My week (January 9th - 14th) at the DC Improv could not have gone better. I had some ridiculous sets. XM radio was there to record the Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows. They did an interview with Rich Vos and Bonnie McFarlane and were going to air one of those shows after broadcasting the interview. I am pretty proud of all of those performances so I hope they air my portion of the show. I have no idea when this is supposed to air and couldn't find it on the XM website.
So basically, I may or may not be on XM. If I am, I don't know what show they will be airing, what station or when it will air.
My last blog was after my Thursday show. On Friday, a friend of Bonnie McFarlane's, Lynn Shawcroft, came to do some guest sets during the weekend shows. I think I kissed Bonnie's ass pretty thoroughly last blog, but Lynn was just as much fun. She had me cracking up the entire time.
Unfortunately, it's not always like this in the world of professional comedy. If you do it for any length of time, you'll have to contend with the following people:
-Those who insist on running bits by you and acting like it's part of their regular conversation.
''Really? That would be like if Eric Estrada, Abraham Lincoln and The Incredible Hulk went to a Karaoke bar...''
-Those who act like they're above you or any employee of the club.
''Hey Kid, run to my hotel room, get my DVD's and set them up in the lobby''
-Name droppers.
''So I'm having coffee with Jerry, Julia and Jason when Michael walks in, which was awkward because they were asking me to replace him on the reunion show...''
-Those who insist on throwing their credits around.
''Yeah, I worked with that guy when I headlined Caroline's''
-Those who make up credits.
''Your headliner has been seen on the Tonight show, The View, HBO, Letterman, Dr. Phil and invented the polio vaccine. put your hands together for (insert random comic you never heard of).''
-The comic trying to bang every member of the waitstaff and/or any random audience member between shows.
I could keep going. I won't. I like to have real conversations with real people. That's what I got at the Improv.
So this past weekend I was featuring at the Baltimore Comedy Factory. It was, without a doubt, the best week I've ever had at any club. Seven great shows. I was thrilled with the attendance of the shows. Four of the seven shows were sold out. All the shows were packed. The smallest crowd was about 200 (Thursday).
I try not to pander to the audience. I try and stick to saying things I think are funny. Unless I'm setting up a joke that eventually exposes that my original sentiment was not necessarily sincere. However, I think that we as comics should start thanking our audiences for their support of live comedy. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard people say, ''I haven't been to a comedy club in years. We had a great time.'' We need to remind them that this can be as regular as a trip to the movies. As often as I can remember, I will make it a regular part of my set to thank those people that came out to laugh for their support of live comedy.
I visit Jon Mumma's website everyday to see if it's been updated. Currently on the homepage of jonmumma.com it says this:
''News: Check out the new blog!
I'll be headling the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse on January 4th!
I'll be closing the DC Improv Showcase competition on January 16th!
I'll be co-headlining Ned Devine's in Sterling, VA on January 20th with Joe Robinson!''
Now, here's the fun part. Which of the above sentences is accurate? There is a Joe Robinson ''That's Irresponsible'' T-Shirt for the person with the first correct response. (Hint: This is cut and pasted directly from his site.)
In conclusion, I don't have an update on my week on 98 Rock.
I don't know if I will be on XM.
I don't have an update on my bus.
I don't have an update on my show in Atlantic City.
I don't know shit, except that I'll be at the Strasburg Theater with Andy Kline this Friday and at Ned Devine's on Saturday. Come out if you're in the neighborhood.
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