Lincoln Lodge is a comedy club in Chicago, and they have been hosting open mic since their inception five years ago. Parking is on the street. Signup is first come first choice and talent gets four minutes, the light at three. There are no language restrictions. Talent is asked to buy one drink to perform. Moscow Mules run $12, but they have non-alcoholic beverages and beer and wine for less. To eat, they offer a variety of potato chips. The mic takes place in one of their small theaters which seats about a hundred. A platform stage that is well lit harbors a mic, stand and stool. From the POV of talent on stage, the light is blinding. You can barely see the audience in the first row. My friend and I arrived first. We signed up for the fifth and seventh spot. We had eleven immediate signups when the sheet came out. There are 25 spots total. The room is supposed to go to 7:30, but the night we were there it lasted longer. The evening started at 6:02pm. The first guest host was Ryder (sp.?) and I counted 17 people in the room. Before even Ryder opened with some material he encouraged all the people in the room to move closer to the stage, which we did. Some people arriving after the room started came in and sat in the back, but at least they were in attendance. By 7pm we had 19 in the room, and a second host, Rich, brought up the talent. Most everyone respected the light, but one of the earlier talents I guess did not see it, and he went over four minutes. The host reminded everyone that when you see the host frantically waving the light, it does not mean you have one minute left. It means to stop. Period. Otherwise, the evening went smoothly. I counted 11 peeps in the room at 7:40, and the mic was still going on when we left at 7:45pm, though there could not be more than a couple comedians left. Guys, this is a good room to do. Yes, there is an admission fee to perform of buying one drink, but so what? Most people drink anyway when at an open mic. I know I do. The room is supportive, and performing on stage at a comedy club feels good, even if it’s an open mic. Being blinded by the lights just feels like the attention is on you, and that’s a good feeling. There are no distractions; people attending are there to support the room.
Lincoln Lodge is a comedy club in Chicago, and they have been hosting open mic since their inception five years ago. Parking is on the street. Signup is first come first choice and talent gets four minutes, the light at three. There are no language restrictions. Talent is asked to buy one drink to perform. Moscow Mules run $12, but they have non-alcoholic beverages and beer and wine for less. To eat, they offer a variety of potato chips.
ReplyDeleteThe mic takes place in one of their small theaters which seats about a hundred. A platform stage that is well lit harbors a mic, stand and stool. From the POV of talent on stage, the light is blinding. You can barely see the audience in the first row.
My friend and I arrived first. We signed up for the fifth and seventh spot. We had eleven immediate signups when the sheet came out. There are 25 spots total. The room is supposed to go to 7:30, but the night we were there it lasted longer.
The evening started at 6:02pm. The first guest host was Ryder (sp.?) and I counted 17 people in the room. Before even Ryder opened with some material he encouraged all the people in the room to move closer to the stage, which we did. Some people arriving after the room started came in and sat in the back, but at least they were in attendance. By 7pm we had 19 in the room, and a second host, Rich, brought up the talent. Most everyone respected the light, but one of the earlier talents I guess did not see it, and he went over four minutes. The host reminded everyone that when you see the host frantically waving the light, it does not mean you have one minute left. It means to stop. Period. Otherwise, the evening went smoothly. I counted 11 peeps in the room at 7:40, and the mic was still going on when we left at 7:45pm, though there could not be more than a couple comedians left.
Guys, this is a good room to do. Yes, there is an admission fee to perform of buying one drink, but so what? Most people drink anyway when at an open mic. I know I do. The room is supportive, and performing on stage at a comedy club feels good, even if it’s an open mic. Being blinded by the lights just feels like the attention is on you, and that’s a good feeling. There are no distractions; people attending are there to support the room.