Every Monday night, dozens of Milwaukee comedians head to the corner of Bremen and Clarke in Riverwest for mass, but they’re not going to St. Casmir Church.
They’re headed across the street to Bremen Cafe, home to Monday Mass, one of the city’s longest continually running comedy open mics, if not the oldest. Each week, standup comics Raegan Niemela and Luise Noe hold down the fort on hosting duty.
On any given Monday, more than 40 comics may take the stage within a two-hour span from 8-10 p.m., and while that may seem like a barrage of comedy in a short time frame, it gives each comedian plenty of time to tighten up their jokes.
“A lot of people are shocked to find out what they thought was three minutes is actually six” said Noe.
“When you get a light from one of us, that means you have one minute left” said Niemela.
Comics sign up for Monday Mass via a Google form, posted on the Monday Mass Instagram account every week. From there, Niemela and Noe create a list of up to 25 guaranteed slots, as well as some spaces allotted for “the bucket,” which is just what it sounds; names drawn at random from a bucket to come to the stage. On most occasions, there will be multiple blocks in the list for bucket comedians to be called at random for a time slot.
“Even if you didn’t make the main list, there’s still a shot that you’re getting on stage that night” said Niemela. “Some comics actually prefer the bucket, and having that energy of like ‘oh shit, it’s my turn to go up right now.’”
“Be here when your name is on the list.” said Noe. “If you’re one of the later spots on the list, that’s fine to get here later, but be here when your name is called.”
Monday Mass at Bremen Cafe can be traced back as far as around 2012, religiously (pun intended) held on Monday nights before a music open jam takes place from 10 p.m. onward. Niemela and Noe inherited coordinating duties from comedians Gary Zajackowski and Elijah Holbrook, with other generations of comics preceding them in terms of producing the show.
“Overall, I’d say the whole room is supportive of people wanting to try this for the first time,” said Noe. “This is a super accessible mic, compared to some of the other clubs that might be more intimidating if you just wrote down a few jokes and want to try them out.”
With the amount of comics on stage in a short amount of time, that naturally makes the Bremen Cafe mic an eclectic mix of comedy styles. It has also fostered a community of comedians that are all looking to get stronger as performers onstage.
“That is the appeal of this mic” said Noe. “We have the one-liner guys, we have the super weird alt-comics, club comedy style, they all are welcomed here.”
“I think when you’re a bit younger, you support your friends more than anything, and then as you get older as a comedian, it’s not necessarily who you like, but more looking for what you’re lacking in your act” said Niemela.
It’s also a special occasion when comics who have emerged from the open mic circuit to featured shows and headlining gigs make a return to Riverwest to try out material.
“There are veterans that don’t go to every mic anymore, and we’re so thankful when they show up here,” said Noe. “Once in a while every few months, Chastity Washington shows up here. Everyone comes into the room to see her. When Justin Leon comes out, people come into the room to see him. Rachel Mac and Ton Johnson also show up from time to time. They’re all people that have been doing this for years and don’t necessarily come to every mic.”
At the essence of Monday Mass, though, it’s about giving comics opportunities to sharpen their skills, or get the courage to go onstage for the first time. Some comics have been as young as 13 (accompanied by parents, of course) to well beyond that.
“People think that open mics are just for people in their 20s, and that’s not true at all” said Niemela. “If you want to get started at any age, you can start here. Bremen is the perfect place for that because there’s a punk rock vibe of all-access when it comes to comedy.”
If you’re looking to test out your comedy chops, both Niemela and Noe recommend attending the open mic for a night as an audience member before putting your name on the list or in the bucket. It will also give you familiarity with how the timing of the show works. Fortunately, the open mic happens every Monday night that Bremen Cafe is open, which is most of the time.
“Holidays, bad weather, whatever, we’ll be here” said Noe.
You can keep up with the Monday Mass open mic by following them on Instagram, and attend the show for free every Monday night at Bremen Cafe.
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