Re: 5th Open Mic
In the context of an open mic, I would do whatever the mood strikes. Open mics, in my experience, are supposed to be about musicians getting together and showing each other what they've been up to musically. New songs, new cover arrangements and so on. So if that's not what's happening then I would feel free to change my plans.
If you're not on stage yet when the crowd is getting noisy, I'd consider telling the emcee to skip over my performance if it's something you really wanted the audience to pay attention to. If you're already on the stage, and you or someone else has already announced what you plan on playing, I'd say something polite to the audience like "well I was going to play that but I don't think it fits the mood of the night, so I'm going to do something else..." and then play something that matched the energy of the crowd.
On the other hand, if you've only got that one arrow in your quiver that night, you could just try to take a moment to step back mentally from the crowd, pretend you're in your usual practice room and just try to play as if you were playing for yourself and let the audience fade from your mind.
I wouldn't give the audience a hard time. They're there to have fun and relax. If they're paying attention and you're subtle and friendly about changing things up, the one's that are more on the ball will "get it" and the next time you're up things will be better. That's my theory anyway, for what it's worth.
These are all just ideas, but they fit what I'd do in your situation. Just always be sure to make it about enjoying yourself. It is after all just an open mic.
Tim
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