Monday Night Open Mic, April 13, 2009

The vibe was good this past Monday. There were all sorts of little things that made it fun, at least for me. I saw some friends who hadn't been around in a while, met some new people who seemed pretty interesting, hosted an edition of the Sidewalk Talk Show, and got to see some interesting performers.

Perhaps the most interesting was someone who went by the name Awareness. He was wearing a mask the entire time he was waiting his turn. It was round and white and held on by a strap around his head. I thought for sure he would grow uncomfortable at some point and take it off, but the guy was hard core and kept it on the entire two hours or so he waited and through his performance. One of his songs was called "I Like Rare Form," about the band Rare Form, which Awareness seems to like (I haven't been able to locate a band called Rare Form, at least through searching the web, although there is a group called In Rare Form-maybe that's it). Anyway, Ben offered Awareness a show.

Some of the performers from throughout the night:

xpunkx-sounding a lot like a 1980s synthesizer band (songs: "Radio Reconditioning" and "Alien Dance."

Brooke Pridemore-(a new song called "Mouthful of Bees" and "The Year I Get it Right"--Brook mentioned that on Tuesday he'd be heading out on tour)

Master Lee-Accompanied by Brer Brian on trumpet and Touching You on guitar

Joe Bendik-promoting his tax day show ("Pay Day" and a cover of the Beatles' "Tax Man")

Christine--sang a very poppy tune to a recorded track

Coo-Although I'm very tired of hearing her song "If You See Something, Say Something," which she performs in a fake southern twang, Coo is at times brilliantly funny. On Monday folks were cracking up, particularly at her song about women enjoying themselves without male companionship. 

It had been a while since I'd presented an edition of the Sidewalk Talk Show, but I'd been thinking about asking the Brooklyn Tea Party to appear at some point and when I heard that three of the four roommates there were moving out it seemed the time was right. Although you probably already know this, Brooklyn Tea Party is the loft apartment shared by Rachel Devlin, Dan Costello, Brook Pridemore, and Michael David Campbell. When they moved in they built a stage and have been presenting shows on weekends for about two years now. I've always had a great time there and particularly enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and the intimacy of the shows. Since most of the folks who attend the performances are at least loosely tied-in to the Sidewalk community, there always seems to be a sense of comfort there--like being at a party with a bunch of good friends and good music.

Anyway, it was fun talking to Brooklyn Tea Party from the stage at Sidewalk. Of course when it was over I thought of about 10 other questions I'd wanted to ask, but that's the way it goes. From the comments afterward it did seem as if the segment helped introduce some folks to the place, which is continuing to present shows even after Dan, Rachel and Michael move out. Brook Pridemore is staying and will be carrying on with a new group of folks.

Oh, usually I start the Talk Show with a recording of the Sidewalk Talk Show Theme Song, which, coincidentally, was recorded at Brooklyn Tea Party. But this time the recording was unavailable so Brer Brian jumped in and played it on the piano after I hummed it to him a few times. Thanks Brer.