by BallardGuy
New Open Mic Tonight in Ballard
March 4, 2009 in Ballard Events by BallardGuy
Cafe Keffa (7001 15TH AVE NW) has Ballard’s if not Seattle’s newest and freshest open mic. The show is on Wednesday nights from 7pm to 9pm, with sign-ups at 6pm. There is no cover charge, but there is a very small drink minimum. All ages!
The venue has a very laid back java noir kind of atmosphere. It is intimate, so far with poets and acoustic musicians. The venue is unpretentious, and a nice getaway from the Market Street type of crowd.
The staff is truly hospitable and welcoming; quiet but animated. The MC, local upstart and self-described “voodoo-pirate entrepreneur” Jason DeLong gives the venue a theatrical flare, whilst giving a sense of welcome and equality to all patrons and performers.
This is a showcase of great local talent, and soon to be a hot scene. ONE TO CHECK OUT!
We’ve had three really rewarding shows at Cafe Keffa. Jason “Rabid Dog” DeLong handled the Master of Ceremonies duties for the first two shows, which were both well attended by patrons and performers. The shows were loose, informal. As a performer I felt comfortable. My birthday is Friday, and Jason graciously allowed me to host the show this past Wednesday, as I will from time to time. Attributing to the nice weather and the longer days, the audience was much smaller than the first two weeks, and at starting time the number of performers was 3-myself, Jason, and Dylan McKinney, a talented young poet who will be performing weekly at Cafe Keffa. But as it must, the show did go on. I had prepared some fill… a monologue centered on the question of whether or not Bob Dylan is deserving of a Nobel Prize for poetry. I think he is and I used the song, “Like a Rolling Stone”, as evidence to support my position. I ended my argument by reading the lyric in its entirety.*oops* I was informed later by the more erudite Rabid Dog that the dramatic or poetic reading of Dylan is considered most tasteless in the world of coffee houses and open mics, something I took to heart for about 10 seconds and then made a note to do as often as possible:)
I need not have worried about filling the show. DeLong’s beautifully chaotic noise, Mckinney’s deeply ordered rhymes of life and my sometimes poetic ramblings were filled out by a regular duo we have dubbed, “The Smothers Brothers”, and the guitar and vocal styling of Dan, another regular performer.The 2 hours zipped by and I closed the show with a poem I wrote to myself on my birthday 4 years ago. Thanks to Rabid Dog DeLong and Cafe Keffa for allowing me to be a part of Seattle’s newest open mic show, in this fresh, inviting venue.