SLAM!

Friday, August 12th was easily one of the best nights of my life. It was the semi-finals for the National Slam Poetry contest and all of the events were within walking distance of my house. It was like a dream come true. 

Leading up to Friday, I had attended a workshop on workshopping, the youth slam contest and some open mic events. I also got denied access to one of the first bouts I attempted to go to after waiting in the rain for over an hour; apparently  lots of other people wanted to route on our local Lizard Lounge team. I learned my lesson: to get into the slam events - especially the popular ones - I was going to have to show up really early to get a spot. 

On Friday, August 12th, Jon met me over two hours early for a quick bite at a restaurant overlooking the semi-final venue. I wanted to keep an eye on the line so that I would not - no matter what - miss the show.  We found our place in line still a good hour and half early and, already, the line was pretty intense. The poets who were performing all week had priority; it looked iffy that we would make it in despite our clever planning. 

A little over an hour before the show, the host appeared and introduced himself to the crowd. He asked  the group: "Who is related to a poet? Who came to route on a specific team? Who has never been to a slam before and it just psyched to be here?" Jon and I raised our hands for the last one. I've seen slams on T.V. before, I've seen documentaries and youtube videos but this was going to be my first ever live slam ever and I was REALLY psyched. 

Slowly, the host started walking towards us. He started chatting with the people in front of us and then wiggled his way toward Jon and me. He asked us a little about ourselves and then he popped the most amazing question ever: "Will you be a judge tonight?" 

Oh my goodness. I leapt for joy. Not only would I get to definitely get a seat, but I'd get the best seat in the house AND...AND...I got to help determine national SLAM history. Whoever we chose as the winner would get to go the finals and have a chance of winning the 2011 contest. Wow! Wow! Wow!

The host asked four more teams to join us and then he walked us into the theatre as a group. We sat in the second row and were told the rules:

* After each performer, write a big number from one to ten on your white board. One is "Really?!! You wrote THAT???!" and ten is "Jesus just came down upon us!! Hallelujah." 

* Raise your board high and have it face the judges as soon as the performer is done. The MC will shout our your scores from lowest to highest.

* The audience will either route you on or booo you. It doesn't matter. Ignore the audience and do your thang. (The audience was also told later to ignore the judges and do your thang.)

At 8:00 pm, they finally opened the doors to the theater for the public and the house was packed. In fact, there were over 400 people who tried to get in and were denied because of space. And we were sitting in the second row. As judges. Unreal.

Four teams competed in four rounds. Each team sent up a single poet or a group piece and it was the rowdiest, most supportive ruckus event I've ever been to. There were gasps at the deep stuff, snaps when we got shivers, hollers when the poet got really intensely into it with sweat and tears. Man, the room was ALIVE. Each time a new poet came up, I felt like I went on a gigantic emotional journey with them. I felt exhausted and energized. It was so powerful watching these tattooed muscle men get up on stage and  pour their hearts out to the world. It was so inspiring to hear young gay men rant about Ken Dolls and G.I. Joe's.

As Jon and I walked home, the summer air was perfect. I was bouncing up and down and smiling from ear to ear. Holy moly, holy moly. What an incredible night! How did I get so lucky?

For more information on the SLAM, check out: National Slam Poetry Event 2011