City Jam

April 26, 2006

Over three years ago, a little open mic show began its Sunday residency on the stage of Roast & Toast Coffee & Cafe in downtown Petoskey.  Dubbed “Toast & Jam” - a clever play on Roast & Toast’s name and the fact that musician “jams” were hoped to break out - all the upstart show had at first were two chairs and a few eager (and brave) performers. 
Throughout the seasons - both the bustling summer tourist season and the slower winter months - Toast and Jam’s audience steadily grew as a loyal base formed, attracting local musicians looking for an outlet and both local folks and visitors looking for something different and fun to do on a Sunday night.  The show continued to grow within itself, as well - adding a colorful stage curtain, stage lights, and fun theme shows and other activities.
But 175-plus shows later, Toast & Jam is no more. 
Due to complex music licensing reasons that are too detailed to go into here, the Little Open Mic That Could is now over.  So where will the Sunday Night Music Club go now to take the stage and hang out with fellow musicians and friends?  Never fear, open mic fans - Petoskey still has a Sunday night open mic show, and it’s taking place just down the street.
 
NEW DIGS
When it became apparent that the inner workings of business were about to scuttle Toast & Jam, Roast & Toast’s owners, Bob and Mary Keedy, stepped up to the plate.  The Keedys also own Petoskey’s City Park Grill - just two blocks up Lake Street from Roast & Toast Cafe - and they moved quickly to transfer Toast & Jam’s host, performers, and the whole open mic feel up to their other restaurant, where the licensing problems were not an issue. 
Between the Keedys and City Park’s managers, Patrick Faylor and Jason Septic, Toast & Jam now had a new and welcoming place to be - but would also need a new name - among other things.
One olive-green-and-black striped curtain, a couple dozen tealight holders, some tweaks on the equipment, and lots of emails, posters, and a new LiveJournal page later, Toast & Jam is quickly becoming a fond memory, and the new open mic on the block has moved in. 
Now called City Jam, both in deference to the open mic’s new location and to an approach that’s trying to make the new open mic even bigger than its predecessor - the show is taking over City Park Grill every Sunday night after dinner. 
Many of the old audience members have rediscovered City Jam and performances from Toast & Jammers Ryan Luce, Trevor Smela, Jon Moody, Carter Bancroft, Marc Witty, and several talented newcomers.

MORE SIZZLE
“I think it’s going very, very well so far,” City Park’s Patrick Faylor enthuses, “we’re very excited about the whole thing.  And it’s a nice change from our old open mic.” 
City Park’s previous open mic, which was held on Wednesday nights, did have a few good shows to its record, but although it had a good start initially, it never really caught on for some reason. Faylor continues, “the new open mic is very different, it’s got more atmosphere, more sizzle, and the talent’s great.”
Much like the previous Roast & Toast event, though, you’re likely to hear just about anything at City Jam.  It’s a grab bag of musicianship, from who have had experience in much larger venues to those who have yet to play in front of an audience - and the City Jam audience is receptive, too (no Simon Cowells here) - so, as Faylor puts it, “it’s a non-threatening environment” for those just beginning to take their talents out of their living room.  
So far, there have been mostly singer-songwriters with guitars and keyboards, but everything is welcome - poets, storytellers, multi-instrumentalists, magicians, jugglers, anything goes.  And those wanting to do things slightly bigger in scale, such as combos of musicians or small acting/improv groups, will appreciate the City Jam stage, which is probably four times larger than Toast & Jam’s cute but admittedly postage-stamp-sized space was.  
Those who don’t play an instrument can participate, too, in one of City Jam’s “alternate” activities - namely, Guitar-Oke, where vocalists can choose from a large book of songs and have the guitar part played for them while they sing onstage (“like Karaoke, but cooler”), or the Hipster Sing-A-Long, where you can choose an accompanied song to sing with a group of your friends without even having to leave your table.
Good news for vocalists, City Park Grill is non-smoking until 10 pm.  Audience members - all ages are welcome - will love the dim, candle-lit seating area, and a wide variety of drinks are available including pop, juice, and coffee as well as beer and other alcoholic beverages.  Delicious appetizers (served until 9 pm) are half-off at the bar during City Jam, yet another incentive to check things out. 
“We’re always trying to support the local music scene and give people an opportunity to
play - so this ties in nicely to our whole entertainment schedule,” Faylor  confirms, “and I think it will pick up even more as time goes on.”   
 
City Jam takes place at Petoskey’s City Park Grill every Sunday night from 8 to 10 pm (9 to 11 pm on the second Sunday of each month to accomodate the LTCT Improv show.)  City Park Grill is located at 432 East Lake Street, ph. 231-347-0101.  CPG’s website can be found at www.cityparkgrill.com.