Finis !

Aahhh. . . My month had come to end with last night's show. Due to a family situation , Erin did not host her show. Rick had me host , again !Fortuntately, I was a little better mentally prepared for the event. Also, last night's show was Liz Simon's last show here in Boston.
So, right before the show started , Kort Yeo came over and said he had a joke for me to try . It had to do with "taking the bullet" over the month. He couldn't really use the joke himself, so I did it. I screwed up a word , but it got a good reaction. Thanks Korte! Since I had to spread out my material over the space of 9 comics, I was much more aware of pacing than I was on Friday. It also helped that before the show , Rick said for me to take my time. We had enough comics, and he would close the show so any time that was left , he could fill. I try not to use notes, but I have a habit of putting my joke list in a pocket while I'm on stage. I will touch the pocket with the notes in hopes of accessing the stuff by osmosis. Clearly, it doesn't work that way every time. It's just reassuring to me. I carry 3x5 cards in a pencil case in my bag to write ideas on. I like the stiffness of the cards, I feel like the stuff written on them is more substantial. Also, when I 'm looking to put together a set, I'll shuffle them like flash cards. As it so happens, a 3x5 is good to write the show order on, it'll hold up to going in and out of the pocket better over the course of a show.
I welcomed the audience and did about 7 minutes up front. Good enough. Then I brought Eric Chueng up. His parents were in the audience. He did a good job. I still like the "Home Schooled" joke. Then I did some more time-maybe 4 minutes and then I brought Bob Hegaerty up . I hadn't seen him perform since Peter Dutton's going-away show. It was all new material. I was in pain from laughing. He was so relaxed , and I think he was also in a fair amount of pain, he ran a 10K yesterday before he came to the show. Then he finished with metal shop, which still makes me laugh ! I did no time and brought Shaun Donovan up . I knew I had seen him perform before , but I couldn't remember any of his material. After his set, it jogged my memory for some material from the memory vault and I did a little more time.Then it was Arielle Goldman. Her Grandmother was in the audience, so I was careful about what I said about her because she has that litttle blow-job joke which I was pretty sure she wasn't going to be performing. The joke , not the blow -job. Then her material reminded me of some material I had that I haven't used this month. Just a couple of minutes. Next was Josh Gondelman. He has good material but , more importantly, I've had some nice conversations with him , so I felt like I was introducing a friend. I apologized for introducing "This next Young Man" and "He's a man. I don't want to minimize his masculinity. He can vote and drive and stuff" and the I admitted that just about anyone under 30 , is the same age for me. It's particularly difficult when I get a crush on a UPS man. They're all about 6 years old to me. Fortunately, the audience of parents could identify with my sentiment.
Next up was Billy Bob Neck. I gave him a serious introduction about how we like to present all views and in the interest of free speech we were giving Billy Bob Neck stage time to present an opposing view point. I think I did it too good, because they were really respectful of him. Meaning, I don't think he got the laughs he would have , otherwise. Sorry Mr Neck. Then it was Marley Halpern-Grazer whom I had seen at the Emerson Stand-up show when CBS Morning show had come to tape. I was doing the door while he was on stage that night, because audience members just kept arriving. I got to watch him and he was very good. Also, he's a Wiccan which just gave me something else to say to the audience. Where are you going to see a born-agian Christian and a Wiccan in the same show ? Then it was Liz Simons. My intro for her wasn't funny. Just that I'm going to miss her. Her parents were in the audience as well. After her set , I yelled "Nice Ass!" from the stage and told her parents they had done a good job with her.
Then Mr. Jenkins closed the show. I thought I was being funny when I introduced him by stating I hadn't seen this next young guy perform before. Again, they were very respectful, which I think made Rick's job tougher. Because , clearly, he's done this job before ! It's confusing to the audience. I outro'd him by letting them know he was the founder and had been running this club for the last 10 years.
I was focusing on keeping my energy up for the whole show. I had come home early from work , so I was rested . Thus making the energy aspect of the event, a little easier for me. If I get to host again, I think I should concentrate on the individual introductions. I used to be really specific with my own introduction but I gave that up after the 100th host screwed up the intro. There may even be a sub-genre of literature that is all introductions. I don't know, but I will give it some thought.
So, my month was filled with mostly highs and a couple of lows. I would say the most disappointing aspect of the month was the fatigue I experienced. It's difficult to work all day and then be out at night and still be on my game in both arenas. I wished I had dropped a couple of pounds before my month because I look much larger on dvd than I do in the mirror at home. It is alarming to me that people see something different than I feel I am . I would say the worst show and the one that taught me the most was last Saturdays show. I don't ever recall wanting to cry like that after a set. It was the depth of despair (okay, yeah , there are worse things like your husband leaving or a diagnosis of cancer, but this is comedy, not real life). What it taught me is that it is up to me to have fun. Or at least appear to have fun. Even if I'm just faking myself. Since the successful practice of stand-up is dependent on the audience reaction , it's tough not to blame them if they don't laugh. I think if they're not laughing, I need to have fun for myself whether they will go for it or not.
The highs. .. .where do I begin ? Well, April was an unusual month because it was the 10th anniversary of the club. So, there was a lot of media attention.I was seen by a scout from Comedy Central and CBS morning show. Both writers from the Globe and the Herald saw me a couple of times. I wasn't kicked off any show. I was Comic in Residence. I made the commitment, so Rick kept his commitment to me. Just the shows I was in the audience to see were amazing ! I couldn't leave early for a single show. I just wanted to see what was going to happen. I saw a lot of people I hadn't seen in a while. Seeing all that live comedy was a real treat for me. In my heart , I'm still just a kid watching the Tonight Show dreaming about what I want to do when I grow up.
I would say the most growth came in the last week. At some point in the last week I felt a change had taken place that will lead to some rapid changes in the future for me. I would be hard pressed to articulate further, it's a feeling. Springing the hosting duty on me last Friday was challenge I was ready for. I was even better prepared for it last night. The most surprising show was the night I went to 11 minutes before I thought that maybe there was something wrong with the light, but I had the material and I pulled it out to use. My dormant improv skills were always there, waiting to serve me. After a little exercise, they were there in full strength. I wished I had been able to develope more material. Though my goal was 5 new minutes, which I thought would be distributed as one new minute a week. I would say the first 3 weeks garnered one new minute and the last week provided the remaining 4.
I am extremely greatful to Rick Jenkins for providing this opportunity to me. Usually , I feel too old to learn new things. Well,I am going to change that mind-set because I am continually meeting and overcoming challenges that are presented to me. The idea that Rick would let me do his club every night of the month, at my age, is a dream come true. That he has kept his club going, vibrant and dynamic, for 10 years is an accomplishment few of us could match. That it is here for me to learn from is priceless.
Thank you everyone.
Thank you Rick.
Oh Shit ! Iam going to be sooooo late for work !