Street parking in Portland is free after 7pm, so you’re not spending money on this mic in that way. This room has been going on since the beginning of 2023 and is hosted by two gentlemen named Sam and Milo. Signup is both online and in-person. Online signups get priority. Talent gets 5 minutes, the light at 4. There are no language restrictions. Cheerful Tortoise is a full bar and they have a selection of comfort food. A chicken Caesar salad, hamburger and fries, and a pint of beer ran $36. Where the mic takes place, there is a nice stage set up with 2 mics and a stool. To one side of the stage there is a pool table, and the room has about 8 TVs all turned on showing sports but muted. The room seats about 43 who can see the stage well. The majority of people attending sat in one half of the room, while 5 or 6 people sat on the other half where the pool table is. Most of the talent played to the first half. When it came my turn, I moved the mic and stand back and faced between the two halves, so it was easy for me to turn to both sides and play to the entire room. The host, Sam, started to set up the room at 8:05pm. Anxious comics approached him about the signup sheet, and he said he would make it available as soon as he had listed the names on the sheet who had signed up online. In person signup was made available at 8:15pm, but it’s not on the honor system. Comics who came after my friend and I bee-lined it to the sheet and took the earliest available spots. I got the ninth one, and my friend got the 11th. The mic goes till the last talent has gone up, so even if you come late, you’re getting stage time. The room started at 9pm. Milo was not present; instead, there was a guest co-host. Sam did a few minutes, then the guest comic did some time. Afterwards, talent went up one after another, playing to a room filled with both fellow comics and a general audience. I counted 26 in the room when we started. Early in the evening, the pool table was put to use, and unless you are sitting on that half of the room, it is not a distraction. Two mics are set up, because some of the talent was a duo. Attendance increased as the evening went on. I counted 38 by 10:35pm. I thought that was great, performing for such a big audience. However, at the bar, the people sitting started to get loud, so a one time the guest host thanked the people for coming out but to also, “Shut the f*** up”, which achieved the desired result. The focus should be on the show. If you want to talk, go outside. Guys, this is one of the better rooms I have done, during my trip to Portland this year. That it’s not a roomful of fellow comics but also a general audience is great. The best way to gauge your material is to perform for a general audience. On a personal note, up till I went up, I noticed the talent playing to the half of the room with the majority sitting and watching, their back to the other half of the room. Even if the other half of the room only had 5 or 6 peeps watching, they were still there for the show and should feel just as included as the majority of attendees. I moved the mic back to give them a better view of me, as I could easily turn to both halves of the room to take everyone in. Talent on stage got the point and many performers after me took the mic off the stand, which made it easy to turn to either side of the room and take in everyone. I saw the audience on that half brighten some, as they DID feel inclusive.
Street parking in Portland is free after 7pm, so you’re not spending money on this mic in that way. This room has been going on since the beginning of 2023 and is hosted by two gentlemen named Sam and Milo. Signup is both online and in-person. Online signups get priority. Talent gets 5 minutes, the light at 4. There are no language restrictions.
ReplyDeleteCheerful Tortoise is a full bar and they have a selection of comfort food. A chicken Caesar salad, hamburger and fries, and a pint of beer ran $36. Where the mic takes place, there is a nice stage set up with 2 mics and a stool. To one side of the stage there is a pool table, and the room has about 8 TVs all turned on showing sports but muted. The room seats about 43 who can see the stage well. The majority of people attending sat in one half of the room, while 5 or 6 people sat on the other half where the pool table is. Most of the talent played to the first half. When it came my turn, I moved the mic and stand back and faced between the two halves, so it was easy for me to turn to both sides and play to the entire room.
The host, Sam, started to set up the room at 8:05pm. Anxious comics approached him about the signup sheet, and he said he would make it available as soon as he had listed the names on the sheet who had signed up online. In person signup was made available at 8:15pm, but it’s not on the honor system. Comics who came after my friend and I bee-lined it to the sheet and took the earliest available spots. I got the ninth one, and my friend got the 11th. The mic goes till the last talent has gone up, so even if you come late, you’re getting stage time.
The room started at 9pm. Milo was not present; instead, there was a guest co-host. Sam did a few minutes, then the guest comic did some time. Afterwards, talent went up one after another, playing to a room filled with both fellow comics and a general audience. I counted 26 in the room when we started. Early in the evening, the pool table was put to use, and unless you are sitting on that half of the room, it is not a distraction. Two mics are set up, because some of the talent was a duo.
Attendance increased as the evening went on. I counted 38 by 10:35pm. I thought that was great, performing for such a big audience. However, at the bar, the people sitting started to get loud, so a one time the guest host thanked the people for coming out but to also, “Shut the f*** up”, which achieved the desired result. The focus should be on the show. If you want to talk, go outside.
Guys, this is one of the better rooms I have done, during my trip to Portland this year. That it’s not a roomful of fellow comics but also a general audience is great. The best way to gauge your material is to perform for a general audience.
On a personal note, up till I went up, I noticed the talent playing to the half of the room with the majority sitting and watching, their back to the other half of the room. Even if the other half of the room only had 5 or 6 peeps watching, they were still there for the show and should feel just as included as the majority of attendees. I moved the mic back to give them a better view of me, as I could easily turn to both halves of the room to take everyone in. Talent on stage got the point and many performers after me took the mic off the stand, which made it easy to turn to either side of the room and take in everyone. I saw the audience on that half brighten some, as they DID feel inclusive.