Hi all,
We have changed some things for one of the open mics this year. Neil and Elizabeth will keep doing what they've done so well in the 200 seat theater at the top of the escalator, but the main ballroom open mic is getting moved and the format changed.
Over the last few years, we've seen dwindling numbers in the grand ballroom open mic because people don't like the lottery approach and the limiting the performers to TAXI members only (guests have been able to accompany them). So many people drop their slips in the box (yes, some people even try to stuff as many as they can in there, but we do our best to stop them), then leave the ballroom and go upstairs and to get on the list for THAT open mic as well. The result is that our MC ends up calling SO many names of people that aren't in the room, that we waste a lot of everybody's time calling out names. It's become kind of sad to see people performing their hearts out to a 3/4 empty ballroom.
The experiment for this year (and we think it's going to work really well) is that we're moving the grand ballroom open mic to the Concourse Ballroom on the second floor. It's the room where we do the mentor lunches. It holds 300 people at rounds of ten and will have a stage built from risers and a PA provided by Bose. We're going to let all attendees perform there (like we do in the theater), and use the same first-come, first served approach that has worked so well for Neil and Elizabeth in the theater.
Because we'll have rounds of ten in there, we think it will give it a nice nightclub-ish feel. Both open mice will be on the same floor. The hotel has agreed to put some bars on the second floor to make it easier for people to get drunk
We're also going to open up some of the classrooms on the second floor at night for collaborating and jamming. Basically, we're going to go after the Road Rally Alley theme that we attempted years ago at the Renaissance in Hollywood. It didn't work all that well there, but that was due to the hotel being so spread out and having a strange floor plan.
The hotel we're at now has a much better flow and feels cozier. The grand ballroom will be closed at night. Frankly, one of the reasons we kept it open all these years was to drive traffic to the sponsor booths at night. But guess what?!! The people who work the booths don't want to work at night. They want to party like everybody else
The lobby bar downstairs (and the "pit") will still be a hub of activity at night, AND the hotel finally has the new restaurant open! I've eaten there twice. The food is better and the restaurant itself has a really nice bar, including what appears to be a smokers area outside with nice outdoor furniture.
So there you have it, some nice incremental improvements for this year's Rally. We think it will help get more people on stage and revive the feel of the larger open mic.
BTW, we've already exceeded our room block at the hotel. They've expanded our block, but it's at their discretion, so they could turn off the Rally discount if they see an uptick in non-Rally reservations. In other words; if you're planning to attend the Rally, and you want to stay at the host hotel (which is the smart thing to do), then you'd be wise to book your room now and know that you've got the discount.
Hope to see you soon,
Michael
