TONY ENGELHART: THIS WON'T BE A DISASTER >>>

An open mic can be an awesome way to discover new talent or a complete disaster. If you’ve ever been to a comedy open mic, you are nodding your head right now. However, Chris Lunn’s open mics only attract the crème of the crop in acoustic music and never leave the audiences embarrassed and cringing. Chris Lunn, a folkie from the ’60s, started his open mic series during the Dylan era when folk music was politically conscious and highly controversial. The first of these were held in Palo Alto, Calif. After his return to Washington, Lunn started the Court C Folk & Blues Workshop, which later became Victory Music. This attracted many performers, including the great Jim Page, to relocate to the Northwest. The third creation of Lunn is a quarterly series â€" the Ancient Victory Open Mike â€" known for bringing together performers from Lunn’s open mics from the 1960s to the 1990s. The first two were rousing successes, and featured more than 50 musicians including Tim Noah and Mike Dumovich from the 1969 open mic.

The Ancient Victory Open Mike returns to the Antique Sandwich Shop in Tacoma (Ruston) tonight. Be there, be square.

[Antique Sandwich Company, 7 p.m., $3-$5, all ages, 5102 N. Pearl, Tacoma, 253.863.6617]