A somewhat spooky mic

A dozen aspiring artists performed at the Halloween version of Very open mic on October 30 at unCaffe Bar.   

Referred to as Very spooky mic, it did not differ much from the usual format, although the host, Giuseppe Daddeo encouraged those who felt like it to use a ‘spooky’ theme in their performances.

Only three performers took him up on the challenge. 

Patrick Shiefen from New York, USA, opened his dramatic performance with the lines:

“Brett Kavanaugh and the like better be prepared for the afterlife, because he may be living in a man’s world, but Death, Death is a woman.” 

Throughout the performance he made various references to Santa Muerte.  

Singer/guitarist Guilherme (Liam) Vargas Castilhos from Brazil worked two Halloween-themed songs into his performance.  

The venue’s lack of a musical stand caused some comic relief during his cover of Science Fiction from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.    

No stranger to holding up mics for perfomers, Giuseppe assisted Liam by holding up his score.

 Liam told me later that “Giuseppe is a very good host” and was good at making performers feel comfortable. 

Tonnee Williams from Ohio, United States had a more tongue-in-the-cheek approach towards the ‘scary’ theme.  

Before her performance, she pulled up her hoody and said:

“I am a gangster”.  

She then proceeded to reading a poem on a theme she described as “scarier than STDs and AIDS” namely “being an adult.”

In addition to the artists, another 30 people attended.

 Wenting Qi from Jiangxi province hoped to see a few stand-up comedy acts.

On this night, Paul Yao from Henan province was the only comedian performing.  

Wenting did not expect there to be so many musical performances, but she said:

“The whole atmosphere was lively so it’s good.” 

Sharpay from Shanghai said:  “It’s my first time to be in an open mic event, which was very nice.”

However, she said that she wished the organisers had offered games as well.    

“Otherwise it’s gonna be a bit boring,” she said.

William Carter from Florida, USA, attended specifically to see what musical talent Shanghai had to offer and concluded that “they were all pros.”  

“I thought it was an entertaining night out.  

Everyone seemed really passionate about what they were sharing,” he said.