Last Saturday night kicked off the first Open Mic Night of the new semester at SUBOG's Live at the U! Saturdays. A large variety of acts appeared throughout the night, ranging from singers playing guitar and piano to stand-up comedians and more. The atmosphere of the show was that of an intimate cabaret, with refreshments available at the back of the lobby and the small tables dressed up with mancala bead-like decorations.
Kristin Errett, a pianist and singer-songwriter notable for winning last semester's WoodSongs competition on campus, started off the evening with a completely original four-song line-up. Errett's set included the debut performance of "Elephant March", completed just three days before the Open Mic. Her palpable passion and poignant, thoughtful lyrics characterised each piece. She was followed by Kerri Biesner, a folk guitarist and singer with a likeable country twang, who covered "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus and "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain.
The flow of the evening changed abruptly with Rachel Shenyo, a grad student who read from a self-written account of her life growing up in small town Pennsylvania. Her sometimes off-beat but always entertaining story was reminiscent of Garrison Keillor's homespun tales featured on the radio program "A Prairie Home Companion." Next, John Valin brought the evening back to music with some contemporary soft rock music covers on guitar, including "Daughters" by John Mayer and "Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson, as well as one original piece, "Come Home Soon", highlighted by his yearning, sensitive vocals. Due to the unexpectedly fast pacing of the show, guitarist/vocalist Douglas Murphy had time to play an extra-long 40-minute set of songs. His overall theme was folksy rock cover songs. He integrated some complex guitar picking into most of the pieces.
The night drew to a close with several stand-up comics, including Jake Lucas, who tested their material to great audience delight. Some additional musicians performed afterwards.
About 30 people were there at the start of the event, but soon more people shuffled in after hearing the music resonate through the corridor. "I just heard about it from my friends," said Elana Quiroga, a 3rd-semester biology major. "But I would definitely come again; the variety was great!"
Live at the U! Open Mic Nights are from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the Student Union Lobby and occur on the 2nd Saturday of every month throughout the entire academic year.
Be the first to comment on this article!