A shot at the limelight

Published on March 31, 2011 by The Editor · No Comments

Ben Rogers attended two impromptu performance events and found them very different. Which open mic evening did he enjoy most on stealing the limelight and why?

An open mic evening is the perfect platform for those who feel so inclined to have a shot at stealing the limelight for five minutes, somewhere it’s acceptable to play a new song in order to gauge some sort of response or just play a cover so you can get the feel of playing music in front of people.

Surely this mix of first timers and those looking to showcase should encourage a warm welcoming atmosphere?

Recently I attended two very different open mic nights, the first of which encouraged those who hadn’t thought about playing before to give it a shot, the second had a very cliquey, closed off approach to the night.

So what makes a good open mic? The more cliquey approach did appear to encourage more off the wall songs, some of which worked very well and were worth a laugh, and the factor of the acts playing more regularly did seem to benefit the artists themselves who were being very creative with what they were doing in order to put out different songs more regularly.

The second open mic evening however, did encourage much more impromptu performances and there was more of a community atmosphere around the bar as different acts went up to give it a go. Admittedly the standard of artist at this night wasn’t always as high though the atmosphere did make up for this and I found it a more enjoyable experience.

The other major deciphering factor of the two nights was the staff. The staff in the cliquier of the two were very strict in not allowing people to speak at all when the acts were playing, which I found understandable to an extent.

In the second of the two they were less so, though the atmosphere did mean that other customers were more considerate to those playing which I found a lot more successful in making me want to return to the venue.

Do you have what it takes to get up and perform at an open mic evening? Or do you prefer to go along and listen to others giving it their best shot? Comments welcome

Ben Rogers is a regular wowdewow blogger who may one day take the mic.