Let me start off by saying, given the location of the mic in downtown, it is best to Uber or take public transportation. Parking on the street is a pill. Thankfully, where I stayed, I could walk the 1.3 miles to the room. The mic is for standup only. It has been going on over a year and is hosted by a gentleman named Brandon. There are no language restrictions, and talent gets three minutes of stage time, the light at two from a cell phone towards the back of the room. It is not first come first choice. When the sheet came out, while my friend and I were second and third to show up, other comedians did not care and signed up where they knew the sheet would appear. My friend and I ended up signing up ninth and tenth, and even then, we did not go up when it was our turn. I’ll explain in a moment. The business is a full bar, but they are also a restaurant, serving entrees like pizza and burgers. Beers run $7.50 a pint. The mic takes place down stairs and anyone attending is there for the mic and nothing else. No distractions like TVs or pool tables and such. They have a triangular stage in one corner that is reasonably lit, but I recommend not wearing a hat. The room seats about 56 who can see the stage well. A server comes in periodically, and if you flag him down, he'll take your order, so you don’t have to leave and miss any of the mic. On stage is a mic, stand and stool. The signup sheet has 20 slots, and the room is supposed to go from 8 to 9pm. If you do the math, of course the room is going to go past one hour if the signup sheet is full, given that the host opens with some stage time, and talent walking to and from stage eats up a few minutes as well. Th evening went well, especially because the talent respected the light. What my riend and I didn’t understand was that when it was the ninth and tenth comedians turn, our names were not called. By the eleventh comedian the host said that anyone who has signed up should introduce themselves to the host to let him know you are present. Had we known we had to do that, of course we would have let him know earlier, so we could go up when it was supposed to be our turn. So, if you are new to this room, be sure to introduce yourself to the host when the room starts, so you get the allotted slot you signed up for. The signup sheet is supposed to come out at 7:45pm and the room starting at 8pm. The night we were there, the sheet came out 7:44 and we started 7:58pm. I counted at least 33 people in the room, many of whom were not talent waiting their turn. That is a plus. I ended up going up twelfth or thirteenth and my friend went up two slots later. Some talent who signed up after us went up before us, because the host hadn’t said yet for signups to introduce themselves to him till late in the evening. Attendance stayed reasonably high as the evening went on. I saw 25 people in the room at 9:15pm, and the evening came to a close at 9:22pm. Guys, this is a very good room to do. I didn’t care for the feeding frenzy when the sheet came out, hardly anyone respecting the honor system by allowing those who arrived before you, because they knew where the sheet would appear and signed up before others. I also wished the host had said at the beginning of the room to let him know you are present, having signed up, so you get to perform when it’s your rightful turn. But that’s why I review these rooms, so you know what to do to get the best experience out of the evening. Yes, three minutes is not a lot of stage time, but, one, you are performing to a general audience, not just comedians waiting their turn, and, two, you can do a second room if you want after this one, as Thursday is a popular night for open mics in Portland.
Let me start off by saying, given the location of the mic in downtown, it is best to Uber or take public transportation. Parking on the street is a pill. Thankfully, where I stayed, I could walk the 1.3 miles to the room.
ReplyDeleteThe mic is for standup only. It has been going on over a year and is hosted by a gentleman named Brandon. There are no language restrictions, and talent gets three minutes of stage time, the light at two from a cell phone towards the back of the room. It is not first come first choice. When the sheet came out, while my friend and I were second and third to show up, other comedians did not care and signed up where they knew the sheet would appear. My friend and I ended up signing up ninth and tenth, and even then, we did not go up when it was our turn. I’ll explain in a moment.
The business is a full bar, but they are also a restaurant, serving entrees like pizza and burgers. Beers run $7.50 a pint. The mic takes place down stairs and anyone attending is there for the mic and nothing else. No distractions like TVs or pool tables and such. They have a triangular stage in one corner that is reasonably lit, but I recommend not wearing a hat. The room seats about 56 who can see the stage well. A server comes in periodically, and if you flag him down, he'll take your order, so you don’t have to leave and miss any of the mic. On stage is a mic, stand and stool. The signup sheet has 20 slots, and the room is supposed to go from 8 to 9pm. If you do the math, of course the room is going to go past one hour if the signup sheet is full, given that the host opens with some stage time, and talent walking to and from stage eats up a few minutes as well.
Th evening went well, especially because the talent respected the light. What my riend and I didn’t understand was that when it was the ninth and tenth comedians turn, our names were not called. By the eleventh comedian the host said that anyone who has signed up should introduce themselves to the host to let him know you are present. Had we known we had to do that, of course we would have let him know earlier, so we could go up when it was supposed to be our turn. So, if you are new to this room, be sure to introduce yourself to the host when the room starts, so you get the allotted slot you signed up for.
The signup sheet is supposed to come out at 7:45pm and the room starting at 8pm. The night we were there, the sheet came out 7:44 and we started 7:58pm. I counted at least 33 people in the room, many of whom were not talent waiting their turn. That is a plus. I ended up going up twelfth or thirteenth and my friend went up two slots later. Some talent who signed up after us went up before us, because the host hadn’t said yet for signups to introduce themselves to him till late in the evening. Attendance stayed reasonably high as the evening went on. I saw 25 people in the room at 9:15pm, and the evening came to a close at 9:22pm.
Guys, this is a very good room to do. I didn’t care for the feeding frenzy when the sheet came out, hardly anyone respecting the honor system by allowing those who arrived before you, because they knew where the sheet would appear and signed up before others. I also wished the host had said at the beginning of the room to let him know you are present, having signed up, so you get to perform when it’s your rightful turn. But that’s why I review these rooms, so you know what to do to get the best experience out of the evening.
Yes, three minutes is not a lot of stage time, but, one, you are performing to a general audience, not just comedians waiting their turn, and, two, you can do a second room if you want after this one, as Thursday is a popular night for open mics in Portland.