Panting and sweating a bit too much for the chilly November night, you’ve just completed the trek up 54 steps to the Tabler Arts Center. Either you’re really craving Dunkin’ Donuts or you’re on your way to campus dining’s Open Mic Night.
Even if you only came for the donuts or a cup o’ joe, staying for the third Open Mic Night this semester is definitely worth your time. However if you didn’t arrive early, finding a seat is a challenge. By 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 11, there was standing room only. Students were assembled in clusters at the round tables, by the windows, the floor, and basically anywhere that was available.
Just because you may not have any musical talent doesn’t mean you can’t perform at Open Mic night.
Some biochemical engineering majors played guitars and sang a musical comedy. A lone guitarist, announced as David Lee, simply walked onto the stage and without saying a word sat down and strummed a complex song for about five minutes. The crowd was stunned into silence by his talent, and when he left the stage just as quickly as he had begun, students burst into loud applause.
Other notable acts from the evening included a duo from the High Cs, a student acapella group. The two singers, both dressed in purple pants, sang their rendition of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”. The High Cs have performed on campus several times, including at the homecoming Seawolves Showcase.
One particularly remarkable act was the set played on the keyboard and sang by Kyle Manley, a tall athletic-looking senior who is a computer science major. When he played, a hush fell over the room and the groups of students who were until then involved in their own little tête-à-têtes turned and sat up. Everyone was trying to see the figure on stage in the café coaxing rich music out of his keyboard with fervor.
Manley is no stranger to the Tabler Art Center’s Open Mic Night. The last open Mic on Oct. 20 he beatboxed, something he says he is, “still experimenting with.” He also gave a concert at Stony Brook last year on April 20. He mentions that he “wasn’t sure if [the show on 4/20] was supposed to be a coincidence.”
The last Open Mic Night of the semester will take place in December. Don’t let those steps discourage you from attending.
