Building the open mic in Takoma Park continues to be an uphill battle. Tonight’s challenges include : continued absence of the open mic from the Busboys and Poets mailing list (they don’t even bother sending out a mailer on the weeks of the open mic, generally, despite the continued insistence that they totally do…), and that THIS one is on the eve of one of the Democratic debates (which they ARE advertising) – so upon arrival there’s a lot of hurry and scurry around trying to make sure the televisions are working, which involves a LOT of running back and forth, fooling with remotes, and generally screwing around with the sound system while I’m trying to set up.
I probably shouldn’t say this, but it is with a general sense of relief that I look at my calendar and see only four more of these coming up. Those four will be fun (the people that DO show up make for a great show) but any situation in which you’re struggling AGAINST the venue to make an event a success is a no-win situation.
