Covert Café has an open mic on Saturdays at 10pm, but on the 2nd Saturday at 4pm, they have a mic that has been going on since January of 2025 and should get a comedian’s attention. Parking is on the street. The room is for standup only, and talent gets five minutes. No language restrictions, but no hate humor. The room is run by four persons, only two of whom were hosting the week I was there: Amanda and Dahlia. A triangular stage in a corner furthest from the entrance holds two mics on stands. The room seats 25, and everyone can see the stage just fine. The stage is well lit. The business emphasizes beer, but you can have limited hard alcohol drinks, and their menu includes burgers, sandwiches and even a sirloin steak dinner and fajita bowl. Beers run $5 to $7. A Moscow mule runs $7. The signup sheet came out at 3:45pm. It’s first come first choice. I took the third spot. The room goes till 6pm. The room started at 4:15pm. I saw 18 in the room, and we had seven signups. Though I signed up third, I ended up going up fifth. People who arrived after me went up before me. My friend signed up fourth and went up seventh. Attendance stayed consistent with 19 in the room at 5:04pm. Best of all, they weren’t only comedians waiting their turn. We had a general audience. Talent got the light at four minutes from the back of the room. Two tip jars can be found: one on stage, the other in the back of the room. A gentleman operated a sound system, and we got to hear music between talent, keeping the room lively. We had 16 watching the mic at 5:21pm, and the room came to an end at 5:41pm. Guys, this is a good room to do. The bonus is, as early as it starts, it can be one of two (or more?) rooms to do on a Saturday. Five minutes is a good amount of stage time. Even if you get bumped and go up later in the lineup, so what? The room still ends at such an early time, you can get to that second mic no problem. Amanda and Dahlia are delightful hosts, and the support for the mic was strong. The price of their food and drinks are very good, less expensive than other rooms I’ve done in Portland.
Covert Café has an open mic on Saturdays at 10pm, but on the 2nd Saturday at 4pm, they have a mic that has been going on since January of 2025 and should get a comedian’s attention. Parking is on the street. The room is for standup only, and talent gets five minutes. No language restrictions, but no hate humor. The room is run by four persons, only two of whom were hosting the week I was there: Amanda and Dahlia.
ReplyDeleteA triangular stage in a corner furthest from the entrance holds two mics on stands. The room seats 25, and everyone can see the stage just fine. The stage is well lit. The business emphasizes beer, but you can have limited hard alcohol drinks, and their menu includes burgers, sandwiches and even a sirloin steak dinner and fajita bowl. Beers run $5 to $7. A Moscow mule runs $7.
The signup sheet came out at 3:45pm. It’s first come first choice. I took the third spot. The room goes till 6pm. The room started at 4:15pm. I saw 18 in the room, and we had seven signups. Though I signed up third, I ended up going up fifth. People who arrived after me went up before me. My friend signed up fourth and went up seventh. Attendance stayed consistent with 19 in the room at 5:04pm. Best of all, they weren’t only comedians waiting their turn. We had a general audience. Talent got the light at four minutes from the back of the room. Two tip jars can be found: one on stage, the other in the back of the room. A gentleman operated a sound system, and we got to hear music between talent, keeping the room lively. We had 16 watching the mic at 5:21pm, and the room came to an end at 5:41pm.
Guys, this is a good room to do. The bonus is, as early as it starts, it can be one of two (or more?) rooms to do on a Saturday. Five minutes is a good amount of stage time. Even if you get bumped and go up later in the lineup, so what? The room still ends at such an early time, you can get to that second mic no problem. Amanda and Dahlia are delightful hosts, and the support for the mic was strong. The price of their food and drinks are very good, less expensive than other rooms I’ve done in Portland.