Protis

Milton Common Open Mic - 31st May 2026

This afternoon’s event was the end of an era on Brisbane’s open mic circuit. It would be the very last showcase of local live music at this venue. The management at Milton Common had made the decision to not trade on Sundays moving forward, and other simultaneous events had been affecting the open mic’s attendance as well. The venue was packed with footy fans before the live music began for the afternoon, in the leadup to the Broncos game at the nearby Suncrop Stadium. By kick-off though, most of the patrons had left Milton Common en route to the match. Being the final open mic, the sign-up board was full and the event ended up running until at least 6pm. Everyone was still permitted to perform three songs each.

W***y started off proceedings, with his steel slide guitar that he plays like a zither. It’s a rather unique take on this instrument. Dan Whittam joined him on cajon for a song or two. Speaking of Dan, he had relaxed his “no backing tracks” rule so that MC Chosen could rap along to his original songs.. There were some technical issues with the first song of his set, but the second number saw him and Gorilla Bongs team up for an epic freestyle rap. These two work very well together, if I do say so myself!

Frog The Baddie Hunter brought along some open mic favourites for this very special occasion. One of them was a song that he performed at his very first time at Milton Common, and that was “Home Among The Gum Trees.” The other songs in his set were “Reckless” by Australian Crawl and “Opportunity” by Pete Murray. Pablo De Jesus once again wowed the audience with his instrumental stylings, courtesy of his electric guitar.

Pink Diamond and Dr Michael Free both took their turns on the stage, with the latter performing three original songs which is rare for him at an event like this. David Truong, aka Ambition Road, was once again joined by Paulina as they sang two of his original songs as well as a cover. The final song of their set was another spine-tingling rendition of “Missing Gypsy.” Seriously, that one continues to get better and better with every performance!

Scott The Star decided to do something decidedly different for this open mic. He presented a radio play, which was his own take on “War Of The Worlds.” Dan had once again relaxed his “no backing tracks” rule so that Scott could do his thing. Scott vowed to perform this piece of music with a band in future, and that does sound very intriguing indeed! Gorilla Bongs returned to the stage for another freestyle rap, and invited others to join him. Those to take up his offer were David Truong on keyboard and Frog The Baddie Hunter on tambourine. It became a jam very quickly, much to the audience’s delight!

The Tabby Cats were previously seen at the open mic at Chapters in Karalee, and have performed at Milton Common a few times in the past. They were in fine form as they began their set with “We Are The Tabby Cats” which introduced the duo to the audience. Their other two songs were covers, with one of them being “All My Loving” by The Beatles. Matt Sipple’s set certainly had everyone clapping along and enjoying themselves to no end! Other performers included Nick, Dan, Tim, D-Wayne Beat, and Ryn who had decided to team up with Chris P.

Rent Acenter kept up his tradition of constantly changing his stage name at every open mic. This afternoon he went by Rick Sanchez, which he said s a reference to the TV show “Rick and Morty.” I once again accompanied him on the folding keyboard provided by Frog The Baddie Hunter, and I was grateful to be able to use the stand that had also been supplied by Frog. No more “MacGyver-ing” for me! The songs in our setlist were as follows:

1. Perfect (Simple Plan cover)
2. Stacy’s Mom (Fountains Of Wayne cover)
3. Advance Australia Fair (Working Class Man parody)

Your Spot Open Mic Night - The Magee, 21st May 2026

There was a real sense of familiarity as I entered this venue in Fortitude Valley for what I initially thought was for the first time. I had a feeling that I had been there before, and after a period of time I found that was definitely the case! The Magee used to be known as the Pig “N’ Whistle, and I had in fact spent time there on a few occasions during BIGSOUND over the last few years. It seems like pretty much everything about the venue remained the same, apart from the name. Oh, and of course the open mic event!

The man in charge of the live music entertainment for the evening was Greg, and I enjoyed meeting him for the first time. He played a few songs to kick things off, with the first one being “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac. For that number, he was joined by his partner on lead vocals. She is really quite shy, but she has an amazing singing voice! Greg played acoustic guitar and sang harmonies, and the two of them sounded really great together! Justin Crosbie took his turn on the stage later in the evening, as did Josh, Billy and someone else who wrote their name on the board as “D.”

Frog The Baddie Hunter always loves performing at new venues, especially when four songs can be played. His set consisted of songs by the likes of Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel, Rick Astley, and of course the iconic “I Am Australian.” Rent Acenter also enjoyed the extra time in front of an audience, and this evening he went under the name Residential Mortgage. As mentioned in previous weeks, he has decided to change this stage name every time he performs. I once again played Frog’s folding keyboard, and everyone is absolutely amazed when they see it for the first time! The songs that made up Residential Mortgage’s setlist were as follows:

1. Teenagers (My Chemical Romance cover)
2. Teenage Dirtbag (Wheatus cover)
3. Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)[Green Day cover]
4. Stacy’s Mom (Fountains Of Wayne cover)

Manly Deck Open Mic Night - 14th May 2026

My bandmates and I really enjoyed travelling to this event, even though it took a while to get there due to the afternoon traffic. Once we arrived though, we found out that the venue is run by the same person who is in charge of Tiger Eye Bar in Petrie Terrace! I noticed many similarities between the two venues, one of which being the food. At Manly Deck I must say that I highly recommend the chips, as well as the steak burger. I accompanied both of these with a Somersby apple cider.

This open mic is a weekly event, with Stevo Elbow running it on the first Thursday of each month. Local singer-songwriter Felicity Kircher is in charge of proceedings on the second Thursday of each month, and my bandmates and I were able to meet her. That was exciting, especially since I have actually played at least one song of hers on my radio show “Protis Reviews On Zed Digital.” She also co-wrote a recently-released song with another artist named Tiffany Grace, who I interviewed on my show last month. That conversation will go to air on Wednesday the 15th of July from 6pm, just two days before her tour of Queensland and Byron Bay gets underway.

Felicity kicked off the live music entertainment for the evening, strumming an acoustic guitar and singing. Her father joined her for a few numbers as well, on the supplied drum kit. He also helped her set everything up for the open mic, and the five songs of Felicity’s set really helped set the vibe for the night. Mostly soulful jazz with a hint of reggae is perhaps the best way to describe her time on stage, especially her cover of “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson just to name one of them.

Frog The Baddie Hunter had stayed overnight in Melbourne, after having seen Split Enz there. Two of the songs in his set were by them, and they were “I Got You” and “History Never Repeats.” The other two he performed were “Better Days” by Pete Murray, as well as the timeless Aussie classic “I Am Australian.” Rent Acenter was making his first appearance at Manly Deck, and was assisted by Frog and myself. Frog had brought his foldable keyboard along for me to play, as well as a stand to put it on. We also played four songs while we were on stage, which were as follows:

1. Jessie's Girl (Rick Springfield cover)
2. All The Small Things (Blink 182 cover)
3. Stacy's Mom (Fountains Of Wayne cover)
4. Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)[Green Day cover]