By Katie Potzick

I set out for open mic night at the Karma Café with a skeptical mindset.

I’ve been to open mic nights before and was either been bored stiff by the selection or sent running for the door covering my ears by the lack of talent.

However, this night at Karma – inspired neither of these reactions in me.

The venue really set the mood. The café has a bohemian, free-spirit vibe with colorful walls and paintings, and a small store stocked with incense and hippie goods.

I semi-expected Dylan to step out of the back and start playing the harmonica. The performers are set up at the front of the restaurant in plain view of the tables and booths, which means onlookers don’t have to do contortions or employ x-ray vision to see around poles and walls, unlike at some other places.

When I arrived at 8:30, half an hour after the mic night began, the café was full but not packed and the audience seemed into the opening musician, Jason Alon, on acoustic guitar.

Alon, who took over open mic night four months ago, is a “missionary whose mission is to revamp the music scene in Louisville.”

He wants the night at Karma to be, “an environment where you can come and make friends and connect with other musicians in the area and appreciate their talents and efforts,” he said.

Alon warms up the crowd every Tuesday night, playing till someone from the audience is ready to take the lead and perform. This week everyone seemed pretty eager and the music continued to flow for two hours or so.

For the most part the night was pretty standard – consisting of a lot of guitar, but the selection was eclectic.

A girl named Lauren stood out from the rest for her ethereal vocals and skilled strumming.

I was surprised at how quickly the night flew by. The open mic backdrop provided the perfect atmosphere to get together with friends and enjoy an otherwise “blah” Tuesday. It was a unique opportunity to get out and hear some original, and actually good, live music.

I’ll definitely be going back to Karma in the future to see which new musicians might be launching their careers there. Who knows it might be the next Eric Clapton.

-Katie Potzick