Open mic at The Talking Stick in Santa Monica seemed like a good place to dust off the performing cobwebs. There’s always folks I know; the new location is bigger and sounds better; the stage hasn’t had me on it yet. But signup goes fast. I was there about 2 minutes past the 7pm signup and the list was full with a couple of teeny names squeezed at the bottom. Knowing full well I wouldn’t play, I wrote my name at the bottom as big as a house and prepared to enjoy the show without thinking about my own performance. The end of the story is next cause it’s not so interesting; at 9:45 I left (didn’t play – could’ve made it on the next name, no worries) with a great turkey sandwich to present to my understanding wife who was pampering herself in prep for her next day’s acting job.
The show itself was interesting musically to be sure, but more so on the human level. People really do like to perform. Special props the the 87 year old dude who plays electric autoharp. Heard him many times and love that he’s doing it. There’s a trio of teen girls (Ramakega – didn’t hear them this time cause they, too, hadn’t been called up yet) dutifully prepared to go onstage while their incredible patient dad hung in through it all. CanyonEllen singing songs about tech. The twentysomething hipsters practicing right out the front door like it’s really important to do a great show. All in all the talent level is pretty danged good. Even the occasional stinker has some redeeming quality. For me, without the performance thoughts running through my head it was fun to watch the show as opposed to waiting my turn.
Folks want to communicate. Some are better at it than others, but that doesn’t really matter. Next Wednesday there will be another open mic with a room full of messages. btw if you want to perform there, try to arrive before 7pm or the list is sure to be full.
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