Cole’s Open Mic
Adam Burke
On any given day in Chicago, the calendar of events happening throughout the city can seem daunting. It Still Moves looks to separate the wheat from the chaff, spotlighting some of the area’s best and longest-running comedy, literary, and variety shows.
What it is: Cole’s Open Mic is a weekly open mic night held at Cole’s, a relatively new bar in Logan Square, that has quickly become the go-to open mic for some of the city’s hottest (and newest) talent. Hosts Cameron Esposito and Adam Burke keep spirits high as dozens of comics from every level of experience try their hand at four minutes of material in front of an energetic crowd of comics and regular folk.
Held in the back room of this charmingly dive-y alehouse, the Cole’s Open Mic night has been recognized as the best in the city by Chicago Magazine, The Feast, and local bloggers. Esposito and Burke are deserving of the lion’s share of the credit for the room’s quality: They push a sort of friendly neutrality, keeping it a place where comics can succeed or fail on their own merit, rather than because the mic cable broke or the crowd isn’t paying attention.
A brief history lesson: Coleman Brice opened Cole’s in summer of 2009 after spending his mid-20s working as a corporate accountant. Shortly after Cole’s opened its doors, Esposito began hosting an open mic in the back room of the bar, a space decked out with a wall of twinkle lights and fun-looking ceiling sculptures. She soon drafted local comic Burke to split hosting duties, due to the sheer number of comics looking for stage time. The show’s vibe quickly eschewed the stereotypical open-mic atmosphere; the audience was receptive and made up of a decent number of non-comics for performers to bounce their material off of.
The ability to handle oneself in front of an unruly or unreceptive crowd is a necessity for a successful comedian, and many open mic nights teach this skill. Cole’s is, in a way, more like a professional showcase than a straightforward open mic night. “There’s an absolute place for a shitty open mic, where there’s no audience and the host is making fun of you. That stuff seasons you, but I don’t think everything has to be that way,” says Esposito. “Sometimes you should go to a shitty mic, and sometimes you should go to an awesome mic. It’s another option for people.”
Soon after the open mic began, Foz The Hook became the house band, playing a half-hour set before the show officially starts. With a sort of Tom Waits-by-way-of-Tim And Eric aesthetic, bandleader Bjorn Skaptason keeps the mood light, regaling the crowd with strange tales and kaleidoscopic piano-rock songs. This added layer of goofiness adds to the fun, freewheeling feel of the night’s proceedings.
Why it’s still worth your time: Esposito and Burke have worked to ensure that the Cole’s open mic night goes above and beyond typical expectations. They focus on fixing some of the smaller, but important, details that might throw things off. By confronting potential problem audience members (hecklers, Chatty Cathies, etc.) and regularly whipping the crowd into a frenzy before each performer takes the stage, performers are able to work on their craft in a welcoming environment.
The absence of cynicism is an especially important aspect, according to Esposito: “We encourage people to clap the most for newer comics. There’s that moment where you can support somebody’s dream—when do we get to do that in our daily interaction? I don’t think there’s another thing like it.” Burke concurs, adding, “If someone doesn’t do well, fuck it, clap for them anyway. They’re working it out; that’s fine.”
The show’s reputation as the go-to open mic night has reached beyond the local Chicago comedy scene. In the past month, both Tim Meadows and Eddie Pepitone stopped by to do their four minutes, to the surprise of the audience and hosts alike. These sort of surprises are the cherry on top of what also happens to be one of the city’s funniest open mic nights, which is something that may not be mentioned as often as it should be. Very few of the 60 or so comics who take the stage throughout the evening are complete disasters, and each performer has something compelling or interesting at his or her core.
Cole’s is a distinctly familial environment: Esposito and Brice were friends before the bar opened; Burke puts in a few shifts per week as the Cole’s door guy; and it’s not unusual to see a barback take some time off from his shift to go up and do one of the best sets of the evening. It’s easy to imagine showing up as a stranger, unsure of what to expect, and leaving having shared a drink and a laugh with some of Chicago’s best comics in a wildly intimate environment. For burgeoning stand-ups, scene veterans, and casual observers looking for a cheap night of laughs in a great venue, there is no better open mic than Cole’s.
