Nitty Gritty Slam #56, October 15

I decided to venture out to the Slam & take my chances on stage, particularly since this the "Inappropriate Slam" & everyone knows I have plenty of inappropriate poems (though probably not as many as Prof. Nester). But first there was an open mic, hosted by el presidente Thom Francis, always the best part of Slam night.

Chad Lowther began with a description of a neighborhood scene, "Hooker in the Midst," then a long piece of childhood memory, "Baseball Fans." Samson Dikeman was inappropriate with "Unplanned Parenthood" then a series of sex Limericks. Avery, who had been busy taking our money as the doorman, read off his device for the 1st time at a reading, about getting the key to his new home today.

Victoria Edwards also read from her device, "Yesterday I Saw Love." Jaquille Dourngny actually read his poem, "Should It Be," from paper -- imagine that. Kerry DeBruce read an up-beat piece in rhyme. Mary Panza's read one of her hilarious Blog entries, "How I Ruined Porn Night." Bless' performance of "The Perfect Life" was a commentary on "shit happens." & ever the motivational preacher, Poetyc Visionz did his well-know piece on dreams playing on the words "impossible" & "haters."

Sarah McCormick

There were 5 of us (3 of whom we had already heard from in the open mic) for the first Slam round, otherwise known as "the dan-wilcox-elimination-round," with scores ranging from Samson's 30 (!) down to my 21 ("Homage to Lesbians"). Sarah McCormick distinguished herself with real poems in both the rounds she made it through, a bit too personal & not outlandish enough for the night's theme, but interesting work just the same. Samson made it into the final 3 with a funny penis poem & more sex, which may have made the audience toss up way too-many 10s, creating a tie between Samson & Bless for an final additional round. Good work, but 10s? Oh well, that's Slam, in Albany at least.

Poetyc Visionz, Samson, Bless & Thom Francis

It keeps going here at Valentines on New Scotland Ave. (for the time being) on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of the month, sponsored by AlbanyPoets.com -- discount admission with student I.D. (real or fake).