Sep

17

Planting some new roots… A review of Open Mic Night…

Filed Under Music, The history of me 

Before people even knew who I was in Orlando (not that anyone left there on the scene still knows me, but still), I did what every musician loves and hates: an Open Mic night.

I’ve described these with such distain and hatred in the past: you go to a bar and you play three songs, and maybe your friends are there, maybe not, but everyone around is drunk and doesn’t care about you and barely cares about their own friend who’s there. Sure, that’s a bleak and dismal picture of it, but because everyone has dreams of being famous and big and known, everyone makes a big deal out of it.

And I’ll admit, I’ve done the same thing. The whole day today (9/17), I didn’t really know if I wanted to go or not. I didn’t know if I wanted to play tonight at the one at Memphis on Main. I knew that I wouldn’t know anyone in the audience, and I didn’t tell anyone from work that I’d be going there at all. If I were to go, I wanted it to be me doing this for me.

So, I left home around 7:45, and got there around 8:30ish. I took it slow because I wasn’t sure exactly how to get there. Even still, I got there in the end, and I met Jeremy Harper. Really cool guy with a heck of a voice and good playing style. As I told him, I’ve never seen anyone play “Blue on Black” in F. Very nicely done. And because it was a quiet night there, I got a little longer of a set. And I think I needed it:

Lucky - 7M3
Emergency (Fifteen)
Echo
Slide - Goo Goo Dolls
Growing
Don’t Stop Believing - Journey
Trying So Hard

A very upbeat and fairly fast hitting set, I settled into my rhythm just about after “Growing.” Yeah, it took me 5 songs into a 7 song set to slide into my groove. That being said, its not that I botched the other ones. I was playing on Jeremy’s guitar (because of a technical difficulty with equipment) and I was settling in…

Afterwards, I talked with him a little about the scene and how things are in town. It was good to have that sort of talk with someone who’s playing actively on the scene. And me? I definitely enjoyed it, no matter how sparce the crowd was. And the crowd enjoyed it. I got a few complements at the end.

We talked a little about open mics in the area and I remembered that Cowboy Monkey had one. Jeremy gave me directions, and seeing it was about a block over, I just walked. There, I met Mike Ingram and signed up to play third in the night. The actual open mic started around 10:30ish, and I took the stage just about 11:50, but I made the most of the old three song format:

Echo
Slide - Goo Goo Dolls
Trying So Hard

In Orlando, I wouldn’t be able to get away with sets like that being almost identical, but in a new place and space? I wanted to stick to the comfortable and familiar and keep it not only easy for me, but as a good introduction to who I am. To hit hard, and (hopefully) leave an impression. I don’t think I played the best that I could at either of them, I think that I’m still a bit rusty to be at that level again, but I do think that I gave them both very good efforts, and I feel good as a whole about just doing it. I needed to do that. I really did.

So, to anyone in the Champaign-Urbana area who might be reading this and who heard me tonight, I welcome your thoughts on it. I enjoyed being out and playing, and I enjoyed myself, and I hope to see folks and maybe meet some of you folks next week.

And this, is why I always keep trying so damn hard…

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    About The Site


    Thanks for stopping by, folks! My name is Adam J. Cohen, and I'm a guitarist/songwriter in Champaign, IL, recently relocated from Orlando, FL where I'm a UCF grad. Here, you'll find vignettes on my life, setlists from open mics and reviews, and whatever else crosses my mind. Enjoy!