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March 3, 2006

Charlie’s Standup Comedy Journal

March 21, 2005: Gettin’ “Cozy” at Kennedy’s

As a performer, the first thing you notice about the room at Kennedy’s is that it’s so nice. Nay — nay, if I may borrow from my Iron Chef friends, it’s downright luxurious. And with most of our shows being held in dingy dive bars and out-of-the-way attics and basements, an upscale room — with leather chairs and solid wooden tables, no less — is kind of a treat.

Of course, as someone watching this clip from Kennedy’s, the first thing you’ll likely notice is that there’s really not much light in the place. Which, come to think of it, might be a big factor in why the room seems ‘nice’ in the first place. Who knows — in the harsh light of day, maybe the place is as ratty and squalid as a ghetto speakeasy. But I doubt it – and anyway, I’ll likely never see it by the light of day, so I’m holding on to my initial positive impression, nonetheless. A leather-bound, darkly-lit fantasy beats the hell out of the alternative any day.

(And yeah, I know what you were thinking when I got into the ‘leather-bound and dark’ stuff. Get your mind out of the panty drawer, would ya? Perv.)

Anyway, this was my second trip to Kennedy’s, and it’s a great place to spend a Monday night. I caught up with some old friends, made a new friend or two, and had a fantastic time of it. Plus, it was good to get back onstage — even if you can’t actually see me onstage in the vdeo clip. But due to travel and illness, I hadn’t burdened hapless strangers with a joke for over a week, so I consider this sort of a ‘getting back on the horse’ event.

(And if you squint really hard at the video, maybe you can even see the horse. Or a ghost. Or Aretha Franklin. Hell, it’s so dark, you can tell yourself it’s anything up there. If I hadn’t accidentally caught the streetlight outside the window in the shot, there’d be nothing but black. As it is, you get one bright spot of light, and shades of dark gray — that counts as ‘ambience’, folks. Soak it up.)

Amyway, have a look, if you dare. The sound is still passable, so you can treat it like an audio tape, maybe. Just take my word for it that Kennedy’s is far, far nicer than it looks on tape. Or hey — if you don’t believe me, then come down some Monday and check it out for yourself. Just don’t bring a flashlight or anything, just in case — we don’t want to ruin the ‘ambience’, now, do we?

Download Clip of 03/21/05 Set —

Kennedy’s Midtown, Boston, MA (7 minutes, 26 seconds):