Before the night became wild with ghouls and goblins at the Halloween Pub, the UTM Music Club hosted their second open mic night of the school year in the MiST Theatre.
The MiST Theatre is spacious enough to allow for great acoustics, yet small enough to feel intimate. The lighting and sound board in the theatre also contributed to the excellent atmosphere of the evening.
Students were asked to sign up to perform on the club’s Facebook page; the first 12 to sign up would be the ones to perform. UMC encouraged variety in the acts, and students were eager to show off a wide range of talents. Thursday’s open mic night featured covers and originals, guitar and piano. There was even a mash-up of two hip-hop tracks done on only an acoustic guitar.
There was a brief intermission for people to stretch their legs and grab some coffee and cookies. Many of them also used this time to chat with the performers and congratulate them on a job well done.
After the break, the show’s emcee, Zain Ali Shah, introduced the next batch of performers. Unfortunately, several of the scheduled performers had backed out at the last minute. But instead of ending the show early, a few executive members of UMC stepped up and took turns playing.
One of the highlights of the night was a remix of several dubstep songs using an electric guitar and an iPad. It was a great change of pace, and many heads were seen bobbing in the crowd.
At the end, Zain came back out and thanked everyone for coming. Some of the audience stuck around afterwards to chat and help put things away, and everything was wrapped up just in time for the 8 p.m. closing time.
This second open mic night was another proof of UTM students’ many talents. There are no more open mic nights scheduled for this semester, but two more have been planned for the spring.