Jack Rabbit performs at the Open Mic Night at Someplace Else. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Poetry met rock and rock met unknown music and lyrics for Friday night’s Open Mic Night at Someplace Else. Any open mic event is supposed to attract its fair share of amateurs and sceptics, but this one saw a mix of newcomers and known bands and a relatively well-behaved crowd. Conducted by Neel Adhikari of Span and Five Little Indians, the evening also featured a performance by Cassini's Division.

The event kicked off with Durjoy, a Jadavpur University student, singing two original compositions. And even though his vocals were just a tad off key, his mellow strumming and infectious tune got everyone singing along with him.

Suchita, a talented college-goer who sings and takes photographs, caught the crowd’s attention with a languid, ballad-like rendition of Sweet Child ’ Mine. The mix of good and bad — and often original — compositions and popular anthems kept the evening interesting.

It’s easy to listen to a song if you know the words — a fact that Octaves, who performed U2’s All I Want Is You, used to its advantage. But that unfortunately didn’t apply to Inaam, who read out his poetry and asked the chattering gaggle of pub-goers to close their eyes as he read out his poems. “Does no one boo bad performers at open mic nights here?” asked a tourist from London.

Things picked up again with Jack Rabbit’s original Elora, while angsty rapper rockers Banned brought the house down with Leftist rapping with a Spanish twist. No wonder the hosts were happy. “It was a packed house for three-and-a-half hours, with a good mix of covers and originals. Pretty good for an open mic evening,” smiled Neel.