Open Mic nights in Winnipeg

Gordie's Coffeehouse (Thursday)

 

Gordie's Coffehouse

Last Thursday I decided to go out for a walk in the afternoon. Although my left knee has been hurting I forced myself to gear up and sweat a little bit. By the time I got to Corydon Village, I said "It's time to check out some open mic". So I googled a thursday night open mic and found a "Gordie's coffeehouse open mic night". I rang the lady Lexx and booked a slot. 

 

Paul & Eli

I walked back quickly to the hostel, changed, had dinner and found myself boarding the bus 20 along Sherbrook Street right in front of the Salvation Army. I wasn't really sure which bus top I'd need to get off. All I knew was I had to get off somewhere near Johnson Blvd. Go figure. Well as expected, I missed my bus stop. It was cold, but good thing it wasn't snowing, so I didn't complain. Luckily it was just a few blocks away. :)

 

Lexx

I walked along Cobourg Street and noticed it was more residential than "happenin" for me. Then I saw an Anglican Church. Realized, the open mic was happening there. I went up the steps and found this little chapel that was converted to a music room. An in house piano with a small stage, couch around and a few quirky stuff hanging on the wall. the crowd was quiet and the feature artists "Mountain Prairies" were performing. I liked the vibe.

 

I appreciate smaller venues. It makes it more intimate and you know for a fact that these places would have muso audiences who would really listen to your materials. Everyone was local and I was the youngest. I felt safe. There was no alcohol served, just free coffee and tea. :) But that was good enough.

 

I finally met Lexx, who was this lovely lady wearing glasses and been organizing this open mic for years now. She was the host for the night and her husband Tom was the main sounds engineer :).

 



Big Dave

I was the fourth person to perform that night. Played 3 of my songs and found myself sitting in the front couch so I had better opportunity to take photos of the artists and listen to their songs. Eli was the talented Harmonica and Saxophone player of the night. He jammed with a few musicians. He played with Paul and then with Carrie. Big Dave was one of the highlights of the night. Apparently, Lexx told me he won one of the Winnipeg Blues festivals. That explained it. His voice, his stage presence and confidence.....full package workin' out the blues. Awesome stuff!

 

I also met Carrie who had a great jazz voice and played jazz piano too. She performed along with Eli. There was also Scott who played the guitar. He approached me after a while, and gave me a card. apparently he was running another open mic which was on a Saturday. So I said yes to that and had a chat with him.

 

At the end of the night when I was about to leave (catching a ride with Carrie), I realized Tom recorded my music. Man! eeek! I'd be able to get a copy this week :) woot woot! :)

 

Happy Mike's Open Mic (Saturday)

 

Eli, Paul & Jim

I was supposed to go on my own but Greg (from Nova Scotia) and Nir decided to join me for a bit. It was more convenient coz Greg had a car so we all headed down to Portage Avenue.

 

Happy Mike's was also the same concept as Gordie's. It was also in an Anglican Church. When we got there the feature artist was already done and the first open mic act started. I found Carrie and Eli at the door and introduced the guys.

 

Carrie & Eli

Jim was hosting the night, a friend of Scott's. Also a singer songwriter with a twist of sense of humour, one of his sons made it to the charts in Dunedin, New Zealand.

 

I got to borrow Jim's guitar, the Martin. I played my usual 3 songs and got off the stage. It was honestly intimidating to be on that huge stage, which was higher than the audience. I felt I can connect more with people if I was on the same level as theirs rather than on a huge stage. But anyway, the response was good. It was really funny when Jim introduced me as touring the world. It sounded like I was this musician promoting my album.

 

Carrie and Eli were the second to the last to perform that night. It was good to hear one of Carrie's old songs, Hush. I took a video as a remembrance. I bumped into Lexx and Tom that night too. And a couple more musicians who I met at Gordie's.