I’ve been writing and performing now for something like five years, so I feel I have some experience in gauging Open Mic audiences.

You can carve them into as many types as there have been gigs – each one in its own way different.  But I detect some common denominators (and it’s my piece) so I’m going to “compare and contrast” two broad types – Spoken Word and Mixed Acoustic.

At Spoken Word gigs people generally turn up for the poetry or prose.  This is evidenced by (usually) a quiet, set-aside room and moderate alcohol consumption if, indeed, the premises are licensed at all.  At Mixed Acoustic OMs the audience attend for a “night out”, to listen to the turns certainly, but also to chat with friends and lubricate this with quantities of alcohol you would expect on a night out.  It is invariably held in a pub and usually in its hub.

From this emanates further differentiation.  Because the one is a night out like any other quiz/pool/poker night, the audience is heavily weighted in favour of spectators.  At Spoken Word it is heavily weighted in favour of performers.  Indeed I have attended more than one Open Mic where every member of the audience was a performer.

This makes for a significant difference in tone.  At Spoken Word the audience is quiet, polite and respectful, “listening” (or, at any rate, waiting their turn); they applaud each act and are encouraging to newcomers.  It is safe.

At Acoustic Nights they couldn’t care less.  Conversations continue unabated among the audience, laughter erupts periodically, orders are shouted and the till chimes relentlessly.  If you are rubbish you will find out (in vino veritas).  There is no question, unlike Spoken Word gigs, that you will leave the evening with any false sense of worth.  Acclamation and declamation are direct and immediate.  As an example, at Spoken Word I have never had a drunken woman show her tits to me while I was performing.

It is the perfect arena (= bearpit) for discovering if your stuff is of any interest to anyone other than yourself.