Oct

30

Serving a few purposes in one shot… A law school open mic review…

Filed Under Music, The history of me 

First off, if you’re not reading this on the site, please head over there now. I’d like to thank two (three) people for this: Brian Gardner for such an awesome theme (and I’ll be tweaking it some more with widgets and side column items, but I like the functionality of it and readability of it) and Katie McAllister, my friend in the U.P. of Michigan for the awesome header (which comes from an awesome picture by my other friend, Karen Z) which will be updated soon when she’s helped me with a final design, but with a momentous night like tonight? I felt the switch over was warranted early…

So a “law school open mic review” eh? Not usually what you see up there, but I’ll preface this…

About a month or so back, my wife had gotten an e-mail about an open mic night that a girl at the law school was trying to organize. Knowing that I wanted to get more into the open mic scene on the town and to meet folks, my wife forwarded me the e-mail and so I was in contact with Miranda, the girl putting it all together. A few weeks later, I had a few e-mails coming in for people asking me to assist them by accompanying their sets. Sure, you know? Why not? I do whatever I can to help others when I can.

So after arranging songs with the other individuals and meeting them to practice (albeit, this bit I’m fibbing but the true story is between them and I), I was ready, secure, and confident for the night. And for both Anne and Miranda, I hoped that I had instilled confidence as well that I would do their songs right for them.

Me? I went on about midway through the night, roughly around 9:40ish according to my text message logs, and I played what might be my strongest set ever up here:

Echo
Slide - Goo Goo Dolls
Trying So Hard
Don’t Stop Believing - Journey

I felt a lot more personable with the audience and joked with a few folks there, but I’d like to note a few moments here that really made me feel good about this:
1) I dropped my pick not once but twice. The first time was in the middle of “Echo” and when I did? I recovered with my strong strumming and had no problem. But when I dropped it in the middle of “Slide” right before the picked outro? I saw a few guys in the audience eyeing me, wondering how I’d do it. I might have botched it a little, but I think I did a damn fine job cleaning it up.
2) During “Echo,” something happened that I’ve never had happen before: the entire audience clapped out the rhythm. Orlando, you have just been epic pwned. Thank you, Champaign. Made my night right there.
3) I got to rant about the intArwebs in the intro to “Trying So Hard.” Not worth repeating, but amusing.
4) “Don’t Stop Believing” was the crowd vote when given the choice of “80’s song versus 90’s song, and you must sing along.” The 90’s song? It would have been my “Free Bird/Semi-Charmed Life” cover.

I blended right back in to the crowd as well at this point. I’ve never been so alone in a crowded room. Amazing. Completely interesting to just watch everyone and to take it all in.

A few people later, I was backing Anne and did two songs with her for her set, and I think they went fairly well. For those keeping tally at home as to songs I’ve played behind a guitar at one point or another in my life:

Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard (from the movie Once)
The Story - Brandi Carlile

Very smooth set, I think I pulled off my part very well and Anne is a strong vocalist and her friend harmonizing with her on “Falling Slowly” did a good job, even though she had expressed concerns with some of the notes.

And my final part of the night was to back Miranda, who was dressed up as Alanis to go along with the three covers she was playing. How do you dress as Alanis? A long straight haired wig, leotard, and stockings, I guess. Or that’s what she did. And I just played:

You Learn
Ironic
You Oughta Know

And as a whole, I had fun. I enjoyed getting out and just playing and being around a lot of folks who were just friendly and fun. So thank you, law students of UIUC for the nice warm welcome and giving me your ear… Next Tuesday, Election Night, I’ll probably be taking a break from Memphis on Main again just to follow the results as they come in, but I’ll be back around soon live. I’ll update via bulletins on MySpace as to where I’ll be when…

Oh, and I’ll edit this post with some pictures, seeing there were some taken tonight and I asked the individual to pass me them when they get a chance, but until then…

Walking back to the car from Open Mic, 10/29/08

Walking back to the car from Open Mic, 10/29/08

And welcome to all of the new folks reading me for one reason or another… Please, stay around and enjoy the ride, and say hi!

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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!