I’d have to say that our community art project is coming along nicely and was the star of last week’s show. Also the face-painting, lots of fun with the faces!

We had some people sing songs, which are always nice… and one of my favorite people, Solomon came in and shared a couple stories from his career as a bouncer. T’was very informative. The theme this past week was, food, I believe. I read about making smoothies and Tabitha shared her own food-related bloggy… but it was not the one about the strange girl who knocked on her door once and only uttered the word, tomato a couple times. That’s one of my favorites!

The theme this monday is: Show and Tell. We are hoping our friend will show off her fabulous new tatoo, for that would be wonderful!

Bring something, show it, tell us why it’s cool- ’cause we’re in kindergarten again for a night!

Yes, Open Mic was a night of laughs for all, even the regulars and some bar stragglers were inspired to tell a couple good jokes. I am happy for the comedy, oh how much easier it makes my life to live!

Come join us next week at 15 SW 2nd Ave for another Myriad Monday at Bar XV! We want to see you: juggle, perform magic, read poetry, recite a monologue, tell stories, hurl jokes at us, dance a little dance and be merry!

Ginger Pets

your host…ess with the most…ess

Next week we have a theme and this theme is:  CATS AND DOGS, you can take this as literally as you’d like, feel free to go a little nuts with this one- tons of fun!

It just happened to be someone’s birthday again this week, not a regular, mind you- but some random Big drunk guy (we’ll call him, Big Daddy D) with a gaggle of friends and secret homosexual tendencies. CRAZY. So, I’m outside smoking a cigarette with my dear friend Carol when Julie shows up and we talkin’, It’s good. Then this crowd like a drunken RAT KING from the sewers of New York descended upon Bar XV. It was a Birthday. So, I corral them all into the Open Mic and tell them that they can run a little amok and have some fun.

Big Daddy D decides that since he’s the birthday boy he’s going to play the song, “Birthday Sex” on his cellphone, holding it up to the microphone so everyone can hear, which was not exactly entertaining… until Alain showed up.

Let me get one thing straight, Alain is one of my favorite people because if anyone’s a true sport, it’s him. Alain walks up to all six and a half feet of husky Big Daddy D doing a sexy booty dance on his birthday. I ask my friend if he’d like to dance with the birthday boy and almost before I finish my sentence, Alain is being picked up and dry humped by the Big Birthday Bonehead. Big Daddy D swung Alain around like a ragdoll and gave him dance herpes.

After all that hub-bub, I collected Big Daddy D’s friends and had them roast their buddy on his bday, and wildly entertaining stories ensued… Like them setting one of their landlady’s cars on fire during a halloween riot in Chico. Crazy! And then the bull tired out and left the building, wherein we proceeded with normal Open Mic poems, comedy, stories and drawing. It was a good night.

Next week’s theme for Myriad Monday is: Dreams. Your dreams, your friends’ dreams, your cats’ dreams. Dreams. See you all next week at Bar XV, 15 SW 2nd Ave Portland, OR

and that’s all she wrote.

We continued an art project that we started last week and it’s starting to take shape, I find the crayons really help people relax and get into the art. I’ll post a photo when we’re done.

Tabitha shared with us a story about how she got her first flat–tire, which spurned a series of similar auto-related stories from other participants. I told about the three times I crashed cars at under 20 miles an hour and how each time hit in just the right angle to total my engine. Sucked, but is wildly amusing in retrospect.

Alain shared a story of how his grandfather was in WWII and through a series both unfortunate and timely events led him to meet his wife, Alain’s grandmother. Very touching.

Next week’s Myriad Monday will be at the same place, Bar XV (15 SW 2nd ave) at the same time 10pm (sign-up starts then). The theme will be: Victory- Take it as literally as you like and remember that even though a victory may not be yours, that doesn’t make it any less entertaining.

Well wishes and Happy tidings,

PEACES!

Nitya Prem (host…ess)

As a special treat, I’ll be bringing in a book of my much anticipated Highschool poetry for your and my own sordid amusement. Really, this stuffs pretty funny.

Also, we’ll begin a new community art project. I’m thinking we’ll stick with crayons for the time being. We’ve previously played with paints, oil pastels, colored pencils and Sharpies, but crayons seem to be the least-imposing medium- which in turn, encourages more people to participate.

I’m also going to ask the owner of our fine establishment if he’ll let us hang the community artwork we’ve been doing for the last 6 months or so in the bar. I’d like that, I think you’d like that too!

Last week’s open mic was highly entertaining as the theme was: Story Time. We all shared childhood stories, ghost stories and tried just as hard as we could to scare eachother with tales from beyond the grave. I left tickled pink!

My apologies, as this is exceedingly late- Seeing as though I have spent the past week moving, I am sure forgiveness will be in all your hearts.

This past Monday was the third installment of our communal art project and I have uploaded said pictures. Tabitha (the wise and benevolent benefactor of communal canvases) and I have our sights set on an Art Show at some point in the sorta-distant future, in which we hope to raise money for… well, more art supplies so that our not-so-vicious art cycle will keep on rollin’.

We saw the return of many friends this week, and were equally delighted with fresh new faces. Although at a loss for some of the darker entrail-entailed poems by one particularly moving poet; we were tossed in our seats by the uproariously funny, albeit brief comic stylings of one Shane Torres. Additionally, Jesse Alison more than held her own as the female comedian of the evening regaling us on topics both familiar and less executed by her testosteroned counterparts.

I was also particularly grateful for the intelligence and soul of a late coming poet in the evening, one Mic (to my discredit, I do not recall what was his name in full, but MIC was on the sign up sheet and bears physical witness to the first portion of his title) he selected two pieces to recite which concluded the performances on a thought-provoking and hopeful note which was to steer the rest of my personal evening.

At the close of the night, I was accompanied by a number of pure souls upstairs to my well-missed abode for a little moving out soirée. Of this latest I have little to say except that the result of such a spectacular group of people is evident by the large oil-pastel mural which  was created from our all joining in revelry into the wee hours of the morning. This masterwork of art will be unveiled at the aforementioned Art Show that Tabitha and myself are in the works of procuring.

I wish you all well and look forward to seeing you next week!

]]> http://barxvopenmic.wordpress.com/2009/02/07/open-mic-recap-020209/feed/ 0 botticellibelle communal art 3 http://barxvopenmic.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/last-night-upstairs/ http://barxvopenmic.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/last-night-upstairs/#comments Mon, 02 Feb 2009 01:21:54 +0000 botticellibelle http://barxvopenmic.wordpress.com/?p=13 ]]>

Communal Art 2

Well folks,

it’s been an amazing, sordid, crazy, beautiful, awesome, scary, fulfilling two years for me living in the Western Rooms; but it’s time for me to move on… or rather, in with a couple dear (hospitable) friends of mine. As this will be my very last night living above the generous BarXV, it will be a very special Open Mic night indeed. We will have an extra-special evening (02/02/09)!

There will be communal artwork, once again as it has been a big success! Also, all the wonderous things you’ve come to expect from our little showcase. There will be poetry, stories, drunk people of all varieties, comedy, freestyling and (of course) my own wayward rants and tidbits as your (gracious?) hostess.

I will see you all there and hope you had a great Superbowl, it is Superbowl Sunday, right?

Most recently on Monday, the 26th of January we had a couple new-comers and our steady stream of regulars. Due to the more recent influx of comedians (god bless their happy little hearts!) I’ve started separating the evening, having the writers, etc. go first, comedians second and all miscellaneous/music/etc. go last. After all, nobody wants to pour their heart out in a very serious poem after someone’s been telling fart jokes for five minutes.

First Communal Art Experiment

The Visual Art at Open Mic night has taken a wonderful new turn since my friend Tabitha has started bringing canvas for participants to draw on using an age-old communal art technique that my father and I used to play when I was very young. Instructions are as follows:

1. Someone draws a “line.” Note that line need not be straight, just continuuous. As soon as the writing utensil has been removed their turn is over. The next person must start a new line, connecting it to one previously on paper. Turns are taken, switching between whomever is participating until it is deemed that the line drawing is finished. Note that said lines may cross over each-other, create pictures, nonsense, whatever.

Important! Make sure to rotate the picture every couple minutes so people don’t get too comfortable. This is supposed to create community and keep people on their toes.

2. After you have jointly created a pretty picture with all sorts of lines to be interpreted however you like, it is time for some coloring fun. This is where it turns into a free-for-all with all participants grabbing at markers, crayons, pastels, etc.  People are allowed to color over other people’s pictures as no picture within the artpiece belongs to anyone. This is community!

Important! Make sure to continue rotating the picture every five minutes or so because we don’t want people “claiming” sections of the artwork. This is everybody’s artwork

3. Admire, “oooh la la” to your friends and find somewhere suitably public to hang said fantastic new picture. These can turn out surprisingly well and I am including a picture of the first complete communal project for everyone’s enjoyment.

This has been the premier edition of Open Mic Recap and we hope to see you at our next event!

Every Monday night at 10pm, the earlier people arrive, the earlier we start. Bar XV, 15 SW2nd Ave, Downtown Portland, OR.