I would like to host my own show. I can rent the local coffee house for the night, sell tickets, and perform. It sounds simple. Do I need to worry about anything, permits business license or such. What if I sell tapes after the show? Has anyone else tried anything like this?

The best coffee houses to aim for won't require you to pay a fee lol. And the best audiences to aim for are the ones who will show up quickly and without much push. I did many in coffee houses with a friend during college. We didn't over think it, and it worked out great. It sounds simple huh?

Reality: this all comes with it's own challenges. Set realistic expectations, don't use the first show as an aim to make money. Test the waters, try again, retool, keep at it, etc.

There are many threads on this, search "four walling".

It depends on your goals when you start. Are you trying to gain experience or make money? It is a quite important distinction.

Rsummer27,

Coffee shop type of places should be for free.

Since you are hosting it in a coffee shop, do your first show for the community! Yes, for free.

This is why:

You can can leverage local press easier and by stating you are creating a community experience
Buildup a following
Gain experience producing and promoting your own show
Have a good reason to contact prev clients to invite them to the show
Have a good reason to contact potential clients
BRING IN THE PRESS to get more jobs and awareness about you.
You might be able to get the coffee shop owner pay for a few marketing expenses and to mention you in their current weekly-monthly ads!

Danny Doyle asked the important question.

Often times we set our goals and measure success by the dollar revenue gained each month. We should also be setting activity goals. Activity drives revenue and so it stands to reason that the more activity we perform the more exposure we gain and the more leads it will generate. Not all activity will produce revenue but it could produce leads.

I encourage you to set revenue goals in one column and number of activities you wish to achieve in another. Activity + Leads = $ Revenue

At the end of each month measure yourself against your goals:

1) How many performances did I achieve versus plan
2) How many quality contacts did I gain through my performances versus plan
3) How much revenue did my performances generate versus plan

The simple answer for the OP is yes, you should have a business license (and a retail license if you plan on selling tapes). That is not to say that there are not people here with experience to the contrary. You should also carry insurance.