Drip, Drip , Drip Ad Infinitum

Ah , the glowing orbe in the sky is displeased again. We had a few hours of sun this week and now it's raining again. At least , they had umberellas in stock at the Target in Woburn on my way home from the job tonight. My morning commute took almost an hour. It was more torrential downpours and my friend Chris at work said that there was an accident and both the Pike and 495 were shut down. That would explain all that extra traffic today.
On Wed. I had an appointment on Newbury Street and I decided to walk all the way back to Park Street, afterward, because I thought it would still be light out until I got through the Common. It was really beautiful. There was a haze in the air which combined the emerging heat and the residual moisture left from all the most recent rain. The air smelled like fresh cut grass and fresh leaves.The Swan boats were all tethered together in the middle of the lagoon. I wondered how they got to the middle of the lagoon and then I figured one of the current generations of Pagets probably just wades out to the middle in boots and anchors them there. The deepest portion of the lagoon is 3 feet deep. Emminently doable.
I went home to change because I had a show to do in Dorchester at a comfy little bar named "Ups N' Downs". It 's actually very bright inside upstairs. Downstairs (The "Downs" part ) still looks like the kind of Stiffy bar my Dad used to like to frequent. Upstairs is brightly lit and really clean looking. The host is a guy named DJ Cage. I only met DJ within the last year , or so, but he's the kind of guy I feel like I've known forever. I'm surprised I didn't cross paths with him 'Back in the Day'. Anyway, I hit it off with him when we met and he's been pretty easy to get in touch with since then. He's trying to get this little room started. He's trying to get a lot of things going for the room, but I'm really just interested in the comedy portion of the event.
The room has a lot of mirrors and wooden fixtures. The room was populated by a lot of retired cops. I don't know what this says about me , but they didn't look that much older than me ! The men were really gentlemanly . Even the bartender downstairs ("Downs") was really polite and slightly flirtatious. I had gone downstairs looking for my friends. When I came back upstairs ("Ups"), I told DJ that the bartender downstairs proposed to me. DJ thought I would probably garner a couple more proposals before the night was over. Gawd Bless 'im !
One of the girls I work with knows this room and lives only a couple of blocks away. She promised she would come to the show if I did it. God Bless her ! She brought her husband , who I've ,met before , and her friend. I was so surprised and greatful to see them. Just because I told DJ that I had friends that were coming and I would have been a little embarassed had they not arrived. There were 2 other comics , who I had not met before and Mike Whitman. I told DJ I didn't want to go after Mike. I think he's terrific and I do not want to follow his caliber of talent.
I freaked a little because I saw Joe List , he's really great . Later on, Tonya Dalhaus, Sandy Asai and Dave Grabiner came by and did time.
I thought my set went okay. The stage was not well lit and I was really aware that I was not in the light. There was nothing to be done for it . Tuck in and barrel through. I did all the stuff I had planned on except the rainbow flag/terror alert bit. I felt a little shaky at the start but then I hit my stride and they were paying attention. I know they laughed, but I was mostly hearing the silence. It was definitely the silence that you hear from an audience watching a movie. However, again, it's comedy , a little laughing should be involved. I had really developed some muscle from my Comic in Residency. DJ introduced me to the audience as "The Comedy in Residence". My friend thought I was really polished and her husband admitted "I didn't thinkn you were going to be that good ! " A true compliment.
All in all a pretty good night. I wished I had been more focused, but I always wish I was more focused. DJ seemed pretty happy. It was nice to hang out a little bit with Tanya. I was home by 12:30 am. I would have blogged at the time but I am having some slow moving problems with my computer.