It seems that the Sam Houston Program Council took the audience into extra consideration with the fourth “Open Mic Night” of the semester, which took place on November 10 at 8 p.m. in the Farrington Pit. Hot chocolate was provided to the nearly 100 students who attended. Angel Hall, the Program Council’s Executive Director, started the evening with a gracious introduction about the night’s performers. As she finished, it appeared that the audience was in high spirits, anticipating the music and slam poetry to come.
Though “Open Mic Night” began with many technical difficulties from the PA system, the first performer, Adrian, had the resilience to see through it. After playing an original song on the acoustic guitar, he improvised a dance over a hip-hop song. The audience seemed amused by Adrian’s creative footwork.
The next performer was Antoinee’, who skillfully executed an original poem called “Slowly but Steadily”. The composition was about her personal insights into love and life, as well as her needs in a relationship. Next, Zoe Summers, with a courageous and beautiful voice, sang a ballad about hobbits, dragons, and fairies. Her performance was by far the most honest and resilient display of character during “Open Mic Night”.
The second half of the show started off with guitarist/singer Daniel Poliski, who was accompanied by singer, Sarah, and drummer, Matt. The trio played a string of acoustic versions of pop classics. The covers ranged from Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” to Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes Around”. The group concluded with a hilarious version of Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA”.
Charlie B. was next, and he told the audience a story about marijuana, police, and his daily mishaps in a spoken-word style. My favorite aspect of his performance was that he utilized a unique rhyming scheme. What followed was a rap trio led by H. Jones. The group produced their own beats and had original material. That said, they had a humorous old-school style that recalls Sir Mix-A-Lot or the funnier moments of N.W.A. Song titles included “I Wanna Motorboat You,” “Girl, I Know You Like That Chocolate,” and “That Girl is Butter”. “I Wanna Motorboat You” ended in an audience member telling his girlfriend how much he enjoyed her voluptuous assets, much to her embarrassment. Desmond, who was next to perform, was genuine and soulful, the most professional of the night. He possesses great vocal control.
“Open Mic Night” concluded with Aron Cook and Kellen D., a two man guitar group. They sang Christian based ballads in a falsetto style, along with John Mayer tunes. Overall, Program Council’s “Open Mic Night” was a successful showcase of the talent on campus. To attend or sign up for the next “Open Mic Night” contact the Program Council office in LSC 324 or check out their website at http://shsuprogramcouncil.ning.com/.