Belting out a poem

Last Friday night was a fun time. I went to the "New Poems Only Open Mic" at Kafe Kerouac. Had to pick up my daughter from work right at 8:00, so I ran a little late getting there. Would have missed the open mic altogether were it not for the graciousness of MC Scott Woods. (Thanks, Scott!) Not sure it was worth extending the night to hear a couple of crappy poems I was testing. Thank goodness a couple of other poets still had more they could/would read.

Got talked into heading down to Dick's Den for Circus of Cool's open mic night. I'd never been at one of Circus of Cool's events, and it turned out to be an okay event. They are a very nice jazz band in their own right, but they add to their night by allowing poets to hit the mic with them. Joanna, Louise, Paul and I showed up for it, along with some apparent Circus of Cool regulars.

I wasn't going to read anything, but I was inspired with a poem while listening to their music set. Louise's stomach was upset. She ended up leaving before the poetry started. Joanna Shroeder So, I hit the mic, too. Found myself belting out a jazz-inspired little ditty that worked out okay. I should have left at that point, but Joanna and I both had so much fun in the first round we decided to stay for a second turn at the mic with them. Worked out GREAT for Joanna. Me...? Not so much. It's not the same doing my regular poetry to music. Was pretty much a disaster--Joanna and Paul both knew it, but the crowd didn't. That was a bit fortunate.

Was interesting to watch the Circus of Cool regulars do their thing. I was pretty darned ready to go before The Extended Native American James Brown Imitation hit the stage. Needless to say, I was "outta there" as soon as that was done. The King would be proud, I suppose, to know that his 1960s/1970s legacy lives on.