Cathy Cook does not draw the cartoon characters on her whiteboard sign-up list.
“I have a guy who does that.” Cathy Cook, host of the Capers Open Mic, said in a cheerful tone. “Last month (March) we had a leprechaun on a drum set.”
It being the day after Easter, the depiction of Bugs Bunny next to a bunch of Easter eggs drawn up for last week's pre-Easter open mic event persisted on the white board. Cathy is gregarious and full of energy, a performer herself ...and not at all shy.
Being warned of the event’s popularity, I had arrived at 5pm and watched our host wheel in her cart and pull out various items for set up while I ordered from the excellent menu at Capers.
Seriously, one of their appetizers is deviled eggs topped with bacon and shrimp (OMG I'm drooling just at the memory). If you're wondering why I don't have any pictures of the amazing food it's because I was transfixed when it arrived and all of it somehow disappeared far too rapidly for any photographic evidence to have been captured.
Also, draft beer, wine, and an impressive cocktail selection are all part of the all-day happy hour Mondays at Capers, so party on, open mic fans!
The rumors were certainly true about the event's popularity: well over an hour before start time, at least half a dozen players with guitars began filing thru the door, setting out guitar stands and unsheathing instruments (just look at these Guild twins here on the left; their owner, Aly, kindly let me take this beauty shot of his babies). As Cathy completed her set up, the early birds hovered anxiously nearby, glanced repeatedly at the sign up list while waiting for it to commence at 5:30pm.
I was a little worried there might be a contentious scramble at 5:30, but Cathy turned smoothly from her set up at 5:30pm and declared, "Seán was here first, so..." The entire group turned to look around the restaurant in confusion as I approached before acknowledging me...apparently, one of the regulars shares my name and had not yet arrived. When I said I would be fine taking the first slot, Cathy beamed,
"You get extra points for agreeing to go first!!"
The exact nature of these points were not made clear, but no fisticuffs occurred with sign up:
Cathy made sure all the early birds chose thier preferred slot on the list before plopping the white board pen back into a bucket where others could find it to add their own name later.
I have been to a lot of open mics, but Capers is probably the friendliest I have ever experienced. It obviously has a lot of regulars, and different patrons (players and non-players), either introduced themselves to us or spontaneously sat down at our table to introduce themselves and share stories and jokes. Not since living in Ireland have I been around such an open and social community.
Everyone at this open mic event is fabulous, but we have got to talk about Firooz.
This Persian percussionist with the zoroastrian amulet worn over his black sleeveless tee is not from this planet. The outsized personality you see on display in these pictures is fully baked in to his overall presence. He and Laura run the sound at Capers open mic, but Firooz also lends percussion to any performer who needs it. His congo-shaped electronic drum setup you see in the picture there, emblazoned with "FIROOZ BEAT," is as one-of-a-kind as the man playing it.
How could I not ask him to join me for my set?
Firooz helped drive along a rendition of College Town, and "Think of You," one of the songs I wrote for my soul band project about how I met the love of my life.
It was a ton of fun to have that solid rhythm foundation underneath my guitar.
11/10, highly recommended: would Firooz again.
The Sean native to the Capers crowd was next!
(That's two Seans for the price of one, for those of you keeping score).
He was joined on vocals by sound engineer Laura for an impressive rendition of Heart's "Crazy On You" - I think it might be the first time I've seen anyone try to cover that song!
Up next was Rolfe with a George theme, whom I apparently missed getting a photo of, because I was too busy singing along.
It was a unique pairing: "Faith" by George Michael and "Here Comes the Sun" by George Harrison. In all honesty, chatting with Rolfe afterwards he revealed the George theme was entirely coincidental, but I think he was just being modest.
Next up was Fenny. I'll tell ya folks, beware anyone with a thumb pick. Those guys likely listen to a lot of Tommy Emmanuel and are not to be trusted!
Finally, as there were some family obligations I had to tend to, I caught the lovely duet of Wayne & Karla singing the classic song, 'Under the Boardwalk.'
The Capers open mic would be perfect for anyone looking for a casual, found-family kind of atmosphere at a place with great food in the south bay.
Click on any photo in this post to see the full, uncropped version.
