Keep the Laughs Coming

It takes a lot of guts to get up in front of a room full of strangers (and a handful of friends) and try to make them laugh. Especially if you’re trying to get them to laugh WITH you and not AT you.

But with the open mic night at the  located inside the Vortex on Peachtree Street in Midtown -- sometimes you get a little bit of both. With performers from seasoned veterans to brand-spanking newbies, the laughs will definitely come, whether intentionally or not.

In an atmosphere where various skill levels are dangerously combined, it could be difficult to blend all the acts together. But host and show coordinator Trey Toler has perfected the art of pacing the show, maximizing the laughs for the audience.

“We get a lot of people that are regulars and a lot of people that it’s their first time performing,” he said. “So I have to find that happy medium. We have a wide range of talent ... so at any show you really get to experience the good, the bad and the ugly.”

At a recent open mic night, there was a smattering of acts:  A seasoned veteran who was clearly the crowd favorite joking about the Midtown crowd, a first-timer who recounted his audition for a Disney show, a gentleman who pondered the meaning of an epitaph on a bathroom wall, and (perhaps the most awkward moment of the night) when one comedian turned around and mooned the audience.

“Oh wow,” Toler recounted. “That was definitely one of our more interesting acts.”

But for the most part, the entertainment flowed well. Each performer gets five minutes in the limelight, and Toler usually books about 17 acts for the night. As the host, he’s very encouraging of the first-time performers.

“As a first-time performer, some people kill it, and some people … not so much,” he said. “You want the audience to like you, so you never want to address the crowd in a negative tone. The established comedians can mess around a little more, but you really want the audience to like you.”

That's why he tends to space out the newbies with a couple of experienced comedians. The overall experience is enhanced by Toler’s quick wit as a host and the fast pace of the show. There isn’t a lot of awkward lag between acts.

You never know who will show up at open mic night. Ron White, Margaret Cho, Ben Gleeb and others have made surprise appearances to the venue.

The shows are on Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 and there is a full-service bar in the comedy lounge.

If you are really interested in the open mic scene, check out  on Thursday nights for Unmiked, the Punchline on Wednesdays for Rock the Mic, or Star Bar on Monday nights.

If you’re looking for a good laugh, open mic is definitely a great way to go.

You never know what you’re going to get. You could be in for a side-splitting treat, especially if you end up with a full moon.