Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.06.2017, Qupperneq 64

Húrra’s Open Mic
Night Fosters Fresh
Talent
"Our motto is that anything goes,” says Owen Fiene.
Words: Anisha Chandar Photos: Subject's own
In a city saturated with culture,
where do the young guns go? The
comedians who want to see if
they’re actually funny, or the song-
writers fresh from signing in the
shower? Reykjavík is refined, a vic-
tim of its own success, and that’s
a huge problem when it comes to
honing talent. Open Mic Night at
Húrra looks to bridge the gap by
providing a safe haven for new
performers who want to test the
waters. The grassroots need gigs.
Talking to organiser Owen
Fiene, I begin to feel that the name
is a little misleading. Open Mic
Night implies teenage angst, shit-
ty singing and awkward moments.
Sure, that’s part of the charm—but
this is something else.
“We’ve had burlesque, comedy,
improv, singer-songwriters, aca-
pella, spoken word. You can go on
stage, get naked and laugh at the
audience if you really want to. Our
motto is that anything goes,” says
Owen.
Smells like teen cynics
It’s clear to see that Owen is full
of gratitude. He believes there’s a
deeper cultural issue in the city,
that younger people are not given
opportunities and the necessary
steps to progress. He’s right.
“It was a New Year’s Resolution.
I wanted to bring something to
the scene and create a platform for
performance,” explains Owen. It
was one of those rare resolutions
to became a reality, and since 2015
performers from across Iceland
and indeed the world have made a
pilgrimage to perform, including
Icelandic burlesque dancer Magga
Maack.
“Magga Maack was fucking
awesome,” Owen recalls. “She was
donned in chains and began to
start swinging. Light bulbs shat-
tered on the stage and it rained
glass.”
Advocating amateurs
I asked Owen what advice he’d give
to those crippled with self-doubt,
questioning if they have the balls
(or ovaries) to get on stage. “If
you’ve got something good, the
crowd will recognise it,” he re-
sponds. “If you don’t, it’s no skin
off your nose as this is pretty chill.
It’s an extremely safe space, and if
you don’t want to go through with
it, you don’t have to.”
And what about spectators?
Open Mic Night takes place on the
first Sunday of every month (two
days after you’ve received your
paycheck and pissed it all away on
hard liquor). If you’re feeling frag-
ile, it’s a non-invasive way to spend
a Sunday evening, but expect to be
surprised.
“Once I was contacted by these
two girls from Canada,” said
Owen. They asked if they could rap
on stage, and that their lyrics were
a little offensive. They turned up
looking pretty mousey, but then
started rapping with this man-
eating, ‘my pussy is hungry’ Third
Wave feminist kind of vibe. It was
amazing, the audience loved it.”
If you turn up, something will
go down.
64 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 09 — 2017
Mic drops at open mics aren't always a good thing...
... but this guy drops it like Obama
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