The Summer Open Mic

By Lou Pastina

Three weeks ago, the summer Open Mic at Connolly’s debuted. Attendance has been fairly light, mostly due to the fact that it takes place on Tuesday nights and if you have to work the next day, it could make for a tough Wednesday. But if you were lucky enough to be at these sessions, you would have been treated to a musician’s workshop of sorts. You see, a smattering of local talent has been playing, well mostly to themselves, not counting the red-headed marathoner from Beach 127th Street who shows up each week. There have been some terrifically talented musicians playing deep cuts that they would not normally play with their larger bands. And there is another great group of musicians who come and play, and this is the only place they play. All very talented and fearless, they get up and put themselves out there for all to hear and judge. But the thing about this Open Mic, run by the Squidmeister of the multi-tenacled Squid franchise, Mr. Guy Nevirs, is that it is a supportive and inclusive community. No one judges, everyone who plays has an actively listening audience who are there because they appreciate live music, the Greenwich Village basement atmosphere of Connolly’s, and the opportunity to hang out with locals, far away from the weekend crush of down-for-the-dayers.

You can catch John Simonelli, Arturo Rivera, Mike McKenna, Mike Deladerra, Kristina Erickson, Squid and his talented wife, Karen, sometimes accompanied by percussionist Patrick Maloney; and let’s not forget the comedy section of this Open Mic, Hapeau, Mr. Robert Hauck. If you have never seen Mr. Hauck blow his conch shell, you are missing some of the mostly conchtastic comedy this side of the Atlantic. He has assured me that this season, his material has been completely updated and is better than ever.

In the past years, attendance ticks up after school has let out, and I would imagine this year will be no different, but even if you do work, I encourage you to stop by Connolly’s on a Tuesday night and be part of the community. I mean even if you don’t like the music, “Bay Watch” is on both TVs, and the frozen drinks are quite good, and the bartenders are very friendly. The stage itself, from the audience perspective is tiny. But there is something about sitting behind the mic that is thrilling. Each performer normally gets three songs, and sometimes there is a theme to the set and sometimes not. Performers sometimes play originals like Dan Newman and Mike Deladerra, and others play covers, but with their own distinctive style. You definitely will remember them, and then when you see some of these folks out playing with their larger groups, you might hear a tune that they workshopped at the Open Mic. I can tell you from experience, that no matter where you play, playing at Connolly’s on Tuesday night and hearing folks appreciate what you just created is a tremendously good feeling.

The Open Mic will run throughout the summer, and I am sure that many other super-talented musicians will drop in to play a tune or two; but it’s not just for the super-talented, it’s for anyone who has a song and wants to sing it. And for those in that category, they should feel confident that their song will be embraced. Mr. Nevirs creates a list each weekend and sign ups begin around 7 p.m., so if you want to play get there early and get on the list. The music usually kicks off about 8 p.m. or so. It’s a quintessential Rockaway summer experience, and one you don’t want to miss, hope to see you there!