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OPEN ARMS

-For glory, community, fun or cash, open-mic nights can bring out the singer/songwriter in just about anyone-

It's a Monday night at Eddie's Attic. If the nervous energy in the room could be tapped somehow, California would never have to worry about another rolling blackout. Acoustic singer/songwriter Sean Smith is trying to engage in conversation, but his attention keeps wandering. He's distracted by what's happening on stage, where the first finalist of the night's open-mic competition already has been announced. They're about to announce the second finalist, and Smith is hoping his name will be called.

More than half the crowd here tonight are musicians, all hoping for the same thing. Smith rocks back and forth with anticipation. His name isn't called.

Both finalists, so far, have been young, pretty, white females. "I don't have a chance," Smith, a black man, muses. This is, after all, Decatur, Ga. - known to some as Dyke-catur or Dick-hater, home of Agnes Scott women's college and the Indigo Girls.

But while Smith may be among the few black males to compete in Eddie's weekly open-mic competition, he's just one of the many contributing to the overwhelming sense of tension and anticipation in the room.

Welcome to the world of the Open-Mic Night.

For club owners, having an open-mic night is a no-brainer: Sundays through Wednesdays are always slow and musicians are always looking for a place to play, so why not open the stage to a wide variety of acts willing to perform without the guarantee of getting paid?

Various Atlanta establishments have experimented with the open-mic idea over the years, with varying degrees of success. Neighbors Pub in Virginia-Highland used to simply pull a table out of the corner and unplug the jukebox. Until, that is, the Sunday night beer swillers complained and the jukebox got plugged back in (sometimes, even, in the middle of an open-mic performance, where patrons needing their fix of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" overpowered some poor soul strumming monotonous minor chords and singing of his broken heart). Marco's Pita on Ponce has started doing a cool and vastly underattended jazz/poetry open-mic Tuesday nights (could be falafels and poetry lack marketing appeal).

In two local clubs, however, the open-mic night has become an institution: Eddie's Attic and Midtown's Red Light Caf. Their events draw a plethora of diverse talent who show up week after week. It has become a scene, of sorts - musicians who are increasingly

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