Sunday, July 31, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Comedy Predictions for 2011
...also know as, "what I didn't do in 2010 that I will again attempt this year".
Looking back at 2010, I would say it was a good year for me in terms of comedy. But facts are facts! Let's take a look back to this post I wrote around the same time last year and compare notes (these were my comedy resolutions for 2010):
I was happy, but I was upset. Why can't I talk about the stuff that I care about, the nerdy stuff, and not have it be so weak? The problem, I found after removing the jokes from my act for a while, was that they were really poorly written jokes. They just weren't that good, and on top of that, wasn't something that resonated with many people. I went back and thought, "what is it about these nerdy topics which everyone can get?" Even if they haven't seen "The Lord of the Rings" is there something about the struggle for building an identity, or at least not getting beat up in high school, that ever person could understand and find funny. If you've seen the movie, even better, I'll throw something special in there just for you.
Since approaching the material this way, I've been able to reintegrate a lot of these topics back into my act without the lull that followed them, and I'm happy about it. It's also caused me to define my voice a heck of a lot more, as my opinions about topics are coming through more clearly with this kind of focus. Another thing about presentation style that I learned this year was that my face and voice are very expressive and engaging when I commit to the material. I found on my sets at the end of this year that I was hamming up jokes that I knew would go well. I was watching videos thinking, "I look like a big muppet", I should do that more often. It was entertaining and people responded to it much more than the same joke earlier in the year. Now I just have to figure out how I can commit myself to my material faster (like at the open mic when I'm first trying it out).
So Brian, I thought this post was supposed to be about 2011. You're right my friend, but you have to know where you've been to know where you're going. And stand-up is all about context.
Ok so here is what I think 2011 will bring for me and my fellow Seattlites as far as comedy is concerned:
Looking back at 2010, I would say it was a good year for me in terms of comedy. But facts are facts! Let's take a look back to this post I wrote around the same time last year and compare notes (these were my comedy resolutions for 2010):
- Create two 30 minute sets. - I don't think I got to two 30 minute sets, but I do have one 30 minute set that I like a lot more than last year. I don't think I generated the kind of material to reach this goal, and spent most of the year polishing bits and throwing out large chunks of material as stronger stuff emerged. I recently went back through my old comedy journals and am trying to resurface some old material in a new light. This has been going well, but still probably around 15 minutes shy of two sets.
- Update brianboshes.com. - Done, although after I did it that time I never updated it again. :(
- Blog more. - FAIL!
- Do comedy in LA, NYC, and Phoenix. Get a spot at the Tempe Improv so my family can come see me do comedy in my home town. - I did not get to LA or NYC this year (boo). I blame my "day job" for some, but not all, of this failure. I did go to Costa Rica though but there are no comedy clubs there that would book me. I did comedy in Phoenix and my family did indeed come see me but it was at the Ice House (ice rink bar) in Phoenix and not the Tempe Improv. Oops...
- Finish a comedy project that isn't standup. Some kind of sketch or script or something. - I worked on this a lot in September but never got to writing a screenplay. I signed up for a screenwriting class that starts in two weeks though.
- Continue writing at least once a week. Preferably more. - For the most part I did keep this up, so yay me here.
- Produce a comedy show. - It wasn't the "comedy show" that I was looking for when setting this goal, but I did do a "2010 Year in Review" at Laughs right before the new year where I made some custom content and booked a bunch of the performers, so we'll call this one achieved.
- Start up a new writing group which encourages people to be better, preferably better in a way that I like so open mics are more enjoyable for me. - I started writing with a friend, Eric Uthus, on a weekly basis and he is showing marked improvements. Not so much in his jokes, but he is less negative when it comes to how he approaches his topics. Open mics have become even more annoying...
- And as always, get funnier. - Debatable...
I was happy, but I was upset. Why can't I talk about the stuff that I care about, the nerdy stuff, and not have it be so weak? The problem, I found after removing the jokes from my act for a while, was that they were really poorly written jokes. They just weren't that good, and on top of that, wasn't something that resonated with many people. I went back and thought, "what is it about these nerdy topics which everyone can get?" Even if they haven't seen "The Lord of the Rings" is there something about the struggle for building an identity, or at least not getting beat up in high school, that ever person could understand and find funny. If you've seen the movie, even better, I'll throw something special in there just for you.
Since approaching the material this way, I've been able to reintegrate a lot of these topics back into my act without the lull that followed them, and I'm happy about it. It's also caused me to define my voice a heck of a lot more, as my opinions about topics are coming through more clearly with this kind of focus. Another thing about presentation style that I learned this year was that my face and voice are very expressive and engaging when I commit to the material. I found on my sets at the end of this year that I was hamming up jokes that I knew would go well. I was watching videos thinking, "I look like a big muppet", I should do that more often. It was entertaining and people responded to it much more than the same joke earlier in the year. Now I just have to figure out how I can commit myself to my material faster (like at the open mic when I'm first trying it out).
So Brian, I thought this post was supposed to be about 2011. You're right my friend, but you have to know where you've been to know where you're going. And stand-up is all about context.
Ok so here is what I think 2011 will bring for me and my fellow Seattlites as far as comedy is concerned:
- I will have two 30 minute sets. More specifically, I will be able to talk on stage for upwards of an hour but I still won't be ready to headline a show. Most of the second 30 will not be my best material, but I could do it in a pinch. (Look, much more reasonable goal than last year).
- I will write an amazing and reliable closer. The definition of "amazing" is TBD.
- I will complete my alternative comedy project such as a screenplay or series of skits. A series of YouTube video submissions will also qualify as fulfilling this goal.
- I will again attempt do comedy in NYC, LA, and Phoenix.
- I will create a comedy show "Nerds of Comedy" (working title) that will allow me and my fellow nerd comics in Seattle the ability to talk about stuff in front of an audience that gets it. I will then try to sell this to ComicCon so I can get in for free this year.
- I will consolidate this blog and my website under a new WordPress blog (at brianboshes.com) that I update more than once a year.
- I will put up another YouTube video for all of my friends that are complaining that I don't have anything on YouTube for them to watch. Alternatively, I will find a way to post videos on my blog that the entire internet doesn't have access to.
- I will try to be less snarky at open mics. The definition of "snarky" is TBD.
- I will try to commit to the new jokes with the same energy I give to the proven material.
- And as always, get funnier.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Free Wine (for me) Comedy Night
I was asked to "headline" a winery's corporate dinner this last Sunday. I use the bunny ears here because I only did around 30 minutes. That's not a headlining set. Doesn't really matter; I don't think I'm ready to headline officially, yet. You need more than just 45 minutes (which I think I might have, if I stretch), you really need an act. It needs an opening, middle, and end, just like a good story. I don't think I'm a good story, at least not a full length one. At this point, I think I'm a good short story; a short film you'd like, but aren't sure if it has the staying power to be feature length. I'm not trying to be hard on myself, just realistic. I want to be a strong feature, twice over, before attempting headlining. That is why this year's goal was two 30 minute sets. I don't know where I am with this year's resolution, as I've been busy and lazy and haven't taken the time to actually count up all my "good" jokes. Just writing as much as I can (which isn't much lately since I really like sleeping more these days).
So ya, back to the show. We'll fast forward to my set, but before we go there, I should say that I spent the first hour of the show waiting in the winery showroom. I looked at all the bottles, gifts, food, and behind every door labeled "Wine Club Members Only". This was all part of my master plan which was if my material didn't go well, I could just switch into improving about the winery. You can probably guess what comes up next, my material didn't work. I think the audience was a little fed up with hearing about single comics complaining about being single. So onto the improv.
I've been practicing corporate comedy at these non-profit comedy shows at the Comedy Underground the last couple of weeks. I've pushed myself to do as much material I could about the non-profit. Material that was funny but still in good taste. Exercising this comedy muscle paid off I think. I did about 15 minutes of straight (slightly prewritten) improv with the winery employees. It was great. All of the pent up things I always wanted to say to a winery owner finally had a chance to come out, and they loved it. I especially liked equating their wine club to an adult website. Got the light and thought "oh crap, how am I going to wrap this up?". Ended up doing a small joke from my act and then thanked them before leaving the stage (which was a dance floor set up at ground level).
After the show I drank a couple glasses of cab sav, received a bottle of wine for my trouble (I think I get paid for reals on Thursday), and drove (safely) home. Now if only my written material was that funny. We'll see, I'm going to try one of the "improved" jokes tonight at the open mic. Let's see if we can't add it to one of the 30s.
So ya, back to the show. We'll fast forward to my set, but before we go there, I should say that I spent the first hour of the show waiting in the winery showroom. I looked at all the bottles, gifts, food, and behind every door labeled "Wine Club Members Only". This was all part of my master plan which was if my material didn't go well, I could just switch into improving about the winery. You can probably guess what comes up next, my material didn't work. I think the audience was a little fed up with hearing about single comics complaining about being single. So onto the improv.
I've been practicing corporate comedy at these non-profit comedy shows at the Comedy Underground the last couple of weeks. I've pushed myself to do as much material I could about the non-profit. Material that was funny but still in good taste. Exercising this comedy muscle paid off I think. I did about 15 minutes of straight (slightly prewritten) improv with the winery employees. It was great. All of the pent up things I always wanted to say to a winery owner finally had a chance to come out, and they loved it. I especially liked equating their wine club to an adult website. Got the light and thought "oh crap, how am I going to wrap this up?". Ended up doing a small joke from my act and then thanked them before leaving the stage (which was a dance floor set up at ground level).
After the show I drank a couple glasses of cab sav, received a bottle of wine for my trouble (I think I get paid for reals on Thursday), and drove (safely) home. Now if only my written material was that funny. We'll see, I'm going to try one of the "improved" jokes tonight at the open mic. Let's see if we can't add it to one of the 30s.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Open Mics vs. The Confidence Factor
At the open mic last night, my confidence mid joke fell to an low point. It was a new joke that I wrote in the car on the way down, after having done some good crowdwork at the Non Profit Comedy Night show at the Comedy Underground. I was feeling great about it, all the way up to the point when I had to tell it. It was if my comedy instincts were rejecting it before it even left my mouth. What was so different about being in the car and then on stage. I really shouldn't give a crap about what the open mic audience thinks. I'm there to work, I have things to say, fuck'em, right? I don't know. Regardless, the joke fell flat, I saved the set by simply explaining to the audience that this just wasn't a good night for me, but that's what they get for a free show. My material may have sucked but my crowdwork was on last night.
Coming off of that set though I was able to take some good notes and I'm looking forward to tell the joke again. I basically re-wrote it from the ground up, coming off the one good part that explains how "I'm sexier than Jesus". Sometimes the joke has to come out of my mouth and bomb the first time, and if I'm lucky, there will be that glimmer of hope, which is what happened last night.
Also, I think it might be time to re-write my JDate joke that was the opener from this one. It felt really stale and hacky, especially compared with the more conversational delivery style I've been using over the last couple of months. Now this thing sticks out like an 80's airplane bit. Took down some notes on that as well, so we'll see how that morphs itself.
All in all, both good things. A comedic phoenix arising from the ashes of other comedians smoking outside the club.
Coming off of that set though I was able to take some good notes and I'm looking forward to tell the joke again. I basically re-wrote it from the ground up, coming off the one good part that explains how "I'm sexier than Jesus". Sometimes the joke has to come out of my mouth and bomb the first time, and if I'm lucky, there will be that glimmer of hope, which is what happened last night.
Also, I think it might be time to re-write my JDate joke that was the opener from this one. It felt really stale and hacky, especially compared with the more conversational delivery style I've been using over the last couple of months. Now this thing sticks out like an 80's airplane bit. Took down some notes on that as well, so we'll see how that morphs itself.
All in all, both good things. A comedic phoenix arising from the ashes of other comedians smoking outside the club.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Norther Lights Theater Pub - Salem, Oregon
That is where I performed last weekend. Did a one nighter filling in for a comic friend of mine who had to go out of town. Got the call two weeks ago, so it wasn't super last notice. Gig paid well and included a hotel room, and I haven't been on a road gig for a while (last one was Longview with Duane), so I was looking forward to it.
The gig location, the Northern Lights Theater Pub was an interesting place. I had never heard of this place before and didn't, for some reason, Google the place, so I had no idea what it was before I drove up. It is sort of what the name implies. There is a theater there, but like movie theater not drama. Four screens I think. The comedy was in theater 1. The "pub" part comes from the fact that you can eat and drink in your seats while watching said entertainment. They have a beer/wine bar and waitresses that will come to your table to deliver your food.
I performed with a comic that goes by the name Kermit Apio. That is his real name, and yes he has a joke about it. Regardless, very funny and all around great guy to hang out with. After the show we walked across the parking lot and had Mexican food together and he told stories about what it was like to work with some of the headliners he's had the pleasure to work with recently (Brian Regan). I had nothing nearly that epic to share.
The two gigs went ok. Here is my takeaway from the evening. I think I'm at my best when my act sounds like a story or a conversation with the audience. What this means is I really can't just put up funny observations or impressive thinking that I think, given the right mindset, could be interpreted as funny. My most solid jokes have a story behind them, with some victim (mostly me), and I deliver it in a more conversational style. Tonight at the open mic I tested this theory, and I liked the results. My joke about mating with a tall hot blond woman isn't an observation, it's a fantasy story that gets more and more fantastical each time I tell it.
I also haven't done a breakfast post in a while, so here is a picture of the epic french toast I had the morning after the gig at a place called the "Saucy Onion" in Salem. Apparently this stuff is world famous, and I got the blintz version with marscapone cheese and marionberries. This was in a box with little onion cartoons next to it, so it must have been the extra world famous version. They went light on the cheese, which in the end was a good thing. The round bread is a mystery to me. Overall, solid french toast though. After slathering some syrup on this thing and two and a half cups of coffee, I was good to drive back to Seattle. Next time, I'm either going to get the prosciutto and eggs or just half a french toast with eggs and bacon. This was a little too much bread for me in one sitting, but I'm not really complaining at all.
The gig location, the Northern Lights Theater Pub was an interesting place. I had never heard of this place before and didn't, for some reason, Google the place, so I had no idea what it was before I drove up. It is sort of what the name implies. There is a theater there, but like movie theater not drama. Four screens I think. The comedy was in theater 1. The "pub" part comes from the fact that you can eat and drink in your seats while watching said entertainment. They have a beer/wine bar and waitresses that will come to your table to deliver your food.
I performed with a comic that goes by the name Kermit Apio. That is his real name, and yes he has a joke about it. Regardless, very funny and all around great guy to hang out with. After the show we walked across the parking lot and had Mexican food together and he told stories about what it was like to work with some of the headliners he's had the pleasure to work with recently (Brian Regan). I had nothing nearly that epic to share.
The two gigs went ok. Here is my takeaway from the evening. I think I'm at my best when my act sounds like a story or a conversation with the audience. What this means is I really can't just put up funny observations or impressive thinking that I think, given the right mindset, could be interpreted as funny. My most solid jokes have a story behind them, with some victim (mostly me), and I deliver it in a more conversational style. Tonight at the open mic I tested this theory, and I liked the results. My joke about mating with a tall hot blond woman isn't an observation, it's a fantasy story that gets more and more fantastical each time I tell it.
I also haven't done a breakfast post in a while, so here is a picture of the epic french toast I had the morning after the gig at a place called the "Saucy Onion" in Salem. Apparently this stuff is world famous, and I got the blintz version with marscapone cheese and marionberries. This was in a box with little onion cartoons next to it, so it must have been the extra world famous version. They went light on the cheese, which in the end was a good thing. The round bread is a mystery to me. Overall, solid french toast though. After slathering some syrup on this thing and two and a half cups of coffee, I was good to drive back to Seattle. Next time, I'm either going to get the prosciutto and eggs or just half a french toast with eggs and bacon. This was a little too much bread for me in one sitting, but I'm not really complaining at all.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
While I've been away
Ok ya, I know. I haven't posted in forever. I did exactly what I didn't want, let this blog become stale. I've let you down. There is no trust in this relationship anymore. How can I win you back? Blog more? Really? I assume at this point I'm just shouting out into a void and making myself look good for bookers. (PS. if you're a booker, I hope this looks good).
So what have I been doing all this time, not blogging? Well if you're a fan of me on Facebook you probably already know and this blog has become too slow for you to receive updates about my life. You're in the Twittbook TxtMsg speed of life man, and I understand. But for those not in the know, here is an update:
- Went to the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland Oregon. There was supposed to be a whole blog about this, but then a comic asked me for a ride back to Seattle at 7am the morning after the closing gala and I just didn't have the energy. That, and every other comic there was blogging or podcasting or flikering about it so just Google search from Bridgetown Comedy Festival and you should get the gist. In summary though, I never felt more like a suburban comic, learned alot about what I want to be able to do on stage, and enjoyed the hell out of what I'm calling "Hipster Comic Summer Camp".
- Featured for Greg Hahn and opened for Jaime Kennedy at Laughs. Good stage time at both. Jaime sadly had just broken up with JLH and so she did not accompany him to the gig, which was my original motivation for taking the hosting gig.
- Got invited to audition for the Vancouver comedy festival in August. I got really close to getting in a couple years ago so I'm hoping this is the year I get extended an official invite. That would be some amazing to head up there this fall and would give me a new goal to shoot for in my comedy career. Fingers crossed and punch lines sharpened for that audition.
- Wrote some new nerdy jokes. Have yet to do my mid year joke inventory at the end of the month to see how much I need to work to get to my two 30-min set goal I set for myself at the beginning of the year.
- Was featured in a photo art project for my friend Michelle that she did on open mic comics. It ran in Seattle for a month. The pictures from the photo shoot now adorn the newly redesigned brianboshes.com. This blog is now properly embedded in that site now as well, so now more jumping between the two. My nerd powers shined brightly there.
Well those are the big ones. Peppered in there are too many interesting and fun open mics, one nighters, and general WTF moments that make comedy in Seattle very weird and exciting and something that, no matter how much I want the time back, I don't see myself dropping any time in the near future.
So what have I been doing all this time, not blogging? Well if you're a fan of me on Facebook you probably already know and this blog has become too slow for you to receive updates about my life. You're in the Twittbook TxtMsg speed of life man, and I understand. But for those not in the know, here is an update:
- Went to the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland Oregon. There was supposed to be a whole blog about this, but then a comic asked me for a ride back to Seattle at 7am the morning after the closing gala and I just didn't have the energy. That, and every other comic there was blogging or podcasting or flikering about it so just Google search from Bridgetown Comedy Festival and you should get the gist. In summary though, I never felt more like a suburban comic, learned alot about what I want to be able to do on stage, and enjoyed the hell out of what I'm calling "Hipster Comic Summer Camp".
- Featured for Greg Hahn and opened for Jaime Kennedy at Laughs. Good stage time at both. Jaime sadly had just broken up with JLH and so she did not accompany him to the gig, which was my original motivation for taking the hosting gig.
- Got invited to audition for the Vancouver comedy festival in August. I got really close to getting in a couple years ago so I'm hoping this is the year I get extended an official invite. That would be some amazing to head up there this fall and would give me a new goal to shoot for in my comedy career. Fingers crossed and punch lines sharpened for that audition.
- Wrote some new nerdy jokes. Have yet to do my mid year joke inventory at the end of the month to see how much I need to work to get to my two 30-min set goal I set for myself at the beginning of the year.
- Was featured in a photo art project for my friend Michelle that she did on open mic comics. It ran in Seattle for a month. The pictures from the photo shoot now adorn the newly redesigned brianboshes.com. This blog is now properly embedded in that site now as well, so now more jumping between the two. My nerd powers shined brightly there.
Well those are the big ones. Peppered in there are too many interesting and fun open mics, one nighters, and general WTF moments that make comedy in Seattle very weird and exciting and something that, no matter how much I want the time back, I don't see myself dropping any time in the near future.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
March Madness 8 - Giggles Laugh Off Week 4, Night 1
First I'd like to welcome a new blog reader, Terry Taylor, to the audience. Welcome.
On to the show...
I haven't been doing that much comedy lately, relatively speaking. Did get up once at the Laughs open mic this week. Yes, I know, I missed a blog post about it. It wasn't worth it. The set had one joke and the rest of it is what I would have picked on people for from the back of the room for doing.
But, last night was the first night in my competition week in the 2010 Giggles Laugh Off. This is week four of the competition, which means that three other comedians have already moved on to the finals. I've got four shows this weekend, two last night and two tonight. Audience members vote on their top three favorite comedians, and the scores are totaled across all of the shows. The top comedian moves onto the finals in April. So far I'm in a very close second to comedian Scott Black. Friday's shows were fairly lightly attended though, so tonight's first show will probably be the pivotal moment in this week's competition. Here's the what happened last night...
One of the Giggle's regular hosts, Eric, hosted the first show. Scott Black went first. He has apparently won the competition once before I think a decade ago. He has a high energy set and props to him for giving it 100% for the 20 people in the audience that first show. I went up fourth. I'll tell you this. These sets were way better than my performance in the Seattle Comedy Competition just a couple months ago. Not that I didn't give it my all there, but I'm happy to see how much I've positively developed since that time. I decided to go with my exclusively "nerdy" set. I wanted something that would separate me from the rest of the comics. The first set went ok. Not amazing, not terrible, but pretty good for not being able to practice it as much as my Seattle set. Got good solid laughs through the first half, but kind of petered out at the end and my closer wasn't as strong as I would have liked. It gave me a tied for third place finish with Sean McCarthy coming out of the first show.
The second show I went fifth of seven. This time I went right after Sean. He had a solid set and I really love his closer about low paid cashiers "drinking all the Robotusen in the store." I went up there and laid down my first joke. Solid. Second joke. Pretty good. By the third joke I had them in a rhythm that I don't get on every show and always love the feeling when I do. Had a group of three girls almost in tears when I started talking about Twilight and Harry Potter tricking girls into thinking that wizards and vampires were sexy. Obviously I was hitting their demographic or something. I judge the 10 minute set a bit better this time and was able to close up more professional. Again, almost all the set was "nerdy" stuff. One thing I was a bit critical of was that I fumbled a lot of words, way more than I usually do in a set. Internally, I definitely felt a little "off", even though it was going really well. Almost flubbed a couple punch lines and stepped on a couple of laughs. Overall, nothing that hurt anything, just pointing it out. That set was enough to pull out the first place finish in the second set of shows and cumulatively puts me four points behind Scott Black going into tonight.
Hoping that tonight's early show does me well, as that is probably going to be the deciding show of the competition based on the size of the crowd. I'll let you know how it goes. For now, back to watching "Blade Runner".
On to the show...
I haven't been doing that much comedy lately, relatively speaking. Did get up once at the Laughs open mic this week. Yes, I know, I missed a blog post about it. It wasn't worth it. The set had one joke and the rest of it is what I would have picked on people for from the back of the room for doing.
But, last night was the first night in my competition week in the 2010 Giggles Laugh Off. This is week four of the competition, which means that three other comedians have already moved on to the finals. I've got four shows this weekend, two last night and two tonight. Audience members vote on their top three favorite comedians, and the scores are totaled across all of the shows. The top comedian moves onto the finals in April. So far I'm in a very close second to comedian Scott Black. Friday's shows were fairly lightly attended though, so tonight's first show will probably be the pivotal moment in this week's competition. Here's the what happened last night...
One of the Giggle's regular hosts, Eric, hosted the first show. Scott Black went first. He has apparently won the competition once before I think a decade ago. He has a high energy set and props to him for giving it 100% for the 20 people in the audience that first show. I went up fourth. I'll tell you this. These sets were way better than my performance in the Seattle Comedy Competition just a couple months ago. Not that I didn't give it my all there, but I'm happy to see how much I've positively developed since that time. I decided to go with my exclusively "nerdy" set. I wanted something that would separate me from the rest of the comics. The first set went ok. Not amazing, not terrible, but pretty good for not being able to practice it as much as my Seattle set. Got good solid laughs through the first half, but kind of petered out at the end and my closer wasn't as strong as I would have liked. It gave me a tied for third place finish with Sean McCarthy coming out of the first show.
The second show I went fifth of seven. This time I went right after Sean. He had a solid set and I really love his closer about low paid cashiers "drinking all the Robotusen in the store." I went up there and laid down my first joke. Solid. Second joke. Pretty good. By the third joke I had them in a rhythm that I don't get on every show and always love the feeling when I do. Had a group of three girls almost in tears when I started talking about Twilight and Harry Potter tricking girls into thinking that wizards and vampires were sexy. Obviously I was hitting their demographic or something. I judge the 10 minute set a bit better this time and was able to close up more professional. Again, almost all the set was "nerdy" stuff. One thing I was a bit critical of was that I fumbled a lot of words, way more than I usually do in a set. Internally, I definitely felt a little "off", even though it was going really well. Almost flubbed a couple punch lines and stepped on a couple of laughs. Overall, nothing that hurt anything, just pointing it out. That set was enough to pull out the first place finish in the second set of shows and cumulatively puts me four points behind Scott Black going into tonight.
Hoping that tonight's early show does me well, as that is probably going to be the deciding show of the competition based on the size of the crowd. I'll let you know how it goes. For now, back to watching "Blade Runner".
Thursday, March 18, 2010
March Madness 7 - Laughs Open Mic
I totally forgot to put up a post about this one. My bad. Actually it's my work's bad, I've been pulling 10 - 11 hour days at the "real" job, and it hasn't been pleasant. That has spilled over into comedy this week for sure, as Tuesday is probably the one and only time I'll get up on stage. Anyways, forget it, just pretend that I'm writing this Tuesday night. TIME WARP!
I need to stop going out when I'm so tired, I don't get anything really good accomplished and it's not like I'm catching up on any sleep when I do that either. It's hard to resist the pull of the open mic though, especially at Laughs, since I know so many people there and I enjoy shooting the shit and talking shop the whole night. I like helping people with jokes and talking about gigs and stuff. There is also enough (non comic) audience to get a decent reaction out of new material too. I tried a new tag to an old joke, which I think went well and I'll try it a couple times as I wrote it. My closer was pretty weak though, but it was new and I worked on it right up until the point I got on stage. That being said, I should have probably done some more writing than I did last weekend. Also another point to (not) going.
I'll say this though, I really like where my stage presence is going. Even without any jokes I felt very comfortable on stage and talking to the audience. I felt that even though I wasn't delivering punch lines people were still enjoying themselves. The problem was, without strong, relateable material, enjoyment never really translated into laughter.
One thing that was kinda sad was I wrote this joke about how I'm a "Magic the Gathering" ex-addict that I was really excited but I knew had slim chances for success. Most people don't know that Magic the Gathering is a strategy collectible card game. So not only do you need to know how to play, but you also have to buy all these packs of cards hoping to get the ones you want in order to beat your friends. The genius is, if you haven't found the card you're looking for, you have to, you guessed it, buy more cards. I was into it for about 2 years in various shapes and forms and probably spent a couple hundred dollars on cards. So for the joke, I wrote a tag (relating to the fact that it's like a drug), which was that "in 6th grade I had to stop because I was up to a five 'booster' pack a week habit." Pack, like cigarettes, but not, cause their cards. I think its freaking brilliant, but I think there are only a few handful of people on the planet that understand what a "booster pack" is. This little gem will possibly never see the light of day again (for a while). That being said, if I ever do a MTG conference, I'm going to blow the roof off that place, and then tap two green mana to bring it back into play. Ya, that just happened!
I need to stop going out when I'm so tired, I don't get anything really good accomplished and it's not like I'm catching up on any sleep when I do that either. It's hard to resist the pull of the open mic though, especially at Laughs, since I know so many people there and I enjoy shooting the shit and talking shop the whole night. I like helping people with jokes and talking about gigs and stuff. There is also enough (non comic) audience to get a decent reaction out of new material too. I tried a new tag to an old joke, which I think went well and I'll try it a couple times as I wrote it. My closer was pretty weak though, but it was new and I worked on it right up until the point I got on stage. That being said, I should have probably done some more writing than I did last weekend. Also another point to (not) going.
I'll say this though, I really like where my stage presence is going. Even without any jokes I felt very comfortable on stage and talking to the audience. I felt that even though I wasn't delivering punch lines people were still enjoying themselves. The problem was, without strong, relateable material, enjoyment never really translated into laughter.
One thing that was kinda sad was I wrote this joke about how I'm a "Magic the Gathering" ex-addict that I was really excited but I knew had slim chances for success. Most people don't know that Magic the Gathering is a strategy collectible card game. So not only do you need to know how to play, but you also have to buy all these packs of cards hoping to get the ones you want in order to beat your friends. The genius is, if you haven't found the card you're looking for, you have to, you guessed it, buy more cards. I was into it for about 2 years in various shapes and forms and probably spent a couple hundred dollars on cards. So for the joke, I wrote a tag (relating to the fact that it's like a drug), which was that "in 6th grade I had to stop because I was up to a five 'booster' pack a week habit." Pack, like cigarettes, but not, cause their cards. I think its freaking brilliant, but I think there are only a few handful of people on the planet that understand what a "booster pack" is. This little gem will possibly never see the light of day again (for a while). That being said, if I ever do a MTG conference, I'm going to blow the roof off that place, and then tap two green mana to bring it back into play. Ya, that just happened!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Emerald City Comic Con
Nerd overload my friends. Actually, for all my nerdiness that I tout on stage, I've never been to a "Con", short for "convention" for those whole-word inclined. My mom likened it to an exhibition. I told her never to use the word "exhibition" and "comic" together ever again.This being my first Con, I looked to my friend Tonya's blog post on getting ready. She's been to quite a few and prepares for them better than most do for a job interview.
I decided that I would wear my Star Wars jacket, since there are very few public places I get to wear it without someone staring at it. It went over well at the event. The ticket taker had apparently seen my act before, confidently stating "comedian!" as I approached her to buy a ticket. I confirmed that I was indeed "comedian" and I was wearing "the jacket" from my joke. She was happy to see that it did exist. Of course it existed! (Side note, I saw a guy in the Boba Fett version of my sweater there as well.) The guys who make "Red vs. Blue" liked it very much, and were even more surprised when I told them I got it at Macys. Various people bumped into me and said "nice jacket", but that was the extent to which that story played out.
Now I'm not that big of a comic book nerd. I actually have no idea what to do at most of the booths. I just stood around and looked at the art. Oooh pretty. I did try and find some Hellboy comics to add to my small collection, and did buy a Wolverine comic out of one of the many $1 bins, just for nostalgia's sake. Most of my interactions with comic book artists went like this though:
One thing that did surprise me. After only a couple hours at the event, my feet freaking hurt. I wore good shoes and socks like Tonya had suggested, but man. I've been to Disneyland and stood in lines for way longer than I did yesterday. Something about ComicCon just sucks the energy out of people I guess. Evil masterminds with energy sucking death rays maybe?
My experience was overall positive except for not getting the sticker and this; Fuck You ECCC for putting a pack of Magic the Gathering cards in my gift bag. I do everything I can to stay away from that game and its incredible lure on my imagination and bank account. It's like nerd crack cocaine, and I've been in recovery since 6th grade. It's as if ECCC is like, "hey Brian, here's a free hit, on us". Its a good thing its only 10 cards and not enough to do anything with, but wow, dangerous dude. I'm going to go call my sponsor...
Next time, I'll hopefully attend some of the panels they offered. This first time, it was enough just to walk the floor, see some cool stuff, and get out before I fell too deeply down the nerd rabbit hole. Expect a new five minutes about this in my act soon. :-)
I decided that I would wear my Star Wars jacket, since there are very few public places I get to wear it without someone staring at it. It went over well at the event. The ticket taker had apparently seen my act before, confidently stating "comedian!" as I approached her to buy a ticket. I confirmed that I was indeed "comedian" and I was wearing "the jacket" from my joke. She was happy to see that it did exist. Of course it existed! (Side note, I saw a guy in the Boba Fett version of my sweater there as well.) The guys who make "Red vs. Blue" liked it very much, and were even more surprised when I told them I got it at Macys. Various people bumped into me and said "nice jacket", but that was the extent to which that story played out.
Now I'm not that big of a comic book nerd. I actually have no idea what to do at most of the booths. I just stood around and looked at the art. Oooh pretty. I did try and find some Hellboy comics to add to my small collection, and did buy a Wolverine comic out of one of the many $1 bins, just for nostalgia's sake. Most of my interactions with comic book artists went like this though:
- Me: Hi
- Them: So are you interested in my comics, I have a new graphic novel that I just published?
- Me: I've never heard of your comic before, but I think it's pretty cool, can I buy a book?
- Them: Uh, sure. Do you want me to sketch something in it? What is your favorite comic character from
- Me: Well yes, but I have no idea who the characters are in
so just draw something about Star Wars.
One thing that did surprise me. After only a couple hours at the event, my feet freaking hurt. I wore good shoes and socks like Tonya had suggested, but man. I've been to Disneyland and stood in lines for way longer than I did yesterday. Something about ComicCon just sucks the energy out of people I guess. Evil masterminds with energy sucking death rays maybe?
My experience was overall positive except for not getting the sticker and this; Fuck You ECCC for putting a pack of Magic the Gathering cards in my gift bag. I do everything I can to stay away from that game and its incredible lure on my imagination and bank account. It's like nerd crack cocaine, and I've been in recovery since 6th grade. It's as if ECCC is like, "hey Brian, here's a free hit, on us". Its a good thing its only 10 cards and not enough to do anything with, but wow, dangerous dude. I'm going to go call my sponsor...
Next time, I'll hopefully attend some of the panels they offered. This first time, it was enough just to walk the floor, see some cool stuff, and get out before I fell too deeply down the nerd rabbit hole. Expect a new five minutes about this in my act soon. :-)
Saturday, March 13, 2010
March Madness 6 - Owl & Thistle
This is going to be a short one, and late, I'm sorry the week just kind of ended this way. Thursday night I performed at the Owl & Thistle's comedy night. This room has been running for over a year. It's a nice road room in the heart of downtown Seattle, and it pays its host, feature, and headliner a little. Not much, but better than free. It was originally started by Nick McCord, and then given over to my friend Brett Hamil, who's been running it ever since. It used to be packaged with a free open mic on Monday's that for a time, I was in charge of. "In charge of" meant that I was the only one that cared to make a list and tell people when it was time to get off stage.
This is one of those rooms that for the first 30 minutes you have to bludgeon the audience into accepting the fact that there is going to be comedy for the next two hours and no, we're not going to turn the UW game back on. Always a great start to a show. It's usually a great place to take people if their being cocky about their act, as this place, along with Pegasus Pizza in Kirkland, tends to eat those people alive. Oh, and if you think you're ready to feature, try Tulalip Casino in Marysville (another story for another time).
I did my 20 minutes after watching the first couple comedians get sucked into the black hole that was the table of drunk soccer fans. I was concerned, but not overly concerned, that they were going to destroy my set. I did something I don't usually do, which is yell at the audience (read: that table) to shut up and listen or kindly move themselves to the other room. At that point, they stopped laughing at any of my jokes, but they were quit. Did my set of nerd jokes again, which is getting crisper each time I tell them, and generally had an ok time.
I get a break from comedy for a couple of nights, which I really need. My next appearance will be the open mic at Laughs this week. I hope to have some new stuff prepared for that as apposed to working on stuff I've already written. We'll see how Sunday and Monday treat me in that regard.
This is one of those rooms that for the first 30 minutes you have to bludgeon the audience into accepting the fact that there is going to be comedy for the next two hours and no, we're not going to turn the UW game back on. Always a great start to a show. It's usually a great place to take people if their being cocky about their act, as this place, along with Pegasus Pizza in Kirkland, tends to eat those people alive. Oh, and if you think you're ready to feature, try Tulalip Casino in Marysville (another story for another time).
I did my 20 minutes after watching the first couple comedians get sucked into the black hole that was the table of drunk soccer fans. I was concerned, but not overly concerned, that they were going to destroy my set. I did something I don't usually do, which is yell at the audience (read: that table) to shut up and listen or kindly move themselves to the other room. At that point, they stopped laughing at any of my jokes, but they were quit. Did my set of nerd jokes again, which is getting crisper each time I tell them, and generally had an ok time.
I get a break from comedy for a couple of nights, which I really need. My next appearance will be the open mic at Laughs this week. I hope to have some new stuff prepared for that as apposed to working on stuff I've already written. We'll see how Sunday and Monday treat me in that regard.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
March Madness 5 - Gerry Andals Bar & Grill
Tonight I don't want to blog, not because the show was bad, but because I'm tired. And I had three cokes at the gig and my stomach is upset. This is why I don't drink soda often from a glass, or at least one that is refillable. Probably had more soda than I do in a week at one gig cause it kept getting refilled and I just don't log those events until its too late.
The gig tonight was in Stanwood, WA. Stanwood, the gateway to Camino Island, is located between the cities of Marysville and Mt. Vernon. Don't know where they are either? Well Google Maps has nice satellite pictures of all of them; check it out. Stanwood has three major intersections before you drive through the whole town. The gig is at intersection #3, so almost on the outskirts. :)
We had a host, one Mr. Anthony Calderon, who's an up-and-comer who has been doing this for about a year and looks like he's 16, even though he's 23. The crowd didn't really get him too much, but he stuck with it, and did his time. Good job. Brought me up, I did my full 30. I let the crowd talk way more than I usually do because I just wanted something new to do besides my act. I knew my "nerdy" stuff wasn't going to galvanize them in any way, so I just wanted them, and me, to have a good time. Actually kind of surprised to see the old guys in cowboy hats laugh at my Back to the Future references. Lesson of the night, I can do my act anywhere if I pitch it to them right. I'm glad I did my nerdy set, as it's what I wanted to do, and I sold it to them. Sure they probably liked the headliner better, but I didn't compromise.
The headline, Brad Upton, funny as always. He added a couple of tags off book, which for me, since I've seen his act a bunch, is always a treat. We caught up on the gigs we've both had over the last couple of months and before you know it, it was time to head back to Seattle.
Another paid gig on the books for this month, which makes March a pretty good month so far. Tomorrow night I'm back in Seattle for a gig at the Owl and Thistle, the best little Irish bar in the state.
Oh, and my potential gig with Q13 Fox covering the Emerald City ComicCon this weekend fell through. I may or may not have said anything about it already, mostly because I expected it to be a long-shot. Still really nice that the guys that I met last Saturday went to bat for me; biggest compliment I've gotten on the new act since I started telling it. Maybe something in the cards for the future, who knows. Because of this, I'll be attending the ComicCon as a regular participant, but I'm still excited for Saturday. I'm going to wear my Star Wars sweater I think.
The gig tonight was in Stanwood, WA. Stanwood, the gateway to Camino Island, is located between the cities of Marysville and Mt. Vernon. Don't know where they are either? Well Google Maps has nice satellite pictures of all of them; check it out. Stanwood has three major intersections before you drive through the whole town. The gig is at intersection #3, so almost on the outskirts. :)
We had a host, one Mr. Anthony Calderon, who's an up-and-comer who has been doing this for about a year and looks like he's 16, even though he's 23. The crowd didn't really get him too much, but he stuck with it, and did his time. Good job. Brought me up, I did my full 30. I let the crowd talk way more than I usually do because I just wanted something new to do besides my act. I knew my "nerdy" stuff wasn't going to galvanize them in any way, so I just wanted them, and me, to have a good time. Actually kind of surprised to see the old guys in cowboy hats laugh at my Back to the Future references. Lesson of the night, I can do my act anywhere if I pitch it to them right. I'm glad I did my nerdy set, as it's what I wanted to do, and I sold it to them. Sure they probably liked the headliner better, but I didn't compromise.
The headline, Brad Upton, funny as always. He added a couple of tags off book, which for me, since I've seen his act a bunch, is always a treat. We caught up on the gigs we've both had over the last couple of months and before you know it, it was time to head back to Seattle.
Another paid gig on the books for this month, which makes March a pretty good month so far. Tomorrow night I'm back in Seattle for a gig at the Owl and Thistle, the best little Irish bar in the state.
Oh, and my potential gig with Q13 Fox covering the Emerald City ComicCon this weekend fell through. I may or may not have said anything about it already, mostly because I expected it to be a long-shot. Still really nice that the guys that I met last Saturday went to bat for me; biggest compliment I've gotten on the new act since I started telling it. Maybe something in the cards for the future, who knows. Because of this, I'll be attending the ComicCon as a regular participant, but I'm still excited for Saturday. I'm going to wear my Star Wars sweater I think.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
March Madness 4 - Comedy Underground Open Mic
I know I'm a day late with this one, but I'm going to blame all the free booze that I got at my own private after party (more on that in a second).
Last night was Monday night, and you know what that means, the world famous Comedy Underground's open mic madness. Over 30 comics in just under two hours, which translates into about 2-3 minutes of stage time. But this is the place I came to start my comedy career almost five years prior, back in the summer of 2005. (If you ask me how long I've been doing it I'll say just over four years though, cause I took a big break after three months in.) I did my three minutes (back then we got the full three), told some jokes, and then drank a lot of beer. Didn't get that drunk that night, as I had to go back to my internship in the morning, buy ya. Oh, I'm reminiscing too much, this is supposed to be about what I did LAST night.
I hadn't prepared anything for last night except one new tag, which I didn't even end up doing right when I hit the stage. So much for being on the ball. I had a mean streak in me too. I don't know why. I sort of feel like there is no humility in the craft right now, a sense of entitlement in all the open micers. I don't get too preachy about it because I used to be / am one of them, and I know that sometimes we act up, but there aren't any old timers coming down to the clubs anymore to put them/us into place. So last night I hit the stage and my first like was, "For all those open micers that think they have fans that come to see them at the open mic, you're full of shit." That is how you warm up the room, am I right? Nothing, not a laugh, not a boo, just 50 people staring at me. Fun.
Now comes the good part. As much as they probably didn't want to laugh at my next joke, they're sitting there going "who is this asshole", after my first joke, bam, laughing. By the time I told the second joke, I had them all back. It felt really great. Not because I shit on anybody, but I was able to win the audience back after saying some really caustic stuff. Those two jokes were enough to prove that I could do that, at least this once. And then I left, way before the light, just to keep the MC on her toes.
I know, I sound sound/feel like a douche writing this. That, and I've used the slash thing three times, and it's the trademark of a crappy writer that can't figure out what he wants his character to do/say. I'm not trying to be mean, honestly I was still just telling jokes and if people are going to get offended by me, they really need to get out now. I'm one of the tame ones. Besides, if any one of them came up to me and sincerely wanted honest feedback (and I think they could handle it), then they've got it. I don't care if you take all my gigs in the process, if you're better than me then it's time to write some better jokes and get funnier myself.
I love the open mic scene in Seattle and I think that everyone should continue to go to them. Respect the process, respect your self, but ya, you don't have fans at an open mic. Besides, real fans come to see you when you're featuring/headlining anyways...
Last night was Monday night, and you know what that means, the world famous Comedy Underground's open mic madness. Over 30 comics in just under two hours, which translates into about 2-3 minutes of stage time. But this is the place I came to start my comedy career almost five years prior, back in the summer of 2005. (If you ask me how long I've been doing it I'll say just over four years though, cause I took a big break after three months in.) I did my three minutes (back then we got the full three), told some jokes, and then drank a lot of beer. Didn't get that drunk that night, as I had to go back to my internship in the morning, buy ya. Oh, I'm reminiscing too much, this is supposed to be about what I did LAST night.
I hadn't prepared anything for last night except one new tag, which I didn't even end up doing right when I hit the stage. So much for being on the ball. I had a mean streak in me too. I don't know why. I sort of feel like there is no humility in the craft right now, a sense of entitlement in all the open micers. I don't get too preachy about it because I used to be / am one of them, and I know that sometimes we act up, but there aren't any old timers coming down to the clubs anymore to put them/us into place. So last night I hit the stage and my first like was, "For all those open micers that think they have fans that come to see them at the open mic, you're full of shit." That is how you warm up the room, am I right? Nothing, not a laugh, not a boo, just 50 people staring at me. Fun.
Now comes the good part. As much as they probably didn't want to laugh at my next joke, they're sitting there going "who is this asshole", after my first joke, bam, laughing. By the time I told the second joke, I had them all back. It felt really great. Not because I shit on anybody, but I was able to win the audience back after saying some really caustic stuff. Those two jokes were enough to prove that I could do that, at least this once. And then I left, way before the light, just to keep the MC on her toes.
I know, I sound sound/feel like a douche writing this. That, and I've used the slash thing three times, and it's the trademark of a crappy writer that can't figure out what he wants his character to do/say. I'm not trying to be mean, honestly I was still just telling jokes and if people are going to get offended by me, they really need to get out now. I'm one of the tame ones. Besides, if any one of them came up to me and sincerely wanted honest feedback (and I think they could handle it), then they've got it. I don't care if you take all my gigs in the process, if you're better than me then it's time to write some better jokes and get funnier myself.
I love the open mic scene in Seattle and I think that everyone should continue to go to them. Respect the process, respect your self, but ya, you don't have fans at an open mic. Besides, real fans come to see you when you're featuring/headlining anyways...
Sunday, March 7, 2010
March Madness 3 - Comedy Underground
Tonight I performed in the "Best of Seattle Sunday Showcase" at the Comedy Underground in downtown Seattle. It's a weekly show put on every Sunday. Pretty good crowd considering our competition was the Oscars. I don't know who won anything yet since I didn't watch them and I haven't looked at twitter in something like two months.
I worked on my "drugs" section of my act that I didn't get to do over the weekend. It is currently composed of a couple different bits loosely tied together. I think I have about 8 or 9 when you count them all up, but I usually only through 4 or 5 into rotation at any one given time. Tonight's picks where "legalized pot commercials", "the effectiveness of DARE", and my new one "Drugs at NASA". The first two I've been telling for a couple months now and they are fairly solid. I mainly wanted to work on the third joke, so these were just filler to set up and get some good laughs on the subject. The joke, for the most part, bombed, but I succeeded in staying in a vary weird character for longer than I usually do. This was my main goal tonight, and I actually did a callback which worked better than I thought it would. I would say my commitment level to the character was only about a 60%, and some of that was due to playing with the setup WAY too much before getting into it. In the end, I may choose to take it a different way. Also, I don't think I should assume everyone knows what the lunar lander looks like...
Shows like tonight are weird because I'm basically going up there with an experiment. I've got something very new and there are so many questions to ask about it. How is it going to sound coming out of my mouth? How is the audience going to react? Do I reveal too much in the setup only to let people down in the punchline? Is this new weird character believable, hacky, appropriate? This, to varying degrees, I have to do with all new jokes. After I've figured them out though, sometimes I put a joke away too early.
One thing that I've started doing more over the last couple of weeks is to take my favorite jokes and really dive into them. Even today while doing some writing, I uncovered a new tag that really effectively drills into the point I was trying to make in a much more generic way. I looked at it after I had thought/wrote it, and I thought "there it is, and I need 100 more just like that". What this means from a performance viewpoint is that I'm doing the same 20 minutes over and over again but each time I tell it, its getting stronger.
I'm trying to compress a new video for YouTube tonight, but iMovie is so freaking slow right now. I think its because I have about 50 gigs of comedy videos that need to be moved off my laptop, but alas, I can't find the power cable to my external hard drive. What is a nerd to do? Tomorrow night I'm back at the Underground for their open mic and helping a local photographer pick out open micers for an upcoming piece she's shooting on comedians. Cool stuff.
I worked on my "drugs" section of my act that I didn't get to do over the weekend. It is currently composed of a couple different bits loosely tied together. I think I have about 8 or 9 when you count them all up, but I usually only through 4 or 5 into rotation at any one given time. Tonight's picks where "legalized pot commercials", "the effectiveness of DARE", and my new one "Drugs at NASA". The first two I've been telling for a couple months now and they are fairly solid. I mainly wanted to work on the third joke, so these were just filler to set up and get some good laughs on the subject. The joke, for the most part, bombed, but I succeeded in staying in a vary weird character for longer than I usually do. This was my main goal tonight, and I actually did a callback which worked better than I thought it would. I would say my commitment level to the character was only about a 60%, and some of that was due to playing with the setup WAY too much before getting into it. In the end, I may choose to take it a different way. Also, I don't think I should assume everyone knows what the lunar lander looks like...
Shows like tonight are weird because I'm basically going up there with an experiment. I've got something very new and there are so many questions to ask about it. How is it going to sound coming out of my mouth? How is the audience going to react? Do I reveal too much in the setup only to let people down in the punchline? Is this new weird character believable, hacky, appropriate? This, to varying degrees, I have to do with all new jokes. After I've figured them out though, sometimes I put a joke away too early.
One thing that I've started doing more over the last couple of weeks is to take my favorite jokes and really dive into them. Even today while doing some writing, I uncovered a new tag that really effectively drills into the point I was trying to make in a much more generic way. I looked at it after I had thought/wrote it, and I thought "there it is, and I need 100 more just like that". What this means from a performance viewpoint is that I'm doing the same 20 minutes over and over again but each time I tell it, its getting stronger.
I'm trying to compress a new video for YouTube tonight, but iMovie is so freaking slow right now. I think its because I have about 50 gigs of comedy videos that need to be moved off my laptop, but alas, I can't find the power cable to my external hard drive. What is a nerd to do? Tomorrow night I'm back at the Underground for their open mic and helping a local photographer pick out open micers for an upcoming piece she's shooting on comedians. Cool stuff.
March Madness 2 - Laughs Comedy Spot
Almost forgot to write this as my stupid pager for work went off on the way home from the club. Ya, I have to carry a pager for my on-call rotation at work (the job that pays me more than comedy, for now), I don't want to talk about it...
Tonight I featured for Whitney Cummings. She's a hot commodity right now. She's a regular roaster and a guest on "Chelsea Lately", a show my parent's seem to like but I haven't gotten into. Besides all of this, she's a pretty funny gal. I think I may have fallen outside of her target audience, as I have a penis, but her comedy was definitely enjoyed by all. The first show was a packed house and the audience was ready for a comedy show.
I knew I was going to have a great set tonight as my energy level was higher that it usually was before hitting the stage. I think it's because I got to have a nap today and actually slept last night. I've done a lot of gigs recently where I'm just dog tired and there is a marketed difference in my performance. It was nice as I drove to Laughs tonight to have some energy flowing through me and I was really getting excited for the show.
The opener brought me up and I hit the ground running with my "Avitar" opener. I think it only has a couple more weeks to live, especially after we consider how it does in the Oscars tomorrow.
I'm not too upset as its basically only a one-liner punchline with no tags, but I'll still miss it. From then on it was straight laughs for 20 mins. There were too points that fell a little flat. One was my inclusion of a new bit about "nerdy people" that I had decided to slip into the set tonight, but hadn't done on stage before. The second was an old tag for my "Star Wars jacket" joke that really has never worked. I'm going to drop the whole section and try to rewrite it / leave it out forever as it has just never performed well and/or is just way to predictable of a punchline. Other than that though, the audience came with me and we had a good time. No crazy huge laughter or applause breaks in this first show, but the laughs that I did get came at a good steady rhythm which was really good. At the end of the show I met some guys from a local news station, so I might have some exciting news there soon.
The second show, wow, they did not want to laugh for such a long time! I was up there a good 15 mins before the entire audience was on my side and enjoying the show. Looking into some of the faces in the audience, it was clear they just weren't getting it or enjoying themselves. How awesome it was though to look back on those same faces near the end of the set and see them starting to open up and laugh. I mean, you guys are paying for the show, its to your benefit to enjoy yourselves. Sometimes you have to tell the audience that...
This is going to be some week for comedy. Tomorrow I've got the Comedy Undergrounds "Best of Seattle" comedy showcase. It's on during the Oscars; hopefully we still have an audience. Monday and Tuesday are open mics, Wednesday I have a gig in Stanwood, WA, and Thursday I'm back in downtown Seattle. Lots of comedy, lots of blog entries.
Still monitoring the issue at work, have to get back to that...
Tonight I featured for Whitney Cummings. She's a hot commodity right now. She's a regular roaster and a guest on "Chelsea Lately", a show my parent's seem to like but I haven't gotten into. Besides all of this, she's a pretty funny gal. I think I may have fallen outside of her target audience, as I have a penis, but her comedy was definitely enjoyed by all. The first show was a packed house and the audience was ready for a comedy show.
I knew I was going to have a great set tonight as my energy level was higher that it usually was before hitting the stage. I think it's because I got to have a nap today and actually slept last night. I've done a lot of gigs recently where I'm just dog tired and there is a marketed difference in my performance. It was nice as I drove to Laughs tonight to have some energy flowing through me and I was really getting excited for the show.
The opener brought me up and I hit the ground running with my "Avitar" opener. I think it only has a couple more weeks to live, especially after we consider how it does in the Oscars tomorrow.
I'm not too upset as its basically only a one-liner punchline with no tags, but I'll still miss it. From then on it was straight laughs for 20 mins. There were too points that fell a little flat. One was my inclusion of a new bit about "nerdy people" that I had decided to slip into the set tonight, but hadn't done on stage before. The second was an old tag for my "Star Wars jacket" joke that really has never worked. I'm going to drop the whole section and try to rewrite it / leave it out forever as it has just never performed well and/or is just way to predictable of a punchline. Other than that though, the audience came with me and we had a good time. No crazy huge laughter or applause breaks in this first show, but the laughs that I did get came at a good steady rhythm which was really good. At the end of the show I met some guys from a local news station, so I might have some exciting news there soon.
The second show, wow, they did not want to laugh for such a long time! I was up there a good 15 mins before the entire audience was on my side and enjoying the show. Looking into some of the faces in the audience, it was clear they just weren't getting it or enjoying themselves. How awesome it was though to look back on those same faces near the end of the set and see them starting to open up and laugh. I mean, you guys are paying for the show, its to your benefit to enjoy yourselves. Sometimes you have to tell the audience that...
This is going to be some week for comedy. Tomorrow I've got the Comedy Undergrounds "Best of Seattle" comedy showcase. It's on during the Oscars; hopefully we still have an audience. Monday and Tuesday are open mics, Wednesday I have a gig in Stanwood, WA, and Thursday I'm back in downtown Seattle. Lots of comedy, lots of blog entries.
Still monitoring the issue at work, have to get back to that...
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
March Madness 1 - Laughs Open Mic
So I'm going to be doing something new for my blog this month. I'm going to blog after each one of my performances this month. EVERY one, no matter how tired or cranky or amazing I feel, I will put some words down here. I know there are some people that actually read this and will be fun to let you know what I'm working on, especially those that don't live in Seattle. Part of this is also just an attempt to get me to write here more. If anything it will be a nice, month-in-the-life snapshot of my comedy experiences that I can look back on and say, "hey, remember when I was doing all that?"
So for tonight, to start off the month, I hit up the open mic at Laughs Comedy Spot in Kirkland. This is definitely what most people would consider my "home club." I work the weekends there pretty regularly, as a host and feature, and am at their open mic basically every week. Their open mic has been drawing around 40-50 audience members (non comics) a week, which is awesome. Sometimes you get people at the shows that have seen me a couple times and are able to offer some good feedback on the new jokes they liked, which can be fun depending on how they offer it up to you.
I didn't know what I was going to go do on stage tonight. I'm tired after being awake 18 hours yesterday and a full day's worth of work today. I would say my energy was about 50% going into this performance. Good combo, tired and unprepared. I took a look at my little black notebook and there were some notes in there about some improvements to a joke that I've already told a dozen times, about how I bought myself a Star Wars jacket for myself for Christmas. The new tags were drummed up the week before at the Columbia Winery over in Woodinville, where I did a gig with a great local comedian, Drew Barth. The note said 3 different ideas one of which was "one jacket was a Boba Fett costume with a zip up hood that covered your entire face with a Boba Fett mask, but you have to draw the line somewhere." So this is where I tried to take the joke. More storyish and more about the honest reactions I was having while buying this jacket.
I didn't like the results too much, although I haven't watched the tape yet so it could have been better than it felt. I just felt like I was taking a perfectly good joke with good punches and muddying it up a bit. But it's the direction that I want explore more (honest stories), as I feel it lets the character that I'm cultivating on stage to come out. It also sounds way more conversational/performing then straight "setup-punch" style comedy, which I also like. I think it's definitely something I want to try a lot more, each time trying to tease out more story. I just need to make sure that there are still jokes in there and the big punches still hit just as hard.
Before leaving the club, I got a letter of recommendation from the owner, Dave, to try and get my foot in the door of some clubs in Arizona before this year is over. I'll be making some copies and drafting some letters to send out over the next few weeks to try and set something up in Scottsdale or Tucson, both places where I have free lodgings :). It also looks like I'll be featuring on Saturday at Laughs too, filling in for a comic. So that is some paid weekend work and I get to work with Whitney Cummings for the night.
Now I'll try to catch up on some sleep and debate whether I'll hit up the open mic at Giggles on Thursday or just go eat Puerto Rican food. And no, I can't do both...
So for tonight, to start off the month, I hit up the open mic at Laughs Comedy Spot in Kirkland. This is definitely what most people would consider my "home club." I work the weekends there pretty regularly, as a host and feature, and am at their open mic basically every week. Their open mic has been drawing around 40-50 audience members (non comics) a week, which is awesome. Sometimes you get people at the shows that have seen me a couple times and are able to offer some good feedback on the new jokes they liked, which can be fun depending on how they offer it up to you.
I didn't know what I was going to go do on stage tonight. I'm tired after being awake 18 hours yesterday and a full day's worth of work today. I would say my energy was about 50% going into this performance. Good combo, tired and unprepared. I took a look at my little black notebook and there were some notes in there about some improvements to a joke that I've already told a dozen times, about how I bought myself a Star Wars jacket for myself for Christmas. The new tags were drummed up the week before at the Columbia Winery over in Woodinville, where I did a gig with a great local comedian, Drew Barth. The note said 3 different ideas one of which was "one jacket was a Boba Fett costume with a zip up hood that covered your entire face with a Boba Fett mask, but you have to draw the line somewhere." So this is where I tried to take the joke. More storyish and more about the honest reactions I was having while buying this jacket.
I didn't like the results too much, although I haven't watched the tape yet so it could have been better than it felt. I just felt like I was taking a perfectly good joke with good punches and muddying it up a bit. But it's the direction that I want explore more (honest stories), as I feel it lets the character that I'm cultivating on stage to come out. It also sounds way more conversational/performing then straight "setup-punch" style comedy, which I also like. I think it's definitely something I want to try a lot more, each time trying to tease out more story. I just need to make sure that there are still jokes in there and the big punches still hit just as hard.
Before leaving the club, I got a letter of recommendation from the owner, Dave, to try and get my foot in the door of some clubs in Arizona before this year is over. I'll be making some copies and drafting some letters to send out over the next few weeks to try and set something up in Scottsdale or Tucson, both places where I have free lodgings :). It also looks like I'll be featuring on Saturday at Laughs too, filling in for a comic. So that is some paid weekend work and I get to work with Whitney Cummings for the night.
Now I'll try to catch up on some sleep and debate whether I'll hit up the open mic at Giggles on Thursday or just go eat Puerto Rican food. And no, I can't do both...
Monday, January 18, 2010
When is it appropriate?
I don't really know when it's appropriate for guys to be talking in the bathroom. I'm going to go with never. There really isn't anything private enough that we really need a bathroom to do it in, and if it isn't private, let's talk about it outside. The bathroom isn't an escape for guys. Maybe it's because there aren't couches in our bathroom. When I was growing up, I remember seeing in the department store bathroom, for a brief second before the door shut, a couch. A freaking couch! In the bathroom!?!? This is not where I would expect couches to be. Ask any girl though, and at some point she's probably been in a bathroom that was set up encouraging ladies to stay and chat.
Like I said, guys don't go in there to talk. Really there isn't anything that we could say in the confines of that oddly sterile yet usually disgusting place that needs to be discussed RIGHT THERE. It's never a discussion. Usually, if guys are talking in a bathroom it's statements of fact; factorum non debatum. Acceptable bathroom lines of discussion (note all should be answered in the affirmative):
Worse than that, is when a superior at work wants to talk to YOU in the bathroom. You have to talk back, you can't ignore your boss. Don't worry, it will usually just be a question or two (he's still a guy and is going to the bathroom). Remember, the affirmative rule from above. You just grip on what God endowed you with and answer back with confidence. How was your weekend? Fucking awesome, and you're done. Remember, it will probably only be a question or two. Plan for this. Remember, you're never required to ask a followup question. This will put him on the defensive and that isn't what you want to do. He who controls the salary gets to ask the questions while he pees. Old bathroom proverb. Written right next to "Brett is gay".
If you have to ask questions, do it at the sink. The sink is where all the talking should be happening anyways. I mean, first of all, you're only there cause someone else is in the bathroom in the first place, so it's not like you're really using it. Second of all, there is usually a mirror, so both parties can look at how much better looking they are than the other guy instead of actually listening to what he is saying.
This blog post was inspired by me breaking every one of these rules in from of the VP in my department yesterday. The things I do for you people...
Like I said, guys don't go in there to talk. Really there isn't anything that we could say in the confines of that oddly sterile yet usually disgusting place that needs to be discussed RIGHT THERE. It's never a discussion. Usually, if guys are talking in a bathroom it's statements of fact; factorum non debatum. Acceptable bathroom lines of discussion (note all should be answered in the affirmative):
- This band/party/happy hour/strip club is amazing.
- I'm really drunk/high/wasted right now.
- That chick was super hot/slutty/fat/cougerish.
- Avitar was freakin amazing/sweet/seizure enducing.
- I believe the original Back to the Future was superior to the other two.
Worse than that, is when a superior at work wants to talk to YOU in the bathroom. You have to talk back, you can't ignore your boss. Don't worry, it will usually just be a question or two (he's still a guy and is going to the bathroom). Remember, the affirmative rule from above. You just grip on what God endowed you with and answer back with confidence. How was your weekend? Fucking awesome, and you're done. Remember, it will probably only be a question or two. Plan for this. Remember, you're never required to ask a followup question. This will put him on the defensive and that isn't what you want to do. He who controls the salary gets to ask the questions while he pees. Old bathroom proverb. Written right next to "Brett is gay".
If you have to ask questions, do it at the sink. The sink is where all the talking should be happening anyways. I mean, first of all, you're only there cause someone else is in the bathroom in the first place, so it's not like you're really using it. Second of all, there is usually a mirror, so both parties can look at how much better looking they are than the other guy instead of actually listening to what he is saying.
This blog post was inspired by me breaking every one of these rules in from of the VP in my department yesterday. The things I do for you people...
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Comedy New Year's Resolutions
I'm not too keen on the term "New Year's Resolutions". It's too much pressure. Who's knows what my life will be like by the end of 2010. I could resolve to work out and be more healthy in my eating, but perhaps I discover I have a penchant for making cheesecakes in a reclining position. Maybe I resolve to use words like "penchant" more often, but then I loose all my friends because they no longer understand me or think I've gone all hipster on them.
I think there is some honest truth behind NYRs. It's a time to set goals for the coming year. To take stock in your life and figure out what you want. People like asking what your NYR is this year because people are nosy, and want to size up their goals against yours. Too ambitious, people won't care and/or hope for your failure so their more attainable goal seems less diminished. Too easy and those that ask will feel empowered since they have obviously taken on more of a challenge than you. And then there are the mighty few who say, "I don't have a NYR" or the ever popular, "My NYR was not to make a NYR". First of all, the latter is a contradiction, since you in theory have just made one and have achieved it, therefore, you're a douchebag. QED.
Come on people, you're cognitive human beings who are a part of this great declining civilization called America. You can't think of a goal? Just one goal!?! No wonder this country is sort of screwed right now. Hey you, average American, what do you want to do this year? Oh me, I don't like thinking about what I want to do with myself. I'd rather find new and interesting way to get diabetes. Welcome to the future my friends...
Ok, so in the spirit of making goals. Here are some of my comedy based goals for the upcoming year:
I think there is some honest truth behind NYRs. It's a time to set goals for the coming year. To take stock in your life and figure out what you want. People like asking what your NYR is this year because people are nosy, and want to size up their goals against yours. Too ambitious, people won't care and/or hope for your failure so their more attainable goal seems less diminished. Too easy and those that ask will feel empowered since they have obviously taken on more of a challenge than you. And then there are the mighty few who say, "I don't have a NYR" or the ever popular, "My NYR was not to make a NYR". First of all, the latter is a contradiction, since you in theory have just made one and have achieved it, therefore, you're a douchebag. QED.
Come on people, you're cognitive human beings who are a part of this great declining civilization called America. You can't think of a goal? Just one goal!?! No wonder this country is sort of screwed right now. Hey you, average American, what do you want to do this year? Oh me, I don't like thinking about what I want to do with myself. I'd rather find new and interesting way to get diabetes. Welcome to the future my friends...
Ok, so in the spirit of making goals. Here are some of my comedy based goals for the upcoming year:
- Create two 30 minute sets. I don't think I'm ready to headline by any means, since that requires a lot of pacing, but, by the end of this year, I would like to have enough good material to do two distinct 30 minute sets. I'll be starting at the halfway point, with what I'll assume is one 30 minute set. This assumption is debatable, but I won't do it with you.
- Update brianboshes.com. It still says, will be featuring all over the Pacific Northwest in the spring, which, I guess its true, but that was written almost a year ago. I also don't have that beard anymore.
- Blog more.
- Do comedy in LA, NYC, and Phoenix. Get a spot at the Tempe Improv so my family can come see me do comedy in my home town.
- Finish a comedy project that isn't standup. Some kind of sketch or script or something. Haven't figured out what I want to do yet, but the goal is there.
- Continue writing at least once a week. Preferably more.
- Produce a comedy show.
- Start up a new writing group which encourages people to be better, preferably better in a way that I like so open mics are more enjoyable for me.
- And as always, get funnier.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Meeting "famous" people
Meeting characters from your childhood (or in my case older-hood), no matter how obscure, is always a thrill, at least for me. It's one of the major perks of being a standup comedian. This year I've been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to catch a couple of them as they were passing through Seattle.
One of them I actually had the pleasure of opening for. His name is Ben Bailey. Most would know him as the host of television's Cash Cab. I have seen him on that show of course, but my personal connection to him is that he was one of the first live standup comedians I saw at a comedy club. I caught him with a couple of my friends at a showcase at The Comedy Cellar in New York City. I remember a couple of his jokes, the most vivid was a joke about how he wasn't going to do his "jump-roping joke" at this club (as he's over 6 feet tall and the celling is about 7 feet at this particular club). I just remember that killing my friends and I (let alone the entire audience). So flash forward almost six years later (I was a sophomore in college when this happened), and he's coming to Laugh's Comedy Spot and I get to host the show he's on. Holy crap this is awesome!
Here's a picture of myself and him that we snapped on the second night. Slight height difference, no? I was his driver to the club (my "cab") on both nights, which gave me the chance to share the story above with him.z We talked about the jump-rope bit and whether it was still in the rotation. He shared some behind the scenes stories about the Cash Cab while the feature was on stage (Gabriel Rutledge, amazingly funny). His act has some pretty good stories about it too, so if you get a chance to see him live and are a fan of the show, you should really go. Even if you aren't, the story he tells is freaking hilarious regardless.
Ok, so that was pretty cool. A comedian from my past revisited. Can we top that this year? Of course!
Enter Bill Dwyer. Most people wouldn't recognize him out on the street (which is my favorite type of famous) but if you were a nerdy kid like me in the 90's you know his face and voice well. Who is Bill Dwyer and why does Brian have an obvious celebrity crush on this guy? Well, its because he was the host and lead commentator on Comedy Central's Battlebots! This was before Comedy Central had enough original comedy programming to fill the entire day, so some of it was filmed with random stuff like this. Bring on the random stuff I say! Battlebots was an WWE type show with robots instead of big muscular dudes, and Bill doing his best to bring words to the metallic carnage that was unfolding on your reasonably sized standard definition TV. It was on for a couple of seasons, so it filled some of my more impressionable years. I wanted to build a battlebot and have Bill narrate its rise to remote controlled stardom. That was my dream. Well, I never got to build a battlebot, but I did get to talk about them with Mr. Dwyer, which is close enough that I can die happy.
As you can see from the picture about, I was very (too) excited. Even better, he was super cool about me nerding out with him. I was thinking I was going to get a "that's great kid" type of response, but instead we talked about all the people and robots from original show, all the merchandising that went on, and even how some people are working to get the show back someday (fingers crossed). Then I was honored to have him watch me eat shit in that night's round of the competition where I took last place (having now looked at my scores I know this). Even after throwing my chances at moving on in the competition, he still took that picture with me though. Childhood star meeting, check!
So its been a pretty good year for meeting people, if not getting better at this whole comedy thing. BTW, last year I met Robin Williams and got this picture taken. So that year is pretty much the year to beat. :-)
One of them I actually had the pleasure of opening for. His name is Ben Bailey. Most would know him as the host of television's Cash Cab. I have seen him on that show of course, but my personal connection to him is that he was one of the first live standup comedians I saw at a comedy club. I caught him with a couple of my friends at a showcase at The Comedy Cellar in New York City. I remember a couple of his jokes, the most vivid was a joke about how he wasn't going to do his "jump-roping joke" at this club (as he's over 6 feet tall and the celling is about 7 feet at this particular club). I just remember that killing my friends and I (let alone the entire audience). So flash forward almost six years later (I was a sophomore in college when this happened), and he's coming to Laugh's Comedy Spot and I get to host the show he's on. Holy crap this is awesome!
Here's a picture of myself and him that we snapped on the second night. Slight height difference, no? I was his driver to the club (my "cab") on both nights, which gave me the chance to share the story above with him.z We talked about the jump-rope bit and whether it was still in the rotation. He shared some behind the scenes stories about the Cash Cab while the feature was on stage (Gabriel Rutledge, amazingly funny). His act has some pretty good stories about it too, so if you get a chance to see him live and are a fan of the show, you should really go. Even if you aren't, the story he tells is freaking hilarious regardless.
Ok, so that was pretty cool. A comedian from my past revisited. Can we top that this year? Of course!
Enter Bill Dwyer. Most people wouldn't recognize him out on the street (which is my favorite type of famous) but if you were a nerdy kid like me in the 90's you know his face and voice well. Who is Bill Dwyer and why does Brian have an obvious celebrity crush on this guy? Well, its because he was the host and lead commentator on Comedy Central's Battlebots! This was before Comedy Central had enough original comedy programming to fill the entire day, so some of it was filmed with random stuff like this. Bring on the random stuff I say! Battlebots was an WWE type show with robots instead of big muscular dudes, and Bill doing his best to bring words to the metallic carnage that was unfolding on your reasonably sized standard definition TV. It was on for a couple of seasons, so it filled some of my more impressionable years. I wanted to build a battlebot and have Bill narrate its rise to remote controlled stardom. That was my dream. Well, I never got to build a battlebot, but I did get to talk about them with Mr. Dwyer, which is close enough that I can die happy.
As you can see from the picture about, I was very (too) excited. Even better, he was super cool about me nerding out with him. I was thinking I was going to get a "that's great kid" type of response, but instead we talked about all the people and robots from original show, all the merchandising that went on, and even how some people are working to get the show back someday (fingers crossed). Then I was honored to have him watch me eat shit in that night's round of the competition where I took last place (having now looked at my scores I know this). Even after throwing my chances at moving on in the competition, he still took that picture with me though. Childhood star meeting, check!
So its been a pretty good year for meeting people, if not getting better at this whole comedy thing. BTW, last year I met Robin Williams and got this picture taken. So that year is pretty much the year to beat. :-)
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Seattle International Comedy Competition - Night 5 & 6
Ok two more nights passed and one more blog. Again, so much more for one post per night. Oh well.
Night five of the competition was off to Bellingham, a city around two hours north of Seattle. This would mark the farthest we have traveled for the competition. I went up a couple hours before the show with Leyna to see the city and to have dinner with her Mom. We took the scenic route, saw some fabulous beach view, and visited an antique shop in downtown Bellingham. B-ham. Bellinghamster! I also got to visit Boundary Bay brewery, which was on my list of breweries to visit in Seattle. After a fabulous spagetti dinner, it was off to the Fairhaven POub and Martini Bar. Yes, a pub AND martini bar, in the same building, and it didn't look like either. They really should just call it Fairhaven bar with a stage. I think that was its qualification for hosting the show that night.
I knew that it wasn't going to be a good night. I wasn't going to change my set and something told me that my hobbit opener wasn't going to ring as true here at the pub AND martini bar. The comic before me had a rough set and I went up to probably the coldest room of the week. I actually held my room, but it was one of those sets where it was like trying to jog through snow compared with the night before. It was funny, while going into my hairy chest joke, some girl said, "I don't think so!" when I said that they could follow my Happy Trail. Part of me wanted to stop my set and say "Fuck you, my girlfriend is sitting over there and she follows it, so suck it! Actually don't,.." Maybe if I had, my score would have been higher. Cy called someone a "retarded faggot" and took 5th if that is any indication of what we were dealing it.
I didn't place tonight (shocker), but I'm still not looking at my scores at this point. Everyone else is freaking out at this point as we are heading into the home stretch. Most people are going to use tonight as their drop score. After my performances in night one and two, I don't think I have a drop score option anymore. :) Drop scores aside, Jose and Andy had great sets and scored first and second respectively. All in all, I felt my set went over pretty well for a bar show where I did the same set I did at a theater show. Doesn't really matter, time to get out of this town...
Into night six. Final night. Industry night! We had a talent agent from CBS and the guy that does recruiting for the "Just for Laughs" festival in Montreal. What we think this means is opportunities galore for all the comics in week one. What this really means is the toughest and probably most accurate scoring of the week. Still, having not looked at my scores, I'm feeling pretty good going into that night. I may still have a chance to make the top five (I didn't know how far from the truth this was). Fast forward to the set. I thought it was solid for the most part. Strong start, stronger middle, meh, ended kinda week. My closers have definitely been the weakest link this competition. One of the (many) takeaways. After leaving the stage, that was it. I had done six shows in six nights and it was all over. At this point, it was just waiting for the scores. I thought, I could have placed tonight? Sure, why not. I did not place, I did not move on. I didn't pass go either, but I made $200. The final five were Matt Billon, Jose Sarduy, Roger Lazola, Scott Monroe, and Andy Haynes. Andy took second on the last night and slipped right into 5th place for the week to upset Jane Stanton. It was a photo finish for the 5th place spot. I
I took 11th on the last night show. Not ever close to sixth. Heh. I also took 14th for the week. Ya, not even close to placing. Wonderful, wonderful delusion. Holy shit I'm glad I didn't look at my scores huh!?!? Right? Best decision I made all week. That and switching my set on night three. That took me from last place on Thursday (LAST!?!? WTF!) and 5th on Friday. I don't think I could have done that had I let the full weight of Thursday fall on me. That fifth place finish was all that I wanted out of this competition and I did it. So happy. Josh Gondelman took 5th on the last night, which was awesome, since I had displaced him for 5th in Aurbun by like one point. I got my picture. I'm good. But ya, scores. Don't ever look at them.
So ya, the competition is over! Takeaways? Don't look at your scores, I think I said that already?
Now that it's over though, I'm really interested in the raw scores to see if there might be some trends over the entirety of the competition. My strongest point? Probably overcoming my nerves the first night and punching through to take 5th on Friday. My weakest point? My set choice. You watch guys like Jose or Andy or even Ahmed and they have a varied set that I didn't have going into this competition. All their bits were unique but related to a common theme. For me, I think my voice is just starting to appear and all of my jokes were kind of generic. I knew this going into the competition, but didn't know exactly what I knew. My friend Toby explained it to me. My second to last joke's punchline was that I got an erection. My last joke was about getting an erection. No wonder my closer never landed like I wanted! I was basically telling the same joke twice.
Although I had so much fun and learned a bunch of stuff, I am so freaking tired. Maybe it's because I haven't given myself a break even though the competition is over. I went to the open mic last night at Laughs (where I took LAST!) and I'm writing this blog entry from an open mic in Magnolia. What the hell is wrong with me?!? :P
Night five of the competition was off to Bellingham, a city around two hours north of Seattle. This would mark the farthest we have traveled for the competition. I went up a couple hours before the show with Leyna to see the city and to have dinner with her Mom. We took the scenic route, saw some fabulous beach view, and visited an antique shop in downtown Bellingham. B-ham. Bellinghamster! I also got to visit Boundary Bay brewery, which was on my list of breweries to visit in Seattle. After a fabulous spagetti dinner, it was off to the Fairhaven POub and Martini Bar. Yes, a pub AND martini bar, in the same building, and it didn't look like either. They really should just call it Fairhaven bar with a stage. I think that was its qualification for hosting the show that night.
I knew that it wasn't going to be a good night. I wasn't going to change my set and something told me that my hobbit opener wasn't going to ring as true here at the pub AND martini bar. The comic before me had a rough set and I went up to probably the coldest room of the week. I actually held my room, but it was one of those sets where it was like trying to jog through snow compared with the night before. It was funny, while going into my hairy chest joke, some girl said, "I don't think so!" when I said that they could follow my Happy Trail. Part of me wanted to stop my set and say "Fuck you, my girlfriend is sitting over there and she follows it, so suck it! Actually don't,.." Maybe if I had, my score would have been higher. Cy called someone a "retarded faggot" and took 5th if that is any indication of what we were dealing it.
I didn't place tonight (shocker), but I'm still not looking at my scores at this point. Everyone else is freaking out at this point as we are heading into the home stretch. Most people are going to use tonight as their drop score. After my performances in night one and two, I don't think I have a drop score option anymore. :) Drop scores aside, Jose and Andy had great sets and scored first and second respectively. All in all, I felt my set went over pretty well for a bar show where I did the same set I did at a theater show. Doesn't really matter, time to get out of this town...
Into night six. Final night. Industry night! We had a talent agent from CBS and the guy that does recruiting for the "Just for Laughs" festival in Montreal. What we think this means is opportunities galore for all the comics in week one. What this really means is the toughest and probably most accurate scoring of the week. Still, having not looked at my scores, I'm feeling pretty good going into that night. I may still have a chance to make the top five (I didn't know how far from the truth this was). Fast forward to the set. I thought it was solid for the most part. Strong start, stronger middle, meh, ended kinda week. My closers have definitely been the weakest link this competition. One of the (many) takeaways. After leaving the stage, that was it. I had done six shows in six nights and it was all over. At this point, it was just waiting for the scores. I thought, I could have placed tonight? Sure, why not. I did not place, I did not move on. I didn't pass go either, but I made $200. The final five were Matt Billon, Jose Sarduy, Roger Lazola, Scott Monroe, and Andy Haynes. Andy took second on the last night and slipped right into 5th place for the week to upset Jane Stanton. It was a photo finish for the 5th place spot. I
I took 11th on the last night show. Not ever close to sixth. Heh. I also took 14th for the week. Ya, not even close to placing. Wonderful, wonderful delusion. Holy shit I'm glad I didn't look at my scores huh!?!? Right? Best decision I made all week. That and switching my set on night three. That took me from last place on Thursday (LAST!?!? WTF!) and 5th on Friday. I don't think I could have done that had I let the full weight of Thursday fall on me. That fifth place finish was all that I wanted out of this competition and I did it. So happy. Josh Gondelman took 5th on the last night, which was awesome, since I had displaced him for 5th in Aurbun by like one point. I got my picture. I'm good. But ya, scores. Don't ever look at them.
So ya, the competition is over! Takeaways? Don't look at your scores, I think I said that already?
Now that it's over though, I'm really interested in the raw scores to see if there might be some trends over the entirety of the competition. My strongest point? Probably overcoming my nerves the first night and punching through to take 5th on Friday. My weakest point? My set choice. You watch guys like Jose or Andy or even Ahmed and they have a varied set that I didn't have going into this competition. All their bits were unique but related to a common theme. For me, I think my voice is just starting to appear and all of my jokes were kind of generic. I knew this going into the competition, but didn't know exactly what I knew. My friend Toby explained it to me. My second to last joke's punchline was that I got an erection. My last joke was about getting an erection. No wonder my closer never landed like I wanted! I was basically telling the same joke twice.
Although I had so much fun and learned a bunch of stuff, I am so freaking tired. Maybe it's because I haven't given myself a break even though the competition is over. I went to the open mic last night at Laughs (where I took LAST!) and I'm writing this blog entry from an open mic in Magnolia. What the hell is wrong with me?!? :P
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Seattle International Comedy Competition - Night 4
Last night's event was at the Historic Everett Theater in Everett, Washington. This place was a beautiful theater right in downtown Everett. Seated about 800 people on a packed show, I think we had around 450 people there. It had a mezzanine about a quarter filled (more on that later). Still, it was going to be very interesting performing in this kind of place. I have never done a theater show before, so this was many of the interesting learning experiences I knew that I would get in this competition.
I drove Ahmed Bharoocha and Josh Gondelman up there with me again. They've been good car pooling buddies. I've been taking the opportunity to bend their ear about Boston comedy and the scene out there. Networking with other comics is key for these sort of events. It's really the one thing that everyone gets out of the competition now matter how you place. Unless you're a douche-bag that no one wants to talk to. Thankfully, we haven't had any of those in our week, so overall the group dynamic has been great. Hopefully when I'm in Boston, or Dallas, or New York, or wherever, I'll be able to call back to these experience and friends that I've made so far in the competition and get some good stage time, or at least a couch to crash on. Ok, enough sappy stuff, back to the competition!
The Everett Theater has a great backstage, mostly because its a real theater. It was kind of cool to hang out behind the curtain and listen to the show, knowing that just a couple of inches beyond it was a comic and 450 people listening to him. Steve Monroe took the opportunity to explore the entire theater, including the rafters, while the performance was underway. What are you going to do with an ex-tech geek with a flashlight, I just don't know. Regardless, the backstage was more popular than the green room tonight. Possibly because the green room was the dressing room and sounded like there were birds mating in there due to a squeaky belt driven air exchanger in the basement. The backstage was also well insulated (unlike Auburn), so we were able to converse with each other about the sets previously and currently on stage.
I was up 9th tonight, which for most would be the best time to go up, but this night there was an intermission between the 8th and the 9th comic. This meant I was essentially the "first" comic in the second half. The host, Paul Myerhaug, who has been awesome by the way, did about four minutes in front of me to get the crowd going again. I hit the stage and it was another great set! I mean, I got my closest to going over seven minutes (with 6:34) because the crowd was laughing at my jokes for so long. I felt super comfortable coming off of night 3 with my newly arranged set and it shows. Also, comparing my nervousness level from night one to last night, wow what a difference. The confidence level and timing with which I've delivered this set has increased so much during this competition. I knew that I had a lot to gain going into this, more so than many of the competitors in this week, and my performance last night has shown that I took my punches from night's one and two and am bouncing back.
The long and the short of this though was that I didn't place last night. I apparently was very close to placing, as everyone was every excited to tell me that I was very close to placing, which means I took sixth. Not bad for someone who couldn't close just two nights before. :-) At this point though, every is surely freaking out about the scores. Word on the street (and mathematically), is that the top three spots are already locked in at this point in the week. This is not surprising, as Jose Sarduy again took first tonight. Matt Billon, Steve Monroe, Roger Lazola, and Jane Stanton rounded out the top five. Beginning to see a pattern here?
Spot number four is also pretty much spoken for. The fifth spot is up for grabs though. Currently Jane is in it right now, but I've been told that everyone down to 12th is a contender for 5th when you take into account the drop night. I'm tenth in that list. Dammit guys! I'm trying not to look at my scores here. Anyone who is going to, or who have been in this competition, not looking at your scores is the toughest freaking thing to do, especially as it comes down to the wire and everyone is freaking out. You will find out, even if you don't want to, because someone will want to talk with you about it and will "fill you in" just so they can complain or brag or whatever about their own position. "Hey Brian I'm 8th so I'm still in the running, you're 10th by the way so you shouldn't give up either." Dammit! Stop unpurifying my thoughts!
Jose Sarduy has been a really great guy to hang out with during this competition. Last night he offered me some great advice about merchandising and doing theater shows. Talked about writing jokes, his experiences in the San Fransisco competition, and just good comedy. He also complimented me on my sets the last two nights, which doesn't hurt either. It's this kind of stuff for which I'm really exciting to be participating this year. The field is so good, the sets are so polished, that I can't NOT learn anything just by being here.
We went out for drinks with most of the competitors last night in Capitol Hill after the show. This was the first (and probably only) outside show hangout everyone did together. We had a good 16 people at the bar, it was a nice sized party. I drove Ahmed and Josh down from Everett, and I introduced them to Dic's Hamburgers on the way to the bar. Ahmed says, "I'm kinda hungry" and I turn to him and say, "I know what we can put in your stomach, some Dic's." It then took me five minutes to undo the damage and convince him that Dic's was an actual drive in and not some gay stripper club. It's kind of a Seattle institution, just a notch below In-N-Out Burgers. They loved it and my car was filled with the smells of Dic's all the way to the bar.
I really need to take a shower as my ride is about 15 minutes away from picking me up to drive me up to Bellingham, where tonight's show will take place. Stay tuned for the fourth installment tomorrow!
I drove Ahmed Bharoocha and Josh Gondelman up there with me again. They've been good car pooling buddies. I've been taking the opportunity to bend their ear about Boston comedy and the scene out there. Networking with other comics is key for these sort of events. It's really the one thing that everyone gets out of the competition now matter how you place. Unless you're a douche-bag that no one wants to talk to. Thankfully, we haven't had any of those in our week, so overall the group dynamic has been great. Hopefully when I'm in Boston, or Dallas, or New York, or wherever, I'll be able to call back to these experience and friends that I've made so far in the competition and get some good stage time, or at least a couch to crash on. Ok, enough sappy stuff, back to the competition!
The Everett Theater has a great backstage, mostly because its a real theater. It was kind of cool to hang out behind the curtain and listen to the show, knowing that just a couple of inches beyond it was a comic and 450 people listening to him. Steve Monroe took the opportunity to explore the entire theater, including the rafters, while the performance was underway. What are you going to do with an ex-tech geek with a flashlight, I just don't know. Regardless, the backstage was more popular than the green room tonight. Possibly because the green room was the dressing room and sounded like there were birds mating in there due to a squeaky belt driven air exchanger in the basement. The backstage was also well insulated (unlike Auburn), so we were able to converse with each other about the sets previously and currently on stage.
I was up 9th tonight, which for most would be the best time to go up, but this night there was an intermission between the 8th and the 9th comic. This meant I was essentially the "first" comic in the second half. The host, Paul Myerhaug, who has been awesome by the way, did about four minutes in front of me to get the crowd going again. I hit the stage and it was another great set! I mean, I got my closest to going over seven minutes (with 6:34) because the crowd was laughing at my jokes for so long. I felt super comfortable coming off of night 3 with my newly arranged set and it shows. Also, comparing my nervousness level from night one to last night, wow what a difference. The confidence level and timing with which I've delivered this set has increased so much during this competition. I knew that I had a lot to gain going into this, more so than many of the competitors in this week, and my performance last night has shown that I took my punches from night's one and two and am bouncing back.
The long and the short of this though was that I didn't place last night. I apparently was very close to placing, as everyone was every excited to tell me that I was very close to placing, which means I took sixth. Not bad for someone who couldn't close just two nights before. :-) At this point though, every is surely freaking out about the scores. Word on the street (and mathematically), is that the top three spots are already locked in at this point in the week. This is not surprising, as Jose Sarduy again took first tonight. Matt Billon, Steve Monroe, Roger Lazola, and Jane Stanton rounded out the top five. Beginning to see a pattern here?
Spot number four is also pretty much spoken for. The fifth spot is up for grabs though. Currently Jane is in it right now, but I've been told that everyone down to 12th is a contender for 5th when you take into account the drop night. I'm tenth in that list. Dammit guys! I'm trying not to look at my scores here. Anyone who is going to, or who have been in this competition, not looking at your scores is the toughest freaking thing to do, especially as it comes down to the wire and everyone is freaking out. You will find out, even if you don't want to, because someone will want to talk with you about it and will "fill you in" just so they can complain or brag or whatever about their own position. "Hey Brian I'm 8th so I'm still in the running, you're 10th by the way so you shouldn't give up either." Dammit! Stop unpurifying my thoughts!
Jose Sarduy has been a really great guy to hang out with during this competition. Last night he offered me some great advice about merchandising and doing theater shows. Talked about writing jokes, his experiences in the San Fransisco competition, and just good comedy. He also complimented me on my sets the last two nights, which doesn't hurt either. It's this kind of stuff for which I'm really exciting to be participating this year. The field is so good, the sets are so polished, that I can't NOT learn anything just by being here.
We went out for drinks with most of the competitors last night in Capitol Hill after the show. This was the first (and probably only) outside show hangout everyone did together. We had a good 16 people at the bar, it was a nice sized party. I drove Ahmed and Josh down from Everett, and I introduced them to Dic's Hamburgers on the way to the bar. Ahmed says, "I'm kinda hungry" and I turn to him and say, "I know what we can put in your stomach, some Dic's." It then took me five minutes to undo the damage and convince him that Dic's was an actual drive in and not some gay stripper club. It's kind of a Seattle institution, just a notch below In-N-Out Burgers. They loved it and my car was filled with the smells of Dic's all the way to the bar.
I really need to take a shower as my ride is about 15 minutes away from picking me up to drive me up to Bellingham, where tonight's show will take place. Stay tuned for the fourth installment tomorrow!
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