Mic check 1-2-3

The scene is more or less the same. The venue is hot, humid, and despite the haze, is brimming with excited people sharing jokes and laughing over a drink. They’re singing along with each other merrily, waiting for the next performer to take the stage. And, now pin-drop silence with all eyes on the performer, the gig ensues.

How cultural and performing spaces in the city work is no surprise. They host performers, from up and coming newbies to established popular artistes with a huge fan base, these spaces provide a platform to showcase talent. But what exactly goes on behind the stage? How does the venue ensure that a certain number of audience attends the show?

For an established artiste to arrange for such a footfall isn’t difficult, but upcoming performers have it a little difficult because their name alone doesn’t guarantee to an audience. Rohit Shah, an upcoming stand-up comedian, who has been to around 55 open mics since February, says that in such a case, most venues have a plus one rule. “When the performer is a newbie, there is a pressure on him or her to make an audience. He has to get one person in the audience. That way, if there are ten performers for the night, there will be at least ten people sitting in the audience. And from there on, it is usually word of mouth,” he says.

Hijas Mooja, part of collective Laughing Coconut, who produces open mic nights and comedy shows at culture spaces in the city, believes that the plus one module is a necessity and a strategy that works out beautifully — in favour of both the venue and the performer. “See, it isn’t very difficult for one person to convince their friend to come along for a show. When the performer brings a plus one to the evening, that person doesn’t have high expectations. This makes the audience flexible and puts a little pressure on the performer to perform his best,” he says, adding, “This module is followed in the West as well.”

Hijas points out that a symbiotic relationship along these lines benefits both parties. “Open mics serve two purposes. They provide a stage for an upcoming comedian while established, professional stand-up comics get to try new material. When the audience is flexible with low expectations, the comic is earning himself quality time on the stage — whether the joke is good or bad, he should know it immediately through the audience. Now if you don’t exercise this module, chances are the entire open mic night is going to be filled with stand-up comics only. And I know for a fact that comics don’t make for a good audience. They are usually very concerned with their own material and too busy figuring out their stuff, almost like a competition. So, these plus ones pose as a true audience,” he points out.

This is the case with comedy gigs. Music gigs work on a more of less similar manner. Tabish Khidir, vocalist with the hardcore punk band Death by Fungi, and doom metal band Dirge, recalls a time when the band had to sell passes for the gig by themselves. “This one time my band was performing at a space in Pune, and we had to go out of our way to sell the passes for the gig. Now, based on this sale, we used to get our money for the evening,” he says. Eventually, Tabish says, they got sick of the model and opted out. “We were too involved with making sure that an audience comes to the gig and the music started getting sidelined,” he recalls.

Today, he believes that the live gig scene is the best for artistes. He shares another model gigs function on: gate shares. “This is way better than the tickets selling business. Gate share is basically an idea where all parties involved incur the loss of the gig. So, for instance, if the  gig proves to be a flop, the artiste and the venue both share the responsibility of the loss,” he says.

Songwriter Vernon Noronha, however, puts some responsibility on the venue also. “How much footfall a gig gets also depends on how well the venue markets the evening. If they have a huge reach on social media and otherwise, they get a great audience. Because at the end of the day, how much crowd can a handful of performers pull in?”

Regardless of how the artiste and the venue manage to pull a crowd, stand-up comedian Dwijal Mehta believes now is the best time to be a comic. “The audience’s fascination for stand-up comedy is at its peak,” she says, adding that the audience is willing to experiment with new talent. “Anyone doing stand-up right now is really lucky.”