Local talent makes for an intimate evening at Hat City Kitchen

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Ally Blumenfeld

Father and Son duo Bobby & Cam Cole
Photo credit Ally Blumenfeld

In a room lit by candles and stage lights, filled with tables and chairs pivoted toward a stage and the sounds of a bar muffled by guitar chords, musicians and patrons alike sit among guitar cases and pints of beer to watch an eager and diverse group of artists do what they love.  It's a far cry from the $100  seats in the nosebleed section of a packed and painfully loud arena.  The lyrics of popular artists today are also a far cry from the meaningful, socially aware, highly personal, and relatable words of the musicians at the All-Acoustic Open Mic at Orange's Hat City Kitchen.

Every other Tuesday, Hat City Kitchen hosts their All-Acoustic Open Mic.  I have to admit: I walked into the restaurant with just the slightest tinge of hesitancy.  I had never attended an open mic before, and my only reference points were formed by the popular characterizations: screechy voices, out-of-tune guitars, and bad 80s covers.  I was not expecting the songs to be so personal, the artists to be so passionate, nor the night to feel so intimate.  It was quite magical to watch ordinary people become transcendent with just a guitar and stage lights.  Set lists included songs both new and old: a feeling of nostalgia swept in as the audience was treated to Joni Mitchell and David Crosby, and the sense of community in the room was strengthened by the original words and stories-through-song of musicians such as KO and Rostafa.

Host Michael Reitman with sigh-up sheet
Photo credit Ally Blumenfeld

Hat City Kitchen has been holding open mics for the past three years, but it wasn't until late 2011 when  blues musician and host Michael Reitman came on board that there was a night just for acoustic aficionados.  I had the chance to chat with him about halfway through the night, when I learned about the history of and mechanics behind HCK's All-Acoustic.  About 30 minutes after a 7pm sign-up, Reitman himself takes the stage to get early audiences ready for a long night of guitars and harmonicas – the last act typically closing down around 11 or 11:30pm.  Each act is allowed three songs or fifteen minutes, “just like every other open mic in the world,” according to Reitman.

Yet this open mic was anything but run-of-the-mill.  Whether it was the talent, the atmosphere, the venue, or perhaps all three combined, there was definitely something special about HCK's All-Acoustic.  In the audience were community members, family, friends, and strangers alike, yet the common thread was clear: we were all there to support real music and true music-makers.  The intimacy of the space made it feel like I was in someone's living room, watching a relative perform just for me.  For lyrics that give this community a voice, and for a sense of community unparalleled by most other music venues, Hat City Kitchen's open-mics are a must for any music lover.

After a stirring cover of Mumford & Sons' Little Lion Man in which some profanity was thoughtfully edited out, the singer quipped, “This is a family joint!”

Family joint indeed.

All-Acoustic Open Mic: every other Tuesday at Hat City Kitchen, 459 Valley Street, Orange, NJ.  Check out hatcitykitchen.com to find upcoming open-mics and other events happening every week.

Musician KO
Photo credit Ally Blumenfeld

Ally Blumenfeld is a working writer, dramaturg, and photographer based in Montclair, NJ. Two of her original one-act plays have been produced Off-Off-Broadway. She is currently the Gallery Coordinator for the ValleyArts Firehouse Gallery. Follow her on Twitter at @allyblume.