Electrolicious

I think last night’s Salon of Shame may have been the best yet. We had some amazing readers who spouted brilliance like “Today I slept late again, so I skipped my ethics class” and “My main interests are horses and boys. Right now I have neither a horse or a boyfriend.” I also loved hearing the perspectives of a then-12-year-old FBI Agent report that a crumbling mansion in her neighborhood was “A place of groovy honor. I find it an easy place to dig.” We also had singing!

It was extra interesting to host this Salon given that last week I finally had the opportunity to attend Cringe, the Brooklyn-based inspiration for the Salon. What was most hilarious was seeing how, despite being sisters in some ways, the two events have their marked differences. Cringe is monthly, and held in a smaller, grittier space. There’s no stage, and in fact Sarah B. noted that she would never hold the event in a space with a stage, as a way to emphasize that it’s not about performing. Innnnteresting! I’d never thought of the distinction, but actually very much agree. Most shocking to me was when one Cringe reader stood up and broke the #1 rule of the Salon of Shame: she read someone else’s writing! And it was ok! Not that I’ll ever change our #1 rule, but still: it was interesting to see how the format could bend and flex to accommodate such things. There were also more male readers at Cringe. (Seattle guys: wtf is up with that!? WE NEED MORE MALE READERS.)

Perhaps the most remarkable thing to me about Cringe was the small size of the space — there’s seating for maybe 30 people, and standing room for a few more. This is an issue very close to my heart because after months of resisting the idea, I finally decided that the Salon’s 64-seat space just wasn’t going to cut it. We outgrew the space about a year ago, and it’s been a non-stop hell-ride since then, trying to deal with grossly sold out nights, asking journalist friends to PLEASE not write about it, pre-sale ticket yadda-yadda, etc. Call me sensitive, but I take it personally when people can’t get into an event I’m hosting. It makes me feel like an elitist, and Shame is for everyone! And so last night was the Salon’s farewell to our home since November 2005, the Jewelbox Theater. I will miss the flocked walls and red velvet curtain and cozy booths. But not the dozens of people standing outside saying “This is the third time I’ve tried to come and every time I get shut out!”

And so, starting in May we’ll be moving to a new space — Capitol Hill Arts Center. The space doubles our capacity (room for 125 seated, and up to 150 with standing room!), and I’m hoping that we never sell out ever again. For those of you who have been turned away from sold out Salons, come on May 15th and celebrate the new digs!

PS: Lots of pictures over here.