The Open Mic Experience (Seen it all? Apparently not...)

The Open Mic Experience

Monday December 18th 2023

I’ve been to a few open mics nights. In fact I’d guess somewhere in the region of at least 1200, because a friend and I have been jointly hosting them in local venues for almost 15 years now. You could assume then therefore, that playing at any open mic night for me was no big deal. Au contraire.

Hosting, and playing in a duo, can be very different from performing by one’s self at somebody else’s event. It can take guts. People’s comfort zones can be pretty narrow, whatever level they perform at. The sweaty palms, sausage fingers and fluffed lyrics, been there, done that. Still do that actually. So if you’re ever watching somebody perform, be attentive, kind and supportive, particularly if you’re hoping they’ll do the same for you. And anyway, if you really don’t appreciate what they’re doing, they’re probably only going to do it for about 15 minutes. Go buy a drink.

Another assumption you might reasonably make is that, in those 15 years I’d have seen it all. Drunken sea shanties, laments about the origin of boiled eggs, dogs who recite poetry, vacuum cleaners and inflatable parrots, all have rubbed shoulders with award winning singers and international jazz musos. One time, we met Charlie Dimmock from Ground Force. On another occasion we were told to expect the guy who played the saxophone on Gerry Rafferty’s hit “Baker Street”, but he took too long eating his dinner at Pizza Express to arrive in time to play. Encounters like these are all totally normal in an evening’s work.

Last week I attended an open mic in a 19th century chapel, which was recently converted into a community arts space. It’s a spectacular place, and a far, far cry from the public houses many open mics reside in. There’s the usual selection of guitarists, (including me) performing a mixture of originals and covers, (also me) and quite a few spoken word artists, because their recital night got rained off. Potentially transgender performer with overdriven, phaser toned bass, performing “All I Want For Christmas is You” with a distorted vocal tone…..very, very good, far less common, but not actually the first time that’s happened….

The last performer however, when called to the stage, proceeds to take her clothes off, revealing a simple but beautiful ballerina outfit. She changes into ballet shoes, explains that the piece is dedicated to her mother, and dances. Poetry is recited over a sweeping orchestral backing track for 10 minutes. There is a standing ovation. 15 years, 1200 shows, and something can still be new and amazing.

All open mic performers are amazing in my book. “Amazing” however does take on different forms, Ability does not necessarily equal entertainment value. Originality does not equal acceptance. Confidence does not equal success. Variety and diversity are the only things that truly matter on such nights, and I cannot encourage you enough to support them.

Record Time

This week’s record time goes out in memory of Raphael Ravenscroft, the “Baker Street” saxophonist we would have met if he hadn’t been forced to wait for his quattro stagioni…. Gerry Rafferty’s ‘City To City’.