, and in standup, you want to be seen. Be sure to signup when the sun has set. By 8pm, after my performance, I counted 30 in attendance. At 8:25pm, lights inside the room came on, and finally, you could see the talent on stage clearly. Attendance eased as the evening went on, with 18 peeps by 8:40pm and 17 present by 9:10pm. I did not stay to the end. Guys, even though I could not be seen well, I had a remarkably good set. For a room used to hearing music, which is something you can still enjoy as well as talk to your friends and such, I had many of them stop talking and listened to me. I’m sure I would have done much better had the audience only been able to see me clearly. This is a room to do. You’re not playing to a room full of comics. Except for myself, it was all music, so truly you are performing to a “general audience”. Ten minutes is a healthy amount of stage time. But remember to get yourself off stage in good time. Ben told me there were a couple comics some time ago who had to be told to stop. I imagine how awkward the moment must have been. Besides, you want to leave the audience wanting more. I hope this review moves comedians to want to do this room. Some months back, an anonymous commentor said the room is 99% acoustic guitar. I think that has changed in that time, and I hope my review gets more comedians out to this room. It is worth doing.
Open mic at Otter has been going on just over six months. Parking is on the streets. Signup is first come first choice. The venue allows all mediums of talent, but principally, this room attracts musicians. Talent gets 3 songs or ten minutes. The signup sheet had slots which say 15 minutes, but the additional time is for talent to plug in their instruments and also take down and put away their instruments before the next talent went up. There are no restrictions. The room goes on to 10pm, but sometimes it has gone on as late as midnight, but that is very rare. The business in which the room runs is a full bar.
ReplyDeleteI arrived at 6:17pm. The gentleman who runs the room, Ben, was just setting up when I showed up. There is no stage. Ben sets up two mics just to the right of the entrance, and the backdrop is a window where you can see street traffic outside, as well as the limited outdoor seating. Inside, the business could seat about 60 who can see the stage, including an upstairs. I ordered a beer ($8 a pint), while I waited for the signup sheet to come out. The server brought the beer to my table, as well as a bottle of water for free. That was nice.
Ben told me there is no light. Non-musicians are expected to know when they’ve done about ten minutes. Guys, don’t abuse this. Ben does not like having to interrupt a performer to tell them they’ve gone over their allotted time. When I went up, I did about 8 or 9 minutes, then thanked the audience and walked back to my seat.
The signup sheet came out at 6:37pm, and I signed up first, taking the third spot of 12 slots (740pm to 7:55pm). We had 8 signups by 7pm. The room started at 7:05pm with Ben opening with a couple of songs on the guitar, playing to a room of about 25, including the two bartenders and host. Because no one took the first spot, I ended up performing second.
I made the mistake of choosing an early spot. With daylight still outside, I was backlit, which from the audience POV, I was just a silhouette. No one could see my face, and in standup, you want to be seen. Be sure to signup when the sun has set. By 8pm, after my performance, I counted 30 in attendance. At 8:25pm, lights inside the room came on, and finally, you could see the talent on stage clearly. Attendance eased as the evening went on, with 18 peeps by 8:40pm and 17 present by 9:10pm. I did not stay to the end.
Guys, even though I could not be seen well, I had a remarkably good set. For a room used to hearing music, which is something you can still enjoy as well as talk to your friends and such, I had many of them stop talking and listened to me. I’m sure I would have done much better had the audience only been able to see me clearly.
This is a room to do. You’re not playing to a room full of comics. Except for myself, it was all music, so truly you are performing to a “general audience”. Ten minutes is a healthy amount of stage time. But remember to get yourself off stage in good time. Ben told me there were a couple comics some time ago who had to be told to stop. I imagine how awkward the moment must have been. Besides, you want to leave the audience wanting more.
I hope this review moves comedians to want to do this room. Some months back, an anonymous commentor said the room is 99% acoustic guitar. I think that has changed in that time, and I hope my review gets more comedians out to this room. It is worth doing.