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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 2015)
A6 Entertainment wallowa.com December 16, 2015 Wallowa County Chieftain STEP UP TO THE MIC If you dare to share, there’s a venue for you By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain While Wallowa County VXPPHUV DUH ¿OOHG ZLWK HQ- tertainment of all types — es- pecially the musical variety — the winters can be long and bleak with long spac- es of virtually no entertain- ment. Open mic nights can be a cure for that with several available around the county. Depending on the night and performers, open mics are a good way to see the talent the county harbors within its borders. Terminal Gravity, locat- ed at 803 SE School St. in Enterprise, is a brewery/ restaurant that hosts an open PLF QLJKW RQ WKH ¿UVW )ULGD\ of every month starting at 7 p.m. and lasting until 10 p.m. or so. During the winter, the Steve Tool/The Chieftain Bell belts the blues — Local musician Al Bell rocks the Josephy Center during its Dec. 13 open mic event. open mic is held upstairs in the restaurant. During balm- ier weather, the event is held from TG’s large front porch. The winter open mic is very close and intimate for the most part. In some re- spects it’s like playing in a living room with friends. Oc- casionally, diners who are not there to hear music can talk over the musicians, which Living & Cut Christmas Trees Wreaths & Boughs • Gift Certificates Available Wallowa County Nursery 118 Fish Hatchery Lane, Enterprise • 541-426-8733 Eastern Oregon Nursery in Island City 541-910-1905 can be disconcerting to both performers and listeners. The outdoor event is not nearly so intimate, partially because of the space between diners/audience and the per- formers. It also has a bit of a talent-show feel, which may be due to the lack of intimacy. Both events have a revolving emcee/host who also runs the sound board, which not sur- prisingly, can determine how much the listener can enjoy the show. Robby Day has played the event off and on since 2011 and enjoys the variety the venue offers. “I really like the mix of performers, and you’re al- ways playing to a different type of audience, too,” Day said. “It’s a great place to de- but new material.” Performers do have a sign- XSVKHHWWR¿OORXWEHIRUHWKH\ perform and generally are not KHOGWRDWLPHOLPLWRUVSHFL¿F number of songs. The Josephy Center, lo- cated at 403 N. Main St. in Joseph, hosts an open mic T HE B OOKLOFT AND S KYLIGHT G ALLERY Finding books is our specialty 541.426.3351 • 107 E. Main • Enterprise • www.bookloftoregon.com Steve Tool/The Chieftain Cathryn-Ann Paterson reads from one of her poetry journals at the Fishtrap Fireside open mic on Dec. 11. night starting at 4 p.m. on the second Sunday of the month from November to April. This open mic is several years old, with emcee Ted Hays hosting the event the last two years. According to Hays, a varied cast of performers takes the stage from month to month. Performances are not lim- ited to musicians. Anyone can read a poem or their orig- inal writing. Hays encourag- es the community to come out and strut their stuff with musicians being prepared to perform one to three tunes. “It’s a respectful audi- ence,” he said. “We’d like to get some new performers, maybe those who want to try their hand at music and have been uncomfortable with per- forming before.” The Josephy offers the most varied open mic with performances of acapella singing, improv jazz piano, baritone ukulele, guitar, har- monica and cajon (a type of hand drum). The Josephy audience is somewhat older compared to the other open mics, but it is very appreciative of any and all kinds of music. Anyone with performance jitters or new to the perform- er game could easily break in at this venue. No refresh- ments are offered here. Fishtrap, located at 400 Grant St. in Enterprise, hosts Fishtrap Fireside the second Friday of the month from November to April. The open mic portion, which follows readings by three preselected authors, pertains strictly to literature/poetry. Four slots RI ¿YH PLQXWHV DUH DYDLODEOH ² ¿UVW FRPH ¿UVW VHUYHG Steve Tool/The Chieftain An American Forrest, current emcee of the Terminal Gravity open mic plays his brand of neoclassic country at the Dec. 5 open mic event. 7UXH WR WKH ¿UHVLGH QDPH D FUDFNOLQJ ¿UH DFFRPSDQLHV the readings. This event always has a packed house and a very appreciative audience. Al- though Fishtrap is known to promote writing of the West, open mic participants of al- most any age can read from any genre. Fishtrap program manager Mike Midlo encour- ages exploration. “Take chances. Be an art- ist. As long as it’s 5 minutes or less.” Cathryn-Ann Paterson en- joys reading to the audience. “I always get great feed- back, and the audience is always so supportive. You can’t ask for much more than that.” One thing participants may want to keep in mind: About a quarter of the audi- ence is there to hear the fea- tured readers and will depart after those readings. Take heart, this is not because of you. Actually, it is because of you, but you can count on unwavering support from the audience that remains — bet on it. Light refreshments are offered here. If you have information about other open mic events or listings for our new En- tertainment Calendar, please contact reporter Steve Tool at steve@wallowa.com. THE SCENE ACROSS DOWN 1. Characters in one inch of tape 4. In a hold 9. Jewish mystic 14. A way to souse 15. A small sharp knife 16. Frogs, toads, tree toads 17. Brew 18. Rowdy carouser 20. Poetries 22. __ salts, remedy 23. Expect eagerly 24. Obstructing the view of something 28. Denotes three 29. Expression of uncertainty 30. Greek portico 31. Bureau 33. Electric battery 37. Vapor density 38. Radioactivity unit 39. Strive to equal or match 41. Cologne 42. Carrier's invention 43. Highest in degree or quality 44. Female horses 46. Serbian 49. Publicity 50. Actress Lupino 51. Supporting structures 55. Jobs 58. Indian founder of Sikhism 59. Capital of Zimbabwe 60. Woman of charm and good looks 64. Order 65. Draft animal in desert regions 66. Unaccented syllable verse 67. Fail to keep pace 68. Sheath or shirtwaist 69. Moss stalks 70. __ Lilly, drug company 1. Exclamation of praise 2. 200 island Pacific nation (alt. sp.) 3. Repeated 4. Hungers 5. School of Business, UCB 6. Bobby __, NHL champ 7. Lease 8. More parched 9. Medieval merchant guild 10. Negative ions 11. Top 12. One of the Gershwins 13. Dekalitre 19. Imitate 21. Gentlemen 24. Dawn 25. A citizen of Chile 26. Bright stars 27. Codfish genus 31. Extremely unrefined 32. Diacritical mark 34. Correspondences 35. Indicates position 36. Small cup 40. 12th Greek letter 41. Capable of being eliminated 45. 12th Jewish month 47. Rechristen 48. In a way, imputes 52. Hydroxyls + 2C 53. Follows sigma 54. Vegetable shrubs 56. South African village 57. Monetary unit of D.R. Congo 59. First Chinese dynasty 60. Divides evenly into (Math) 61. Household god (Roman) 62. Pakistani rupee 63. American time Friday, Dec. 18: Simon Tucker (rhythm and blues, pop), 7 p.m. at Terminal Gravity Saturday, Dec. 19: Bul- lets and Belles (neo doo wop folk), 7 p.m. at Termi- nal Gravity Thursday, Dec. 17: Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms w/Brann family opening at OK Theatre. Doors open at 6:30 with show time @ 7 p.m. Tick- ets $15, ages 10 and under free. Tickets available at M. Crow, The Dollar Stretch- er, Joseph Hardware and eventbrite.com. Thursday, Dec. 24: Heidi Muller, Bob Webb (Americana), 5-7 p.m. at Silver Lake Bistro. Friday, Jan. 1: Open mic, 7 p.m. at Terminal Gravity Friday, Jan. 8: Fishtrap Fireside, 7 p.m. at Fishtrap. Three select authors read, followed by a literary open mic. The open mic is limit- HG WR ¿YH PLQXWHV LQFOXG- ing introductions) and a maximum of four perform- HUV)LUVWFRPH¿UVWVHUYHG Sunday, Jan. 10: Open mic, 4-6 p.m. at Josephy Center