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[jay-ell]

Congrats, Inev! I knew you were a smarty #####.

(We are perfect-verbal-score buddies.)

[Choop]

i had a perfect score in the english section of the ACT. does that count?

[theinevitable]

No logic.

I also got a perfect score on the National Latin Exam in high school. They came and gave me a plaque. Awesome. What a cool high schooler I was.

[Carlos del Vaca]

Had an interesting time at an open mic last night. We've been looking for different places to play, so we went to this sports bar/restaurant that does a thing on Wednesdays. When we got there, there were four high school lookin' girls singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" with a piano accompaniment. Some other kids and what looked like parents in the audience. We found this a tad unusual, and debated whether we should stick around.

But the guy who was running the show walked by us, and I asked "Is your crowd always this young?" Turns out he was from the "School of Rock" in the same shopping center, the high school girls were from another such program and just wanted a place to perform, so he'd invited them to their open mic for grins. No, the crowd was not normally that young, and a lot of the regulars were fellow music teachers. And of course when he found out we played, he was all "Awesome! You should play tonight!"

So we hung around, listened to some of the regulars after the high school girls left, did three songs, and it was generally pretty cool. One of the high school girls sang Bon Iver's "Skinny Love" which is an interesting (and good) selection.

Our experience has been that open mics are either really well, established and so packed that if you don't get there early you're playing after midnight, OR have just a few people showing up, so when they get fresh blood they're real excited and want you to come back every week.

[doomglobe]

I am terrified of open microphone nights.

[wombat]

As performer or audience?

[Carlos del Vaca]

I am terrified of open microphone nights.

Most of the time, people are really supportive of each other. There don't tend to be a lot of flat-out spectators, the people there are all there to perform, so everyone claps politely as a bare minimum.

As a spectator, yeah, it can be frightening. Usually you get the gamut from "Dang, that's actually really good" to "Well, it was brave of him to want to get up there, I guess."

[doomglobe]

As performer or audience?

Yes.

Most of the time, people are really supportive of each other. There don't tend to be a lot of flat-out spectators, the people there are all there to perform, so everyone claps politely as a bare minimum.

As a spectator, yeah, it can be frightening. Usually you get the gamut from "Dang, that's actually really good" to "Well, it was brave of him to want to get up there, I guess."

Polite clapping makes it even scarier. I'd rather enjoy total silence than that condescending clap without any cheering that only serves to mark the end of my soul exposure. At least silence would break from the norm, show that they were confused or horrified, unable to tell if I was finished or even hopeful that I wasn't. I don't need the discount claque, I need feedback, and at an open mic I'm sure to not get it unless I am exceptional. Terrifying.

In that respect I feel like I am on the spot the whole time, expected to perform even as an audience member, and if I act the way I want my audience to act, I am sure to offend, but maybe I'll get the response I want. If I act the way I think they want me to act, I'll only get that same lie I've given them, whether I deserve it or not. It's like spending a whole night making small talk with my parents' friends.

[AugustWest]

Sweet. I got a perfect score on the logic section (do they still have that? This was like 1993). Let's find someone with a perfect math score and we can form The Ultimate Grad Student.

I had a perfect score in logic and math and a 790 in verbal.  To this I owe my lavish lifestyle.

[wombat]

I have no recollection of any of my test scores. Maybe it's time for you guys to move on?

[Choop]

sounds like somebody didn't get a perfect score on any section

[littlefallsmets]

Open mic nights are... the best thing.

Embrace shamelessness!

[Arachno-capitalist]

Open mic nights are... the best thing.

Embrace shamelessness!

I've done open mic. If you can embrace your shamelessness and tell a crowd your jokes for about 5 minutes, you're in. It's a great way to score free drinks without being a woman.

[theinevitable]

There is no good way to communicate "I'm sorry that you are upset that I made fun of you... what you were saying was so incredibly stupid that I thought you were joking."

I tried, though. Really, you can't call more than one everyday thing "fascist" in a conversation without seeming like you're kidding, right?

[pmcd9]

There is no good way to communicate "I'm sorry that you are upset that I made fun of you... what you were saying was so incredibly stupid that I thought you were joking."

Truly there is not.