Both types of mics have positive and negative aspects, but both allow the comic to work on material that they will use when they are booked on a show. Open mics are basically the sandboxes of comedy. And sometimes sting just as much as the neighbor kid Keith who threw sand in my eyes in first grade. He quickly found out you do not mess with Bill Graue’s daughters.
I’ve not been to a lot of open mics in the past couple years mainly because COVID killed many of them and the fact that I am a 44-year-old lady with three jobs who has to go to bed at 9 p.m. Bar mics can be dicey. Open mics can also be full of just comedians who have heard your joke six times already, which isn’t the best feedback to get.
But an opportunity presented itself, so I took it.
MidDay is an amazing coffee shop and cocktail bar that took over the Patterson Boulevard location that used to house Ghostlight. I was talking with the owner Greg while dropping off my student magazine The Clarion, and we decided to try a comedy open mic night.
The anxiety was real for me. I’ve performed at open mics and produced booked shows with just three or four performers, so this was new. I’ve heard horror stories about running open mics from many friends. You might not know who the people signing up are or what they might say and do on stage.
I once saw a guy in rainbow pants named Puke ramble and bomb for five minutes straight at Wiley’s Sunday open mic. His mic was cut off and the audience was yelling at him to get off stage, and then he did because he actually fell off the stage into the audience. The video does exist on YouTube.
But the venue was perfect, and I knew some of my comedian friends would support me. I was right. Some of them signed up and killed. In all nine comedians performed, including myself. The space was intimate and inviting.
There was a couple with a baby there. I don’t think the baby was offended at all. I told the parents there would be adult content, and they looked at me and said, “It’s a baby.”
I was just covering all my bases! I teach college kids, and I’m still terrified to say anything offensive in front of them for fear of retribution.
I know there are things I can improve on as a host, so I am hopeful that there might be another MidWeek Laughs at MidDay soon. However, I would like to highlight some of the many comedy open mics in Dayton and the surrounding area. Comics need an audience, and you never know what random famous comic might stop in.
Laugh Riot Girl open mic round-up
Sunday
- Biweekly 8:15 p.m. sign-ups for 8:30 p.m. show at Next Door Bar, 454 E. Fifth St.
Monday
- 8 p.m. sign-ups for 8:30 p.m. show at Oregon Express, 336 E. Fifth St.
- 8:30 p.m. sign-ups for 9 p.m. show at Ye Olde Trail Tavern, 228 Xenia Ave. in Yellow Springs
Tuesday
- 8:15 p.m. signs-ups for 9:30 p.m. show at Carmichael’s Pub, 3011 Wayne Ave.
Wednesday
- Every first and third Wednesday; 7:30 p.m. sign-ups for 8 p.m. show at Front Row Bar & Grille, 2412 Catalpa Drive.
- Every second Wednesday; 7:30 p.m. sign-ups for 8 p.m. show at The State Theatre, 19 S. Fountain Ave. in Springfield
- Every second and fourth Wednesday; 9:15 p.m. sign-ups for 9:45 p.m. show at Teapot Café Lounge, 146 E. Third St.
Thursday
- 6:30 p.m. sign-ups for 7 p.m. show at Troll Pub, 216 Wayne Ave.
- 8 p.m. sign-ups for 8:30 p.m. show at Nimbus Comic Café, 486 E. Main St. in Trotwood.
- Sign up from noon to 6 p.m. online at www.barrelhousetap.com until the slots are filled for 7:30 p.m. show at The Barrel House, 417 E. Third St. This mic also includes music.
- 9 p.m. sign-ups for 9:30 p.m. show at The Escape, 36 W. Sugartree St. in Wilmington.
Friday
- Sign up online at www.brickyscomedyclub.com for 7:30 p.m. show at Bricky’s Comedy Club inside of Star City Brewing, 319 S. Second St.
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