Open Mic Sessions for Expats at Woodstock
By John Redmond
Contributing Writer
For the past six years in Seoul’s popular expatriate community area, Itaewon, local pub Woodstock has been host to open mic sessions every Sunday evening, kicking off around 8 p.m.
For those familiar with how an open mic session works the process is simple.
These sessions are evenings where songwriters, musicians, poets and comedians, on a first-come-first-play basis, get the chance to perform their material in front of an audience consisting of their peers and whatever crowd happens to be at the venue.
Performers are generally given a time slot of around fifteen minutes ― enough time for about four songs, or a few poems ― in which they are completely in charge of their output.
The obvious advantage of this system is that everyone gets a chance to share their material with the audience, unless all the time slots have been taken.
Another bonus is that, often, seasoned musicians and writers will use these sessions to ``test run’’ new material and gauge audience reaction
Last Sunday was a good example of this as a newly formed group of stand-up comics decided to work on their new acts.
As there is no money involved, the level of talent can vary slightly, but, generally speaking, the standard was pretty high, with the exception of one ``comic” who veered perilously close to the very sensitive issue of child abuse ― proof that what may seem funny on paper, doesn’t mean it translates to the spoken format.
The poetry readings and musical performances are in a similar vein, with some being more professional than others, but all told, the standard is certainly good enough to warrant checking it out as there are always a few surprises.
Woodstock Open Mic night is hosted by Laura Hayes and takes place every Sunday evening from around 8 p.m. till about 11 p.m., or till the last act finishes.
To get to Woodstock, leave Itaewon subway station, line number 6, exit 2. The venue is a little up the street on the left, on the third floor.