In case you were wondering...
Open Mic Etiquette
This was originally published in the summer of 2023 as a 4 part series in UFOREA Zine. Uxbridge and area's monthly source for what's happening locally in the world of arts and entertainment.
Written by Brian Wride, edited by Jessie Davis.
Whether you are
attending an open mic for the first time, or the thousandth, having
an idea of what to expect and what others might expect is never a bad
idea.
Open mics vary widely
in terms of the music you might hear, the people you might meet, and
the expectations of the participants and audience, but I have
compiled a series of guidelines that I think make open mics enjoyable
for the largest number of people.
The BEs:
BE friendly.
Introduce yourself to the host and to people around you –
especially if you have deduced that they are there for the open mic.
Open mics are full of creative introverts. Chances are, if you take
the initiative, you are going to meet some really interesting people.
If you are a regular and see someone you don't recognize come in by
themselves, invite them to sit with you. (But see the “no
creepiness” proviso below.)
BE the audience you
want to have. Be polite, listen, and read the room. Not everyone
at an open mic is there to perform or even listen to the music, but
having even a few attentive listeners makes a big difference to the
people up front who are putting themselves out there. As much as
possible, try to limit conversation to the breaks between performers.
BE ready. If you
know your time slot is coming up, make sure you’ve tuned your
instrument, and that you’re
fed/watered/washroomed/cigaretted/vaped well in advance – or wait
until you’ve finished your set.
BE respectful of
your time and/or song limit so that everyone gets a shot. On the
other hand, it never hurts to have a few more songs up your sleeve in
case it’s a slow night and the host invites you to play an encore.
BE present.
Linger after your set. Don't bolt for the next open mic in the next
town. Stick around, listen, network, et cetera. The exception is if
there are people waiting for a seat and you are finished eating and
drinking, then making way for someone else to enjoy the music is
probably appropriate.
BE positive - no
drama, self-criticism, or sulking. There are probably people in the
room who think that if you feel you did that poorly, then you must
think that they were appalling.
BE classy.
Another point of etiquette that not everyone agrees with, so you can
judge for yourself: it seems to be a general principle that you don't
announce gigs at competing venues over the mic. “I have some things
coming up that I would be happy to talk to you about,” or “Follow
my social media to find out what I'm up to,” are better approaches.
BE soberish. Go
easy on the alcohol and recreational drugs. No matter how much
confidence you believe they give you, I guarantee that your
performance will not be better in the long run, and once you get
beyond a couple of drinks, it will be markedly worse. Plus, you run
the risk of becoming a jackass (or a creep).
BE supportive of the
venue. The primary reason that most places have open mics is to
make money. If they are paying the host (and they should be), then
they need to make that investment back and more. I recognize that
many musicians no longer drink alcohol and that is to be commended,
but arrive hungry and order some food to go with your tea. Other,
less obvious ways to support the venue include inviting friends,
liking and following on social media, and being sensitive to the
demographics of their customers. For example, if it's a family
restaurant, keep it PG – even when you're not at the mic.
The Don’t BEs:
Don’t BE creepy.
Creepiness extends beyond hitting on people and proselytizing (no
matter how much better you feel after embarking on a strict
Vegan-Keto diet with intermittent fasting) and includes things like
inviting people to join your band within minutes of meeting them or
insisting too strongly that a newcomer joins you at your table.
Don’t BE negative.
Negativity breeds negativity, and that’s not why we’re here.
Circling back to Part 2 of the BEs: no criticism, self or otherwise.
Be kind to yourself, and when it comes to other performers, practice
being supportive even if they’re not your cup of tea. Everyone is
their own worst critic, and there are probably people in the room who
think that if you feel you (or the person you’re criticizing) did
that poorly, then you must think that they were appalling.
Don’t BE shy! If
you’ve come out to play at an open mic, you’ve come for a reason.
Maybe you want to try playing in front of an audience for the first
time ever, or maybe you’re looking to workshop some new songs. Some
musicians like to shake some of the dust off before a big gig.
Whatever the reason, own it! We’re all in this together.
Don’t BE a stage
crasher. Open mics vary widely in terms of how much collaboration
takes place. Some are pretty much a free-for-all, with everyone
joining in all the time, and some are almost entirely solo acts that
just want to do their own thing. Most land somewhere in the middle.
Always wait to be invited before joining in on someone else's
set. It's okay to say “Hey, I'd love to join in, if that's okay”,
but you need to respect the answer. If it's your turn, please don't
ever feel obliged to let someone join in. And don't feel obliged to
give a reason; “No, thanks” is reason enough.
[Editor’s
Rant: At one of the first open mics my guitar and I ever played, a
dude with a saxophone made himself at home during my FIRST SONG and
skronked away for so long that it went over my entire set time. I was
mid-song and didn’t know how to say “no” – and he likely
wouldn’t have cared anyway. The host was annoyed, I was annoyed,
and the performer after me was super annoyed. Don’t be that guy.]
This applies no matter
how good you are or how good the current performer appears to be. It
also extends to tambourines, shakers, tambourines, harmonicas,
tambourines, and any other instruments that you think might be
exempt – even (and especially*) if you are way, way back in the
farthest corner from the stage. Some performers don't even like it
when other people sing along, so proceed with caution.
Don’t BE a crasher
at all! In case you are wondering why you shouldn't play along at
the back of the room, here it is: Even though sound travels very
fast, it still takes time for it to get from the front of the room to
the back. As you play along with what is happening at the front, you
are actually several milliseconds behind even though it sounds great
to you and people nearby. The problem is that by the time what you
are playing gets back to the front, it is audibly behind the beat –
and therefore very distracting. So if you are going to
participate, please be on the stage or very close to it (and again,
don’t crash the stage unless you’re invited).
Open mics are a lot of
fun. If you are mindful of what makes them fun for other people, and
support the venues that host them and the artists that frequent them,
then your favourite open mics will grow and thrive and amazing things
can happen!
Brian Wride hosts open mics at
Castle John's in Port Perry on Tuesday nights
and at
The Corner House in Uxbridge on Thursday nights.
