Five minutes. Then the mic is yours.

Thursday. Seven thirty. Somebody you have never heard of is about to be the funniest person you saw all week — or the bravest. Either way you were in the room for it.

Thursday is comedy for a reason that has nothing to do with filling a slow night. A comedy room is an honest room. You cannot fake a laugh and you cannot buy one. Which makes it the best possible test of whether a night out is actually working.

The Thursday open mic

Seven thirty, every Thursday, in the first-floor lounge. Five-minute sets. No cover. Hosted by Bradford Davis.

Sign-up opens at seven thirty at the bar — twenty spots a night, first come, first up. The comics who have been doing this a while go first, then the mic opens to everybody else who put their name in. Five minutes means five — the room is on your side for the first four and a half and the light is on your side for the last thirty seconds.

Bradford has run this mic long enough to know every regular's closer and exactly how long to let a first-timer die before he saves them. That is the job, and he is good at it.

Then the mic stays on. Karaoke picks up at nine, the late happy hour runs nine to eleven, and the people who came for the comedy are still there at ten thirty singing badly with the people who came for the karaoke. That is the whole reason the two nights sit next to each other.

The standing week

• Tuesday Karaoke Night 8pm–11pm Weekly karaoke on the first floor.
• Wednesday Channel 660 8pm Game show night. A different format every week, from eight. Starts Wed, Oct 7
• Thursday Open Mic Comedy 7:30pm–9pm Sign up at the bar. Comics first, then the mic opens up.
• Thursday Karaoke 9pm–11:30pm Straight after comedy. Runs late.
• Friday Karaoke Night 8pm–11:30pm Weekly karaoke on the first floor.
• Saturday DJ Night 8pm Every other Saturday, from eight. Midnight and later when the room wants it.

The showcases

Some Thursdays are an open mic. Some nights are a show.

Comedy in Berwyn — four comedians, one night, upstairs in The Loft, a real stage and a real sound system. Ticketed, and the ticket link is on the calendar — if there is no link, there is nothing to buy. Dated showcases sit on the calendar, each with its own page.

The Loft holds two hundred to two hundred and fifty for a show. Dinner downstairs first, five to nine, then up the stairs. You can hear the person next to you at the table and the comic on the stage. Both of those were harder to arrange than they sound.

Coming up

• Fri, Sep 25 Salt Reef Band The Loft · 8pm–11pm No cover
• Sat, Sep 26 Infrared Roses - A Grateful Dead Experience The Loft · 5:30pm–9pm No cover
• Sat, Oct 10 Libra Dance Party The Loft · 7pm–11:30pm $25 cover
• Fri, Nov 6 Shark 2.0 Duo First Floor (main room) · 5pm–8pm No cover

All upcoming shows →

If you do stand-up

Come Thursday. Do five minutes. Come back and do five better.

We look at the Thursday mic before we look anywhere else — for the showcases, and for the panel seats on Channel 660, our Wednesday game show night. Two of those formats need three comics on stools who can hold a straight face under questioning, and the people who fill them come from this room. Thursday is the audition. Wednesday is the promotion.

Want to bring a show of your own — a themed night, a headliner with an opener, a recording? Send us your link and tell us who you draw.

The rules of the room

Two of them.

The mic is for material, not for whoever is talking at the bar. And the room is on the comic's side — a bad five minutes gets applause for standing up there, because everybody in the seats knows they would not.

Questions

Is the Thursday open mic free?

Yes. No cover, no ticket, no minimum. Ticketed showcases in The Loft are the exception, and every one of them is marked on the calendar with a ticket link.

How do I get a spot on the open mic?

Sign-up opens at seven thirty at the bar on the night, and there are twenty spots — get there early on a busy week. Comics who have done the room before go up first, then the mic opens to everybody else who put their name in.

How long is a set?

Five minutes. There is a light. It means what it says.

Do I have to be a comic to come?

No. Most of the room came to watch, eat and drink. Comedy runs seven thirty to nine in the lounge, then karaoke picks up at nine in the same room — plenty of people stay for both.

Is comedy 21 and over?

Until ten at night, under-21s are welcome with a parent or guardian, which covers the open mic. After ten it is twenty-one and over and we check ID at the door. Ticketed showcases follow the age printed on the ticket.

Can I book a table for a comedy night?

Yes — up to eight books online in a minute, and a party of nine or more can ask for a table held. For a Loft showcase, buy the ticket first and reserve dinner downstairs before the show.

Where is the next comedy showcase?

Every dated show is on the calendar, each with its own page and ticket link. The calendar updates itself from our bookings, so it is always current.