By Olivia Richter

Summer is officially behind us, and late nights in the library are becoming habitual for many. School days are spent dreaming of the weekend and for an opportunity to unwind. One such opportunity came last Friday night inside our own quaint little coffee shop, Rodrigue’s, at the first open mic night of the school year.

The atmosphere was extremely relaxed and there was a feeling of camaraderie in the air. Twinkly lights framed the stage, and bursting applause erupted for anyone who took it.

A skull-capped Kaitlyn Flanagan, FCRH ’15, hosted the evening, looking chilled out and radiating that simply cool vibe that Rodrigue’s frequenters are known for. She broke up each performance with funny one-liners and charming interludes.

One of the first to be introduced was Shannon Yawman, FCRH ’18, who climbed over her cross legged audience to the stage with a half-smile and a bubbly attitude. While tuning her ukulele, she looked up and exclaimed, “I only just decided to do this half an hour ago.” A little nervously she asked for the audience to sing along because “it’s more fun that way.”

Shannon proceeded to give a contagiously happy rendition of Ingrid Michaelson’s “You and I.” Audience members swayed to the beat and those who knew the words sang along with no inhibitions.

The spatially-challenged Rodrigue’s soon became standing room only due to the crowd forming at the entrance. Packed tightly together, the audience joked loudly and newcomers were enthusiastically welcomed, despite the lack of adequately sized personal bubbles. Anyone and everyone was welcomed with equal warmth.

A slew of stand-up comics performed next. Chase Stevens, FCRH ’17, knew how to get his audience involved in the show, asking person after person for their name, hometown and livelihood.

Quick-witted Rodrigue’s goers knew how to shake things up for Stephens, changing their answers to more unusual livelihoods after person after person answered “student.” One young man from Florida answered with, “I eat people’s faces.”

Chase followed up with, “With their consent I’m assuming?”, and without a moment’s pause, the amusingly sharp audience member responded, “It doesn’t really matter in Florida.”  Loud belly laughter ensued throughout the venue.

Throughout the night, several students performed original songs. Justin Parker, FCRH ’16, with his dark hair pulled into a pony tail and sporting a plaid button down (as was almost every other male performer, coming with the Rodrigue’s territory), sang his song “Homeless.” Strumming an acoustic guitar with impressive skill, his voice was powerful and the song itself was emotional and well-written.

Fan favorites The F*** You Dan Murphy’s, performed later on in the show. One audience member cried, “My heart is racing right now!” as the two boys took the stage with a swagger in their stride.

They played a rousing original piece entitled, “Laura Kratcha’s Not My Dream Girl” while the audience laughed, clapped and “fangirled” along.

When the song came to an end, Katie Dolan, FCRH ’18, who had never before seen the band play, exclaimed that the performance was “the deepest, most profound number I’ve seen in my entire life.” This outlines the instantaneous affection the crowd felt for The F*** You Dan Murphy’s.

Overall, the first Rodrigue’s open mic night this year was a huge success.

PJ Cruz, FCRH ’18, who sang his original song “Lions,” said, “Performing that night was very fun; the crowd was awesome, and the music setup that Rod’s had allowed a very intimate and professional performance. I loved performing at Rod’s and look forward to being a consistent performer there.”

Show goers and performers alike had a fun and memorable night and are looking forward to the next Rod’s event.

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Olivia Richter is a Contributing Writer for The Fordham Ram.