Jazz and Jokers Doesn’t Charge
There’s this new club called Jazz and Jokers. I went there for their Wednesday open mic. I did a set, but there was no crowd. I don’t think it’s worth mentioning. I video tapped but I’m not going to put it on.
The comics feel like the place needs to promote. Obviously the place thinks comics need to bring people to see them.
Most comics don’t have that many friends that aren’t other comics, and even the ones that do have trouble getting their friends to come to shows eventually because they’ve seen them already. The other thing is, at an open mic, you want to try out new material, and personally, I’d much rather do that in front of strangers than in front of my friends. It’s not a business model that I’ve seen work. Laughs Unlimited does it, but from what I’ve seen (and I could be off here) they don’t solely rely on that. A lot of people just like to go there for their open mic to watch. I suppose they’ve had their thing going regularly enough that they don’t need to promote it as heavily, but still.
So my argument is for the club to promote the show. Even if they only promote it to the comedians, which initially backfired when they tried charging the comics $5 to perform, and there still was no crowd. I don’t want to get a bad rap with the place for posting this. I just want to let them know that’s what my point of view is on it, if they even happen to read this or hear about it.
My thinking is, just because it’s only open mic night and you won’t make that much money off of it, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put money into promoting it. It’s just another night for people to find out about your club and the other shows you offer. Get them in cheap for the open mic night, and if they have a good time, they might be more inclined to come out on a bigger night too.
I don’t know. Anyway, comics reading this take note: no more $5 charge even if you read otherwise elsewhere (the signup sheet still said $5 when I was there, but the owner said it was bs, lol).