Bring Your Own Gong

When we hear a promoter rave about an event, he’s usually gushing about how it’s different from anything we’ve seen before. Then we show up and, $20 later, it’s just like everything we’ve seen before. We were beginning to get jaded. Then we met Andre Soul, who explained why he...

By Raina McLeod

July 5, 2007

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When we hear a promoter rave about an event, he’s usually gushing about how it’s different from anything we’ve seen before. Then we show up and, $20 later, it’s just like everything we’ve seen before. We were beginning to get jaded. Then we met Andre Soul, who explained why he has created a new type of live variety show. “I noticed that Miami had a lot of different open-mike venues, but it would be themed. If it was poetry, it was all poetry. Rap, all rap. I wanted to create something that was based on being able to entertain a mature audience,” he says. And so Big Mama’s Mojo at The Office was born. Andre calls it a variety mike cabaret, but we call it just plain fun.

The fact that he was inspired by The Gong Show should give you an idea of what to expect -- which is nothing. On any given Tuesday night you might find a saxophonist, a poet, a Laverne & Shirley-like act, or a monkey playing a harmonica. And just in case your co-workers don’t believe the whole monkey story, all of the performances will be taped and screened online, on www.miamitvmix.com. Doors open at 8:00; showtime is 10:00.
Tuesdays, 2007

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