Marion Kimble
Despite a low student turnout, the recent Open Mic event sponsored by the Associated Students Organization had those who did attend nearly falling out of their seats.With its “paint your own theme” theme, the night began a bit haphazardly, as hosts going by the aliases Stylus and Mathematic goaded audience members into working up the courage to share anything with the crowd.The first performances were from various students who decided to share poetry. The crowd gave each act a lull of applause and the night went on.The mood changed for the fourth act as guitarist and singer Mitchel Ramos took the stage and shared his version of Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” sending the audience into a fit of cheers as they clapped and sang along. Ramos followed with his rendition of R.E.M.’s “Yellow,” which received a similar roar of approval. He ended with a round of background music for Stylus as he tried to find someone to follow Ramos’ act.Other notable performances came from Kenisha Bell, whose stand-up act drew a crowd with jokes ranging from “white girls on MySpace” to “how scary black girls with blue contact are”, as well as the much anticipated lyrical styling of Tessa Moss, ASO president, who was all but forced to sing by senators Kat Souto and Sallay Manah.The night was a fair success as attendees left smiling, even if they were few. There was no admission fee, and performers were given $3 coupons for the Freudian Sip. It’s not better than a movie, but a student with a free Thursday afternoon may do well to check out the scene and maybe even share something – even if just to score a free bag of chips.Open Mic nights are scheduled for the second and fourth Thursday of every month, courtesy of the ASO.
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