The only way to go to an open mic is to go open-minded. What I immediately liked about the Ark was that it had a much more open atmosphere than more traditional open mic venues like coffee shops.
The emcee for the night drew 15 names out of a star-covered bucket and the first performer, Bradley, came to the stage. Dressed like any other run-of-the-mill Ann Arbor hipster, he explained that he hadn’t expected to play. Then he belted out two incredibly well-crafted songs on guitar, harmonica, and piano that sounded polished enough to be heard on the radio.
Not everyone who came to the stage was polished, but they didn’t have to be. A guitarist named Max belted out his original “Snow in July” that sounded great as a raw, unfinished sound.
One of the pairs of the night, Remington Taylor, performed using only the piano as an accompaniment to their voices, and they were magnetic. Their songs of heartbreak and romance was in the vein of Once and Begin Again, but without an acoustic guitar.
Which brings me to the caveat about this event: come expecting to hear a lot of acoustic guitar and heartbreaking ballads. One song was title “Heart Shattered Like My Bones”–about a boy of course. The girl who announced did so with a “haha it’s dramatic I know I didn’t really mean it–but seriously that’s how I felt” vibe.
Even though each performer only had eight minutes, seeing and hearing acoustic pieces again and again started to sound a bit repetitive.
Then a young strapping lad named Kellen Marceau took the stage and sang his original pieces “Your Boyfriend” and “What if We Broke Up and Zombies Came.” Think Zooey Deschanel writing a break up song except weirder–and funnier.
Overall, open stage is not a bad way to spend your night, especially when it’s raining outside and the cost of admission is only $2. If you’re going though, I recommend that you don’t play acoustic guitar.
