Yes, give the Newbies a brief slot...like 2 songs...till they've proven they deserve better. Either that or...audition them (gasp!) beforehand. I used to play regularly at an open stage club where the MC would let his 6 year old daughter have a 15 minute set whenever she wanted one. She couldn't sing at all, but she pretended to. She also pretended to tell jokes and stories. This went on and on for months and months. It was pretty outrageous to have to sit through it time after time. He also allowed some neighborhood teenage boys (The "Weasel Brothers") to "perform" stuff that was so unutterably bad that it was downright indescribable. It was not music. It was the demonstration of "attitude" for the benefit of their young friends...and I mean bad attitude.

This MC's utter disinclination to in some way regulate the quality of the acts on his stage led to my loss of interest in going there, and contributed to the demise of the entire establishment eventually, though it was not the only reason for that. His daughter now performs at home, I presume, and the Weasel Brothers are probably vegging out in front of their Nintendos or sneaking beer and smokes illegally in back of the barn.

- LH