Preparing for my first open mic night

CVDH

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Hey guys, I've finally worked up the courage to try one of the local open mic nights on Tuesday. I've picked four songs, which don't quite fill up the entire fifteen minutes, but I'm not sure if I should add a fifth song or not. Here's what I have so far:

Walkin' After Midnight (Patsy Cline cover)
Crazy (Patsy Cline cover)
Mister Prozac (Original)
Hold Me Now (Thompson Twins cover)

If things go well I could tack "Brand New Key" onto the end to finish on a silly note but I'm not sure if I want to do that. Basically I'm just looking for tips and advice from those of you who've tried open mic nights. I'd like to read about your experiences. I'm not entirely sure what to expect.
 
Hey guys, I've finally worked up the courage to try one of the local open mic nights on Tuesday. I've picked four songs, which don't quite fill up the entire fifteen minutes, but I'm not sure if I should add a fifth song or not. Here's what I have so far:

Walkin' After Midnight (Patsy Cline cover)
Crazy (Patsy Cline cover)
Mister Prozac (Original)
Hold Me Now (Thompson Twins cover)

If things go well I could tack "Brand New Key" onto the end to finish on a silly note but I'm not sure if I want to do that. Basically I'm just looking for tips and advice from those of you who've tried open mic nights. I'd like to read about your experiences. I'm not entirely sure what to expect.

Personally I would never end a set with a silly song unless you want to be remembered more as a "comedic songster." Begin the set with the song you are most comfortable with so you can jump out of the gate with a strong start. If you have a strong start people with forgive much later in the set. If you start weak it is very difficult to build from that.

If this is your first experience playing with a PA see if you can get a "sound check" or otherwise some kind of experience hearing yourself through a monitor. The first time you hear yourself through a monitor can be a shock and if you aren't careful you can end up "chasing your voice" trying to make what you hear through the monitor sound like what you are used to hearing when you sing/play.

Above all - have fun with it! There is nothing quite like the rush of singing/playing live in front of an audience.

John
 
Personally I would never end a set with a silly song unless you want to be remembered more as a "comedic songster." Begin the set with the song you are most comfortable with so you can jump out of the gate with a strong start. If you have a strong start people with forgive much later in the set. If you start weak it is very difficult to build from that.

John

Thank you, this is exactly the kind of honest advice I hoped for. I think I'll just play those four and vamp a little between songs. I am very confident about "Walkin' After Midnight" and that's why I'm playing it first. "Crazy" is a bit challenging for me at this stage but "Mister Prozac" is my best song; "Hold Me Now" has a tough chord but I can handle it.
 
4 songs is going to be enough for 15 minutes. That's only 3 and a half minutes per song. Do a little intro between songs and your time is gone. If its your first time then finishing a fraction early rather than running late will hold you in greater stead with those who are performing with you.

Anthony
 
You'll do fine. Practice your tempo, as most tend to rush through their songs when new at public performances. Make sure your ukulele is tuned before getting on stage. Most open mic's I've attended do not have monitors. There will be plenty of ambient noise at the venue. You will not here yourself. Practice set with a radio playing talk radio while you play and sing. This will help you get used to distractors. Most of all, have fun! :D Ric
 
Practice set with a radio playing talk radio while you play and sing. This will help you get used to distractors. Most of all, have fun! :D Ric

That's clever, I like that! I'm going to try that tonight.

Thanks for your advice, everyone. Keep it coming!
 
I haven't had the problems OldePhart's suggested doing a silly or humorous song at the end. If you've already shown in your early songs that you can do serious, it's not a bad thing to play a fun song at the end. Audiences will often go for that.

One thing I see a lot at open mic nights is that people will often sing too quietly, and semi-purposely let themselves get drowned out by their instruments because they don't like their singing voices. Audiences will be more interested in the vocal part of your performance, even if you're a very good player. Even if you don't like your voice, raise it and sing out loud and proud.
 
Even if you don't like your voice, raise it and sing out loud and proud.

This is a very good point. It's important to be on pitch at least most of the time :) but singing with confidence is even more important - especially if you don't feel confident! Like somebody said, "never let them see you sweat!"

John
 
That's one thing I always admired about my favorite band, New Order. Bernard Sumner was never supposed to be a singer and you can tell, but he belts it out loud and proud. Thankfully, I think the vocal part of my performance is the stronger part!
 
Question...I know brittni and Kalei etc can get by with instrumental songs due to big sound, PAs etc...but in a bar or coffee shop area, with ambient noise and a less than ideal PA, do instrumentals fly? Or are they just drowned out and lifeless?
 
Question...I know brittni and Kalei etc can get by with instrumental songs due to big sound, PAs etc...but in a bar or coffee shop area, with ambient noise and a less than ideal PA, do instrumentals fly? Or are they just drowned out and lifeless?
My experience has been that people will talk over instrumentals much more than they do over songs with vocals. I've written a couple of instrumentals that I love, but I rarely play them live.
 
Well, it went well, I think! Everyone's advice was really helpful. I had a friend take a few videos:



http://youtube.com/watch?v=__LZvDx8Fus

http://youtube.com/watch?v=feFZQU3qEHQ

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3aSmYkoIbEI

Tell me what you think!
 
Great job, man! On to the next show, eh?

Yeah, thanks! They really liked it and asked me to come back next week. I'm working on learning a new song and recording Mister Prozac to release as a digital download; everyone really seems to dig it!
 
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