Last night I braved some autumn rain, took the Red Line "L" to the 77 Bus and walked a few blocks to a place called Moe's Tavern. They say it was voted in the top 5 dive bars in Chicago (I guess I didn't know "dive bar" was an official category of bar). The place was pleasant and the people I met were all really friendly. There was even free chili.
I came for sort of a "Two for One," as on Sundays Moe's has a jazz jam session followed by a typical open mic. Most people would probably do one or the other, as it's pretty rare for pop musicians to sit in at jazz jam session and even more rare to hear any kind of jazz at an open mic, which is usually just singer/songwriter stuff (AKA singing guitarists). I myself am trying to do a bit of both worlds, so I planned to come early and stay late for both things.
The jazz jam was really great, as the musicians were all really easy to talk with and 'hang.' I exchanged a couple of business cards and cell numbers (remember, it's ALL about the connections) and had a good time playing some traditional jazz.
After that all the jazz musicians left and a bunch of new people came in for the open mic. As per usual, I signed up on the sheet and waited my turn. I told the host running the event that I'd be playing the sax. So as the singer/guitarist before me was ending his few tunes, the host got out his bass guitar and asked what I wanted to play. I guess he was trying to be nice by offering to play with me, because seriously, a single wind instrument playing by itself is not usually the kind of thing an open mic crowd at a "dive bar" wants to hear.
So I told him, "Oh yeah, I'll just be playing solo sax: by myself."
Then there was this funny echo thing that happened. The host said, "You're gonna play by yourself?" to which the bartender, who I guess was listening in on our conversation immediately added, "He's gonna play by himself?!" He also added a "Pretty wild. Pretty wild."
I've come to expect this kind of response. And I can completely understand the weird looks. I mean, I myself would probably be pretty nervous as an open mic host having a solo wind instrument play a few songs. I guess it could be either really bad or really good. Not a lot of room for in between.
One other thing I've come to expect and enjoy when I play these open mics, is the silence that comes after I start doing my saxophone beatbox thing. It doesn't necessarily mean people are speechless or anything. It's probably mainly that they're taken a little by surprise and aren't really sure how to react, at least for a little while.
So I thought I played fairly well, and the crowd response was pretty good at first. Although by my third solo sax tune I think the novelty had begun to wear off a bit, and I'm starting to think about catching that 77 Bus back to the Red Line before it stops running. When I end, the applause isn't quite what I was hoping for, but hey, at least the host and bartender told me they were really impressed.
So no new amazing contacts or gig offers from this open mic night for me. But hey, maybe at least the next time I show up at Moe's, the host will ask a little bit more enthusiastically, "So are you gonna play by yourself again?"
I came for sort of a "Two for One," as on Sundays Moe's has a jazz jam session followed by a typical open mic. Most people would probably do one or the other, as it's pretty rare for pop musicians to sit in at jazz jam session and even more rare to hear any kind of jazz at an open mic, which is usually just singer/songwriter stuff (AKA singing guitarists). I myself am trying to do a bit of both worlds, so I planned to come early and stay late for both things.
The jazz jam was really great, as the musicians were all really easy to talk with and 'hang.' I exchanged a couple of business cards and cell numbers (remember, it's ALL about the connections) and had a good time playing some traditional jazz.
After that all the jazz musicians left and a bunch of new people came in for the open mic. As per usual, I signed up on the sheet and waited my turn. I told the host running the event that I'd be playing the sax. So as the singer/guitarist before me was ending his few tunes, the host got out his bass guitar and asked what I wanted to play. I guess he was trying to be nice by offering to play with me, because seriously, a single wind instrument playing by itself is not usually the kind of thing an open mic crowd at a "dive bar" wants to hear.
So I told him, "Oh yeah, I'll just be playing solo sax: by myself."
Then there was this funny echo thing that happened. The host said, "You're gonna play by yourself?" to which the bartender, who I guess was listening in on our conversation immediately added, "He's gonna play by himself?!" He also added a "Pretty wild. Pretty wild."
I've come to expect this kind of response. And I can completely understand the weird looks. I mean, I myself would probably be pretty nervous as an open mic host having a solo wind instrument play a few songs. I guess it could be either really bad or really good. Not a lot of room for in between.
One other thing I've come to expect and enjoy when I play these open mics, is the silence that comes after I start doing my saxophone beatbox thing. It doesn't necessarily mean people are speechless or anything. It's probably mainly that they're taken a little by surprise and aren't really sure how to react, at least for a little while.
So I thought I played fairly well, and the crowd response was pretty good at first. Although by my third solo sax tune I think the novelty had begun to wear off a bit, and I'm starting to think about catching that 77 Bus back to the Red Line before it stops running. When I end, the applause isn't quite what I was hoping for, but hey, at least the host and bartender told me they were really impressed.
So no new amazing contacts or gig offers from this open mic night for me. But hey, maybe at least the next time I show up at Moe's, the host will ask a little bit more enthusiastically, "So are you gonna play by yourself again?"
Open Mic at Moe's Tavern (Pretty atmospheric, huh?)