We’re not much for text driven posts but wanted to pass along the LA Times article on open mics in Los Angeles.
Some clubs around the country still use the open mic as a way of filling the room on an off night, but the open mics in LA have always been about the talent. We used to run weekly open mic showcases while booking the Improv a few years back so the article is interesting on a couple of fronts. For starters, the open mic hasn’t changed that much in the past couple of years except for one minor detail…this little thing called the Internet. We were just thinking the other day about the 450 VHS tapes crammed into our office and the fact that YouTube wasn’t even invented yet. If it was, one could argue that the Internet is its own version of the open mic and these live shows should merely function as showcases. But open mics still exist for a reason, and that’s because in its purest form, it functions as the heartbeat of a club – this odd mix of second chances, first-timers and those who just crave attention.
So is the LA open mic less important now because bookers can figure out if someone deserves a spot within the first 60 seconds of watching a clip? Not necessarily, because at the end of the day, the open mic is live comedy in its rawest form and is what makes the job so special when an unknown comic all of the sudden becomes one to watch.
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