It's the kind of talent you won't see at your neighborhood bar's open mic -- primarily because most of these kids would not be allowed in. And there is plenty of talent, given a public platform once in a while thanks to the Global Youth Empowerment (GYEM), one of the city's culture hubs for young 'uns.
The event at thejamjar went over half an hour beyond its planned closing time, as act after act took turns on the stage to entertain several dozen attendees with usually great music and positive messages. One could witness a diverse range of instrumental and vocal abilities in multiple genres, from the likes of Scott Attew, Physical Graffiti and David Beats Goliath. There was also a little beatboxing and a lot of rap, including some Arabic rap, a bit of rap theatre, and a stunning rap-off near the end. It was a serious display of talent, and a testament to the drive of those too young to drive, impressing even a borderline fogey like me.
A strange confluence of non-events permitted me a Friday evening free enough to drive down to Abu Dhabi and join the wordsmiths of the city's Rooftop Rhythms at their 17th open mic, at the Hilton Capital Grand.
Dorian
The organizer/emcee, Dorian, kept the energy up with charm and (sometimes deliberately groansome) humor, and the DJ set the mood with some wonderfully bouncy tunes. The weather was pleasant enough for the outdoor poolside section of the rooftop bar venue to be opened up -- a good thing too, because a LOT of people turned up. A projector above the stage played a (slightly distracting when performances were in progress) slideshow of images from what I presume were past open mics.
Will McInerney
We listened to several spoken word pieces about family, technology, love, and such; many of these were very relatable and clever. A couple of my favorites were the ones about sibling relationships and the one about GPS (in the case of the latter, until it started getting preachy well beyond the ceremonial deism threshold). In addition to the spoken, some sung and others rapped, adding further diversity to the talent buffet. Visiting American spoken word celebrity Will McInerney was also at the event, and delighted us with a few intense performances.
