If you had a choice which of these nights would you pick to attend/run a slam?

[WonderDave]

So here's the deal a bar/restaurant wants me to host a slam and these are pretty much my options for times and days. It's in a fairly residential neighborhood. There are three or four other restaurants, a book store, liquor store and second run movie theater. The venue is on the bus on the bus line and there is a decent amount of on street parking within a few blocks.
That's about all the info I have for you so VOTE and tell me what you think!

[bobdapoet]

When is a function of your venue, and location. I would look through the schedules for other local arts events (that match you as closely as possible in size and reach) and see what the most popular days are.

In Phoenix, "Success" is a relative term, but Thursdays have been better than Wednesdays, but even Wednesdays do well for an established event. The night becomes less critical is you take advantage of some of the opportunities to tell people about the show:

Is the Book Store willing to partner for promotion and let you give away coupons during your show in exchange for flyers in the store?

Will some of the other restaurants be willing to offer meal prizes in exchange for a flyer in their window?

How about a deal with the second run moviehouse to put in a slide in the pre-movie promotion promoting the slam and some free movie tickets?

What does the bar Owner expect? Full bar of poets on Friday night? Are Wednesday and Thursday dead zones that he doesn't care about? Thier expectation- and yours- are key to making sure that no matter what night you choose, everyone works towards getting what they expect. make sure you talk about what you both expect so you can come to agreement and work towards that.

[AmyD]

I would say Thursday night for the audiences...it's less likely you are asking them to choose between that and something else.

However, would you get better features if you went with Friday?

[simone]

I'd say go to the venue at each of these times and see what's up. Is it dead empty? Full of talkers? Full of wackjob artist types who are ripe for poetry? Who do you want in the venue, and who (and how many) do you expect to draw?

My gut response is for Thursday: it's close to the end of the week, so potentially can draw more crowd than Wednesday (assuming there isn't another poetry/stand-up/theater/hip-hop show already running in town on that night?). The Friday show seems a bit late and you might risk having a bar full of patrons who just want to talk and drink on a Thursday night. I for one would not want to be the first one on the mic at 11:00 on a Friday... But if you're putting together a rowdy-fun show, that might be a perfect time for you.

Bob's response is right on, though; specify your goals, then figure which night is going to work best to achieve those.

[Stefan Sencerz]

What Simone said.

Also, Th is good for college type folks because that's when their wekend begins. On the flip side, lots of folks may haev to work (e.g. waiting tables, etc) on Fridays. Also, the starting time is a bit late.

[Tracy Townsend]

Here in OKC, we've had a wednesday night reading for 10 years at Galileo's and almost 15 years when we were at another coffee house and also when we were homeless. OUr wednesdays are usually full and we have a pretty good time. The resaturant we're in likes it because Weds is typically a slow night for restaurants so they are happy to have a crowd. We start signup at 7 pm and typically begin around 7:30.

As for features, we've found it easier to book the bigger acts usually because they are on their way to a larger feature on the weekend and we are a nice stop-off. For those that need a booking closer to the weekend, we have a couple of different venues that we can book for a Friday night or Saturday night gig.

[TSPrunier]

I voted Friday before I read the particulars.

Sounds like an interesting scenario. Trust Bob's comments, and do the due diligence. I considered moving a slam to a bar, but Richmond is a tobacco state, and Salem and other cigarette companies partner with bars to push sales. Not all poets smoke, and it's hard ot build audiences in a venue that sends your folks home stinking.

I second that you must ensure the venue owner/manager has laid out all their cards. Our first venue was a little sensitive to the language and subject matter. Some want a piece of the door or a minimum in food/drink sales, which can hurt coffers.

If this venue doesn't work, a good place to try is an ART GALLERY. They control their own hours and can, with a small fee, obtain a one-night liquor license. So long as they have chairs and someone has a mic, etc., it's a lot better than worrying about an entity that is concerned about its bottom line and might pull the plug on you one week before the Grand Slam.

As for nights, I've learned that Mondays are tough to market due to their location behind the weekend, Thursdays are popular in our college (down)town (Richmond, VA) and there are a lot of events going on, but Tuesdays are good. Saturdays work if you have a parade of good features.

Sorry so random. In general, I'm skeptical of bars and can't stand being drowned out by an espresso machine or blender at a coffee shop.

But hey, if it means a new (or continuing) poetry slam, <picard> Make it so! </picard>

[WonderDave]

Thanks for the responses Folks! Much appreciated.

[Billy T]

I'd say go to the venue at each of these times and see what's up. Is it dead empty? Full of talkers? Full of wackjob artist types who are ripe for poetry? Who do you want in the venue, and who (and how many) do you expect to draw?

My gut response is for Thursday: it's close to the end of the week, so potentially can draw more crowd than Wednesday (assuming there isn't another poetry/stand-up/theater/hip-hop show already running in town on that night?). The Friday show seems a bit late and you might risk having a bar full of patrons who just want to talk and drink on a Thursday night. I for one would not want to be the first one on the mic at 11:00 on a Friday... But if you're putting together a rowdy-fun show, that might be a perfect time for you.

Bob's response is right on, though; specify your goals, then figure which night is going to work best to achieve those.

yeah... what she said