I am hosting an open mic later today. It seems like the perfect time to revisit this post about open mics and explosive diarrhea.
(Originally posted February 10, 2023)
When I was starting as an entertainer, I played a lot of open mic nights. I’d pull up to a coffee shop in a town that I’d never visited before. I’d go inside, order a regular cup of Joe, find a table, and promptly go get sick in the bathroom. I would get violently nervous every time that I tried to play in front of people. There are some quaint establishments to which I can never return on account of what I did to their bathroom.
I’ve played a lot of music in front of a lot of people since those days. I don’t get nervous anymore. A healthy level of tension is required to perform but I no longer get sick before I play.
I attended an open mic this week and I got nervous. It was my first open mic night in a long time. I didn’t have a full-blown case of “nervy-poos” but it was the most nervous that I’ve been in a long time. It may have been flashbacks to the old days but I think it’s probably just the nature of an open mic night.
Playing an open mic is hard. If you are playing a three-hour set, you can get in the zone and play a lot of songs. You have plenty of time to try, fail, and recover. At an open mic, the room is full of other people who are there to also play music. Within the span of three songs, you have to convince the room that you belong.
Open mics are hard but they are a great way to find out who you are as a performer. And the nervy-poos are proof that what you are doing is important.