Open mic at McMenamins has been going on for nine years and is run by a gentleman named Freddie Lamb. All genres of talent are welcome, though they mostly attract musicians. There are no language restrictions unless children are present. Signup is first come first choice, though they are not on the honor system. I definitely saw a woman sign up before me who came well after my friend and I did. Talent gets 15 minutes. Parking is on the street. Because the business is located downtown, you may find yourself parking a block or more away. The business is a full bar and they offer comfort food as well. Beers run $7 a pint. You can even have dinner on the rooftop, which we did after the mic, and the view was wonderful. The mic used to take place downstairs, until they moved it to the Paragon room, which is located past the main bar. Where the mic takes place, the room seats about 45 who can see the talent well enough (as long as the talent is not sitting down). If they are sitting, yeah, some people who are sitting close will be able to see them. There is no stage. Two mics on stands and a music stand to put your notes on make up the performance area in one corner. The signup sheet came out at 6:30pm. The room goes from 7 to 10pm. Because of the huge turnout, Freddie started the room a couple of minutes early, playing his guitar. We had 12 signups by 6:50pm. I took the fourth spot, my friend the fifth. I counted 27 people in the room. I also noted the demographics. This is an older crowd. I was probably the youngest person there. I came to realize during my set that blue humor did not go over well with this crowd. Know that. I did maybe ten minutes of material then got myself off. My friend did the same. We both did okay. Not great. By 7:40pm I counted 30 in the room. Guys, this is an okay room to do. Not great but fine. It’s somewhat informal as Freddie doesn’t make a point of announcing on the mic to welcome the next talent, so much as say something like, “So and so is next,” and that’s it. That you get 15 minutes of stage time is good, but if you plan to do standup, keep it PG-13. Just a recommendation. But at least you’re playing to a room full of non-comics. In fact, the night I was there, my friend and I were the only two comedians. Before us it had been quite some time before they had had standup. But if you’re visiting McMinnville or nearby, why not do the mic? Get as much stage time as possible when traveling.
Open mic at McMenamins has been going on for nine years and is run by a gentleman named Freddie Lamb. All genres of talent are welcome, though they mostly attract musicians. There are no language restrictions unless children are present. Signup is first come first choice, though they are not on the honor system. I definitely saw a woman sign up before me who came well after my friend and I did. Talent gets 15 minutes. Parking is on the street. Because the business is located downtown, you may find yourself parking a block or more away.
ReplyDeleteThe business is a full bar and they offer comfort food as well. Beers run $7 a pint. You can even have dinner on the rooftop, which we did after the mic, and the view was wonderful. The mic used to take place downstairs, until they moved it to the Paragon room, which is located past the main bar. Where the mic takes place, the room seats about 45 who can see the talent well enough (as long as the talent is not sitting down). If they are sitting, yeah, some people who are sitting close will be able to see them. There is no stage. Two mics on stands and a music stand to put your notes on make up the performance area in one corner.
The signup sheet came out at 6:30pm. The room goes from 7 to 10pm. Because of the huge turnout, Freddie started the room a couple of minutes early, playing his guitar. We had 12 signups by 6:50pm. I took the fourth spot, my friend the fifth. I counted 27 people in the room. I also noted the demographics. This is an older crowd. I was probably the youngest person there. I came to realize during my set that blue humor did not go over well with this crowd. Know that. I did maybe ten minutes of material then got myself off. My friend did the same. We both did okay. Not great. By 7:40pm I counted 30 in the room.
Guys, this is an okay room to do. Not great but fine. It’s somewhat informal as Freddie doesn’t make a point of announcing on the mic to welcome the next talent, so much as say something like, “So and so is next,” and that’s it. That you get 15 minutes of stage time is good, but if you plan to do standup, keep it PG-13. Just a recommendation. But at least you’re playing to a room full of non-comics. In fact, the night I was there, my friend and I were the only two comedians. Before us it had been quite some time before they had had standup. But if you’re visiting McMinnville or nearby, why not do the mic? Get as much stage time as possible when traveling.