Roseville is a suburb east from Sacramento, about 20 minutes up I-80. It’s not far, but this bandit rarely travels over there. I know of the giant mall, the quaint old town, and plenty of nice people who live there. Years ago, I did go to a friends house there regularly for band practice, and I also visited some old friends there when they played a concert as From Indian Lakes. Otherwise, Roseville is normally just a place on the way to somewhere else for myself.

While I was in one of my neighborhood haunts, I happened to meet and have a chat with local musician Alec Cogston. He invited me to come up to old Roseville for the open mic that he was hosting at the Fig Tree coffeehouse. You could say that he is a denizen of local open mics, so I found myself curious about what it is he’s doing over there. I committed to making the event.

I had been to a Fig Tree open mic once, years ago. I remember it was during a cooler season, and I had visited to exercise some songs that I was struggling with. Upon arriving this past weekend, I found it to be nearly unchanged as far as I could remember. It has a comfortable worn in feel in an old building within the historic part of Roseville. It’s a narrow and deep space. The front half is all business for ordering and serving with a few stools and little tables. The back half is more comfortable, it has the feeling of a big living room. Some larger tables and a circle of sofas define the space, and a central chandelier ties it together.

I had predictably shown up much later than the 5pm sign-up time but I was only the 14th performer to sign-up. I was there shortly after 6 and still managed to catch a few of the earlier performers.

I didn’t want much caffeine at that time, but a little boost from an iced tea was desirable. I had their house tea. I forget all of what was in it, some black tea to be sure. The service was friendly and quick with 2 people working the bar. There were a few blended drinks ordered during the event, but whatever blenders they have there are surprisingly quiet! I found an open seat at a table about halfway into the space with a good view of the mic.

Coffeehouse open mics attract younger performers than bar open mics, obviously, but they are more rare so seeing young people do this is a treat. Many of the performers were young, and much of the crowd was made up of supportive family and friends of theirs. It made for a lively atmosphere! It even felt like standing room only at times.

By the time my turn had come up, much of that crowd had departed. There remained a core of audience in and around the couch circle where the mic is set up. I wish I had the ability to play piano, or even harp, because they had those instruments ready to use on the house. I had my sweet little parlor nylon string guitar, my choice instrument for open mics. The sign-up sheet includes space to describe your set needs. I had requested a mic for vocals and guitar each.

The sound is not the highlight of this venue. My gentle guitar doesn’t project as much as my voice for the songs I ended up playing, and trying to balance it led to feedback. There is a tower PA in the couch circle which can fill beyond the space a bit. But, the long narrow space with brick walls seems like a challenge to fill evenly. If you really want to hear what is happening, I advise fighting for a spot in the couch circle.

The remaining audience was attentive and participatory, playing along with my request for their help in singing. I met a few new people that I expect to meet again around the area music scene. It was surely worth the short trip up to Roseville for that.