Show Preview: Brackett & Co., Real Estate
J. Tillman at the Mohawk - Giveaway
As the days go by, things get more intense at Slam Central. Each night, votes for the team bouts are tallied, and teams and individuals learn where they stand. The scores as of the wee hours of Wednesday morning have been posted, and while it's way too early to start popping the bubbly, we're excited to see Team Ego's in second place! First is Team Killeen (please tell us there's at least one slamming soldier among them...how cool is that??); third is Team Berkeley. You can see the entire list of scores from Tuesday's bouts here.
Taking a gander at what's to be had on this lovely Thursday, we see the Queer Open Mic is at Antone's at 11:30am. We've heard excellent things about this event, and are amused to see that it rolls directly into the only open mic that takes up two time slots: Ladies Who Spit at Lunch: Women's Open Mic, from 1:15-2:45pm. Awesome.
Lastly, we were surprised by the title of the panel discussion scheduled for 3pm at the Hideout: Is There Such a Thing as Slam Poetry? Uh, isn't that why the poets are here? Seriously, it's likely a very cogent discussion of slam and its place in the poetry world—something of a controversial subject in certain realms.
Tonight is the last night of prelims, so if you plan to make it out to cheer on your favorite team, you'd better get busy! Neither Austin team is on the block tonight, but take a gander at who's competing and give a bout a try. Or check the Wednesday scores and cheer on one of the current top teams.
We have this inkling that as NPS wears on, the poets cut loose with ever-growing abandon each night, blowing off steam as the competition heats up. That being the case, it stands to reason that things get just that much more fun. This is our way of saying you might be surprised by how insane some of these late night events can get.
And what's crazier than a room full of slamming women? Not only do the ladies have the only double-booked daytime event, they've got Women’s Open Mic II, 11pm at Ruta Maya. We're not sure whether this is because they needed the extra time, or if there might be some material that's better suited to a late night audience. We suspect the latter.
NPS 2007
Thru Saturday
[National Poetry Slam Official Site]
[tickets]
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As much as I was rooting for Team Ego's last night at Antone's, it was clear that the judges (who are members of the audience and thus often de facto Austinites) were scoring them waaay too high. They just weren't that strong.