Open Mic Night Draws Hoboken's Undiscovered Talent

Maxwell's was a sea of acoustic guitars on Monday evening as it hosted its weekly People's Open Mic night, a democratic evening of performances that only requires one to have the guts to get on stage. Well, that and a bit of talent always helps.

Performers onstage get a mic, an amp and about 10 minutes to show off their stuff. The sign-up sheet gets passed around at 8 p.m., with the show starting as soon as there is a decent turnout.

The thing about an Open Mic, though, is that the performances can be totally hit or miss. And so instead of a blow-by-blow account of missed notes and bad pitch, here's a highlight of some crowd faves.

Michael Mathis, 36, of Hoboken, took the stage early on in the night, but the sparse crowd didn't stop him from belting out – in a voice similar to Mick Jagger – his classic rock-influenced acoustic songs.

He named the Beatles, Ryan Adams, Tom Petty – and yes, even the Rolling Stones – as muses, and they were entirely apparent in his songwriting.

Fish For Bears, the teenaged trio of Brandon Saxon, 18, Adam Melchor, 17, and Matt D'Amico, 19, of Pequannock, were too young to order at the bar, but won over the crowd with their brand of swoon-worthy emo-pop.

With lyrics like, "My whole soul feels like a stream of ink spilled onto paper," they were described by an anonymous member of the audience as "the anti-Jonas Brothers."

Melcher (guitar and vocals), Saxon (guitar) and D'Amico (bass), said they have been playing together for two years and according to D'Amico have played "a few small shows" in that time.

As for the name Fish For Bears? The boys said they got it from science class.

"It just sounded good together," Melcher shrugged.

Next up was Anthony Daniels, 25, of Hoboken, a bearded and flannel-outfitted guy that seemed like he would have honed his sound in the mountains of Appalachia, instead of in the Mile Square City.

Daniels performed stripped-down acoustic folk rock with the added bonus of some skillful harmonica – sounding a bit like the long lost brother of Ryan Adams.

Daniels, who had been playing since he was 15 years-old, listed jam, blues and bluegrass as his main sources of musical inspiration.

"I come down here a lot, too, because it's down the street," he said about Maxwell's.

Taking a break from the music, comedian Seth Joseph, 31, of Hoboken, took the stage, performing a short and sweet set with jokes about Twitter, the first Thanksgiving and Dr. Oz.

Joseph said he has been honing his comedy for about two-and-a-half years, and has studied improv and sketch writing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York.

When asked where he draws his comedic inspiration, he answered, "from Oprah."

Though this was only his second performance at Maxwell's, he said he would like to continue his weekly shows. "It gives me a reason to write," he said.

The featured band of the evening was Nipsey, a four-piece band straight out of Hoboken and a staple of the local music scene since 2007.

Bill Hamilton, Marc Giannotti, Frankie Dave Maggio and Dave Calamoneri performed a blistering set of bluesy Southern rock, in the vein of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the more modern Drive-By Truckers.

With kicks, jumps and some serious rock-star swagger, the band had everyone moving to original songs, and singing along to covers like Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" and David Bowie's "Space Oddity."

Think you've got the stuff to take the stage? The People's Open Mic is held every Monday at 8 p.m. at Maxwell's. And you never know what unsigned local talent is going to blow you away.