1. The first thing to remember is barely anybody goes to an open mic to hear new music.
Most people are there to play their own music and pretty much anyone else there will have gone along to support a friend. That doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t pay attention to what you’re doing – it just means it’s a mistake to automatically assume they will.
2. Much of the reason for this is most open mics aren’t much fun. Typically the standard will be pretty low – ultimately most people who play open mics are either people who are just starting out and are yet to be gigging regularly, people who just aren’t good enough to get regular gigs and people who play for fun once in a while but don’t take their music very seriously. Do not expect to be blown away by the other acts.
3. Points one and two can be used to your advantage – after a few acts an open mic people are absolutely desperate to see something good – or at least something entertaining that’s holds their interest. If you can become adept at understanding what an audience thinks and what an audience responds to (which, as a musician playing on front of audiences, is a skill you almost certainly should develop) then you can visibly notice the change in reaction in the room when you play. Open mics are the perfect opportunity to develop your skills on performing in front of audiences (performance will be expanded upon as the next topic in this series)
4. Whatever your reservations are about populism and playing to the crowd it’s nonetheless useful to learn how to do it, even if it’s only to reject it and do something else later. Do initially work towards getting a positive crowd reaction.
5. Once you’ve played at an open mic for a few weeks and hopefully got the regulars looking forward your set, try to use your set as an opportunity to test crowd reactions to different changes in style and mood in both your performance and songwriting. Experiment with how far you can stretch it before you lose the audience completely, then try to think about what caused you to lose the audience and test whether you can stretch things further next time whilst keeping the audience on-board
6. Always remember open mics are not gigs but opportunities to test material. If you know a song well and know it gets a good reaction then there’s little be gained playing it again and you should try some new material instead. Never get yourself into a position where you’re playing the same song week in, week out – you’re clinging to your existing ideas and there’s no way you’ll develop and improve by doing that.
7. If you do find other musicians whose songs you like and who appear to like your songs too then try to build friendships with them and start going to open mics together. For one thing open-micing can be a lonely and depressing experience – you need all the friends you can get. Secondly the aim is that in a few months’ time you’ll be a regular gigging musician and perhaps they will be too. As you both develop you can share contacts and widen the opportunities for both of you.
8. Ignore all open mics that bill themselves as showcases or claim they’re attended by the ‘industry’. A & R men and music journalists have shit load of bands recommended to them they don’t have sufficient time to check out. They’re not going to be hanging about the Dog & Mango on the off-chance someone brilliant will wander in.
9. Take time to try out different open mics and find the one that suits you. In the early stages, before you start gigging, you should be looking to play two or three open mic nights on a semi-regular basis. Open mics that do have opportunities to progress to actual gigs can be particularly useful but, nonetheless, only keep coming back if you’re comfortable with the people, the environment and the person running it – otherwise shop around.
10. Eventually you’ll hopefully get to the point where everyone at the open mic knows who you are and eagerly anticipates your set each week. It’d be nice to stay and bask in the glory but this is the point when it’s time to leave. You’ve achieved what you set out to do and it’s time to begin actually gigging…
