Comics do not pay, but guests pay $3 cover. Only 8 comics per night (host, 6 features, 1 headliner). Always crowds of ~40. Shows are booked a week in advance. Very good room, run very well by Mike Moore and Amelia Kleymann.
A great room and an very fun crowd. The crowd is good because you don't have to go for the obvious joke to make them laugh, they will appreciate smart and inciteful humor. Very intimate setting. Very well run and professional.
Great room with great energy. Just had my second performance there and had an absolute blast. Mike and Amelia are very nice, welcoming, professional and organized. Probably some of the greatest people you'll ever meet in a club. $3 cover that the comics do not have to pay, there's a bartender who waits on you the whole time so you can get beer by the bottle, mixed drinks, or some pretty awesome $2 burgers. They set up a small "vip" corner for the comics to hang out and chat with each other. There really is absolutely nothing bad to say about this place.
First time on stage 8/17. Sold out before the show date. They treat comics really well. The great audience is suburban middle to upper-middle class with a typical blue/red split. Smarter humor does work here. Keep it on the clean side, the f!@# word is frowned on here. The producers tape the show and provide you your set by e-mail. This room will spoil you.
CUTT is a showcase, really, not an open mic. They set the list a month in advance and get many more applicants than they have slots. But if you make the list, it's the best venue a newbie is going to find anywhere in Northern Illinois. Your first taste of the big-time. An elevated stage with real drapes and a real spot. Waitresses scurrying around serving overpriced drinks to a realio-trulio audience. They're seated at little round tables and actually expecting to be entertained.
Amy can be autocratic, but her rules aren't too constricting, really, and whatever she's doing it's working great. Worth the drive out to Oswego. It'd be worth the drive to Rock Island.
Top Shelf suburban comedy spot. Not an open mic...it is a feature show. Run very well and efficiently by Amelia. Kind of a haul if you're coming from the city, but it's a well run room, the room is always packed, and the audience is there to laugh...it's worth the trip.
Like other people said, this isn't an open mic. Saw a couple shows, some nights were worth it. I've heard terrible stories about the producer. She doesn't care if something comes up days before a show, she'll send an email or call you bitching you out for cancelling, instead of booking one of the other 90 or so comics that ask to get booked.
This show is now defunct. It was a well-run show. The producer was an autocrat, but she really knew how to go about running a professional show. Unfortunately, while it was called an open mic, it was really a showcase where you were vetted beforehand and not paid for your performance. Most other showcases pay performer. That was a turn off for a lot of comics, but they flocked to it because it was such a good room to perform in and the audience was there to be entertained. At a lot of mics, people are there to get drunk and watch sports on TV and the comedy is secondary. Not so at Comedy Under the Tap. Unfortunately this room no longer presents comedy. I hope someone else picks it up and continues this fine tradition.
Comics do not pay, but guests pay $3 cover. Only 8 comics per night (host, 6 features, 1 headliner). Always crowds of ~40. Shows are booked a week in advance. Very good room, run very well by Mike Moore and Amelia Kleymann.
ReplyDeletefun room grat crowd great food and always seems to be an after party
ReplyDeleteAwesome room! Really.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sadiqsamani.com
I had a great time performing at this show! The crowd is filled with people who come there to laugh.
ReplyDeleteA great room and an very fun crowd. The crowd is good because you don't have to go for the obvious joke to make them laugh, they will appreciate smart and inciteful humor. Very intimate setting. Very well run and professional.
ReplyDeleteA fantastic room with wonderful performers, a nice atmosphere and the most professional producers since the history of ever.
ReplyDeleteI've made five appearances here, and look forward to many, many more.
Great room. Well run. Great Crowd.
ReplyDeleteJon Griffin
Great room with great energy. Just had my second performance there and had an absolute blast. Mike and Amelia are very nice, welcoming, professional and organized. Probably some of the greatest people you'll ever meet in a club. $3 cover that the comics do not have to pay, there's a bartender who waits on you the whole time so you can get beer by the bottle, mixed drinks, or some pretty awesome $2 burgers. They set up a small "vip" corner for the comics to hang out and chat with each other. There really is absolutely nothing bad to say about this place.
ReplyDeleteFirst time on stage 8/17. Sold out before the show date. They treat comics really well. The great audience is suburban middle to upper-middle class with a typical blue/red split. Smarter humor does work here. Keep it on the clean side, the f!@# word is frowned on here. The producers tape the show and provide you your set by e-mail. This room will spoil you.
ReplyDeleteFantastic place to go! Had an awesome time.
ReplyDeleteCUTT is a showcase, really, not an open mic. They set the list a month in advance and get many more applicants than they have slots. But if you make the list, it's the best venue a newbie is going to find anywhere in Northern Illinois. Your first taste of the big-time. An elevated stage with real drapes and a real spot. Waitresses scurrying around serving overpriced drinks to a realio-trulio audience. They're seated at little round tables and actually expecting to be entertained.
ReplyDeleteAmy can be autocratic, but her rules aren't too constricting, really, and whatever she's doing it's working great. Worth the drive out to Oswego. It'd be worth the drive to Rock Island.
Top Shelf suburban comedy spot. Not an open mic...it is a feature show. Run very well and efficiently by Amelia. Kind of a haul if you're coming from the city, but it's a well run room, the room is always packed, and the audience is there to laugh...it's worth the trip.
ReplyDeleteLike other people said, this isn't an open mic. Saw a couple shows, some nights were worth it. I've heard terrible stories about the producer. She doesn't care if something comes up days before a show, she'll send an email or call you bitching you out for cancelling, instead of booking one of the other 90 or so comics that ask to get booked.
ReplyDeleteThis show is now defunct. It was a well-run show. The producer was an autocrat, but she really knew how to go about running a professional show. Unfortunately, while it was called an open mic, it was really a showcase where you were vetted beforehand and not paid for your performance. Most other showcases pay performer. That was a turn off for a lot of comics, but they flocked to it because it was such a good room to perform in and the audience was there to be entertained. At a lot of mics, people are there to get drunk and watch sports on TV and the comedy is secondary. Not so at Comedy Under the Tap. Unfortunately this room no longer presents comedy. I hope someone else picks it up and continues this fine tradition.
ReplyDelete