Category: Open Mic (Page 1 of 2)

I’ve been to a few Open Mic events at my previous high school, and I’ve always been very impressed by the performers creativity and courage for speaking in front of a large audience. I held high expectations for my first Open Mic experience at Brooklyn College, and today’s performance certainly did not disappoint. From the singers and guitarists performing their original pieces to the writers reciting their poems and writings, each performer genuinely blew me away. The sincerity in their writing and their passion certainly showcase Brooklyn College’s talents.

Aside from the individual performances that I found highly impressive, I was also struck by how sympathetic and encouraging everyone were. From the group of friends sitting towards the back snapping away at their friends’ heartfelt performances to the general audience rooting on each participant, I was touched by how kind everyone was despite being total strangers. Though I witnessed the same kind of compassion at Stuyvesant, it was a tad different as the Open Mic community pretty much all know each other, and the population was much smaller, so we were pretty much acquainted with most of the usual performers.

Overall, I really enjoyed my first Open Mic at Brooklyn College. I cannot pinpoint the exact performance that I was most impressed by because all were amazing to me. However, the most memorable one was one student’s realistic skit/poem titled, “Robocop”. His passion and creativity are commendable, and I hope to see him again at future Open Mic events.

I really enjoyed myself at the Open Mic Event! I think it is a fantastic idea for people to get together and share their stories through poetry and music. I think the interns running the event did a great job as well. One thing that I noticed was that they did not allow late comers enter mid-performance and asked that they wait till the ending of the presentation. I really enjoyed the songs that were performed; I wasn’t sure whether it was a coincidence but all the people there who performed a song they wrote, they always had some sort of climax moment where their tone would become very passionate and emotional. I think they should have used the microphone however just so the lyrics of the songs can be heard above the passionate guitar playing. I loved all their performances nevertheless.

I never thought of Brooklyn College as a school for the arts. In fact, I didn’t know much about its students at all. Open Mic showed a side of Brooklyn College that I wouldn’t normally see while walking around the campus – that these students were so rich in the humanities – so poetic, so profound, and so talented!

I enjoyed all of the singing performances because each one showcased a different genre, with the singer putting their own touch and spin on the song. Some were familiar, while others were refreshing and introduced me to new songs. I was even more impressed by the original songs. One of the singers was rocking his long hair, and a few others put their whole body into the song too. It sometimes worries me when people shake their head too much while singing (like Taylor Swift does) because I heard it makes you lose brain cells. It does, however, make the song more interesting… Is that a reasonable trade-off?

Two performances were my favorite. The first was the girl who had a very smoky voice, who played on the guitar while she sang. Her voice was angelic and it matched her genre so well. Even though the song and style was characteristic of that genre, I enjoyed it nonetheless. I really enjoy that soft, mellow music sometimes. It sounds very calming, innocent, and sympathetic. Also, I really liked her outfit.

The second was the young man who performed his original poem using a dance. It was called “Robocop.” Especially with the recent protests about police and racism, it was scary to see that police can be programmed to harm certain people. He compared the government to a conspiracy who was out to kill people with dark skin color, which is extreme, but I can definitely see why some people would relate to that perspective.

Thank you, Professor Natov, for organizing this event and showcasing a different side of Brooklyn College.

Going to see the performances at the open mic was different because I did not know what to expect. I have never attended an open mic before and I just expected students to sing or show a talent. I was gladly surprised when I saw such a variation of performances.

There were performers that made me feeI that this meant a lot to them, and they had such passion in their voice when they spoke or sang. I loved the Robo-cop performance because it was different and it drew my attention without ever making me think any of it was boring. Although the words had a powerful message, the performance and the form in which was delivered made it a jaw-dropping act. I knew something was great when I would feel goosebumps crawling up my arms and down my back. I loved that feeling, and especially how all the performers supported each other when they performed and it was interesting to watch how they had such an amazing connection with each other. Especially if some of the performances had negative feelings, like when the girl read her poem about her insecurities, the next performer told her that she was beautiful and amazing. It was a very touching moment to see that a stranger would do that because in N.Y.C we see many people with the mentality that is self-centered and all about them. I was also really happy to see an alumni come in to perform, it touched my heart to see someone come in and actually still be part of the college even though they graduated many years ago.  It was a moving and touching experience.

Brooklyn College has so a ton of diversely talented students. I hope to see open mic grow and other alumni come in to perform.

I thought the different variety of poems were great. There were poems about romance, poems about racial issues, poems about humanity, and poems about mundane everyday things. There were also songs that were composed by the students that expressed their inner turmoil of their lives. My favorite poem was about how people were actors and God was the screenwriter. The poem was blunt with undertones of tragedy and comedy. God wrote life (“the play”) and the people He created were acting out in this “play”. I thought it was an interesting perspective of God’s relationship with human beings. It wasn’t essentially from a religious point of view but more of a philosophical point of view. There was always that analogy that humans were actors and that they were acting on a stage but it was the first time that God was part of the play. In some ways, the poem humanized God and gave Him a character. God was no longer an outsider and that just observed. He was part of the play of life.

It was as if the performers (especially the poets) used the cords of their hearts as pens with blood ink. Some of them quickly flung out their words, a few deadened the tone of their voices to lessen the emotional vulnerability of their pieces. But most of them lifted their chins and rooted their feet in the ground, as if to say “This is who I am; this is what I feel.” It was great.

The types of responses I heard from people after the Open Mic made me glad that this was a required event for our seminar class (and other seminar classes) to go to. If you’re not used to honest, deeply felt writing, you can feel shocked, even repulsed by it. Too vulnerable, too depressing. But as people become more and more exposed to such writing and performance, the beauty of it becomes more apparent and its execution more comfortable, therapeutic, even.

Open Mic Review

To be honest, I was not expecting the amount of people who came and was certainly not expecting the amount of people who stood up in front of a room of strangers to voice their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It was quite a spectacle that more people should see, but at the same time, I think the intimacy of the smaller crowd contributed to the speakers’ candor. There were many different people there with a variety of writing styles. The pieces presented were songs, performances, and poems.

For me, the most thought-provoking and awe-inspiring pieces came from the people I least expected. One on my favorites was the “Robo-Cop” performance which focused on racism. I could not take my eyes off the performer as his facial expressions and voice changed with each character he portrayed. Another one of my favorites came from the girl who had her heart broken by a boy and kept wondering what was wrong with her that made him break up with her. Was it her hair? Was it her laugh? I related to this piece a lot and had the same thoughts run through my head at a point in my life. She put words to the feelings and thoughts I had.

As I listened to everyone’s pieces, I wrote down some quotes that sparked my interest. These included:

“When the sky turns black, why is it that I feel blue?”

“It’s always good to know that someone cares about you.”

And my personal favorite,

“God hasn’t promised tomorrow so how can we promise forever?”

The Open Mic event was an excellent showcase of the writers, poets, and musicians of Brooklyn College. There were a variety of pieces and each person delivered his/her own piece in a unique way. The atmosphere of the room was welcoming and judgment free, allowing the performers to deliver their pieces from the heart. I enjoyed the upbeat “RoboCop” performance in which the performer animatedly conveyed the powerful message of police violence and racism. The energy of the performance caught everyone’s attention and drilled in the message of the piece. Another piece I enjoyed was the powerful reflection on death and remembering a lost loved one. The flow of the piece, beautifully chosen words, and heartfelt deliverance of the piece truly struck everyone with the power and emotion of its message.

The open mic event was a pleasant and receptive forum for aspiring writers (and some musicians) to share their work. One of my favorite performances was the spoken word poetry “Robo-Cop” piece. Until the poet started his routine, he seemed perfectly casual and about to calmly recite his chosen work like the rest of the performers. But then suddenly his arms jerked and froze and glided in robotic movements, and his face changed as he took the roles of several voices in his story. He was lost in another reality, and for the few minutes that his performance lasted, the audience was lost with him.

Another performance that I really enjoyed was a duet sung to the accompaniment of a strumming guitar. What astonished me was the smoothness and professionalism that the performers demonstrated in their singing and guitar playing. They sounded as if they had trained their voices for a long time. It was also pleasant to watch them because they genuinely seemed to be enjoying themselves. As they sat together perched on a piano bench singing, they looked relaxed and happy and pleased to be doing what they were doing.