Open mic offers 'merry' atmosphere
By Marcus RodriguezStaff Writer
Coffee, food and avant-garde beat poetry. I found this and a lot more at Java Jitters Cafe, which held an open mic night on Nov. 13.
Java Jitters is a small cafe which offers both traditional cafe fare and Mexican food. The eclectic place seemed to offer a little bit of everything.
Heavy metal played through the cafe’s speaker system before the show while figure skating was shown on a TV in the background. As more people began trickling in, artists began warming up and mingled in the crowd of about 50.
A guitarist named Mama Goose began tuning his guitar at one of the open tables, while three people played double dutch jump rope on the sidewalk outside.
The male jump roper, 19-year-old City College student Beth Anderson, adorned with striped tube socks, shorts, sneakers and a white hoodie. Anderson, who later performed a comedic monologue, flamboyantly hyped up his performance saying, “When I come out, I want Lady Gaga to be playing.”
“About a year and a half ago I brought the idea up to my boss that this place really is a great space, so why not use it,” said 24-year-old host Jared, a San Francisco State student who only goes by his first name.
“I originally got the word out by just posting flyers in the cafe, and just on the strength of word of mouth we had about fifty people showing up on the first night,” Jared said. “There’s just a great student base here.”
The atmosphere was warm and open, and many appeared to be old friends, greeting and hugging. All artists were very supportive of each other, and the audience laughed, hooted and hollered, but never heckled. Everybody just came to eat, drink coffee and be merry.
One of the acts included Mama Goose and the Diamond Chest, a guitarist and singing duo who performed an acoustic version of Juvenile’s single "Slow Motion."
The event featured a variety of spoken word, including an artist who called himself Rufio “Bangarang”, who spit out some a capella verses about life in the city.
Anderson, whose monologue talked about “life and stuff,” a number of different subjects, including a lament on the lack of sexual diversity in modern cinema.
“Damn. Why aren’t there any gay transformers? At least a pink Volkswagen,” Anderson said.
