20031203

March 3, 2006

Charlie’s Standup Comedy Journal

December 3, 2003: Illin’ at the Isle

This was my second show, performed in the chilly — but friendly — confines of the Emerald Isle on Dorchester Ave. in Dorchester. I’ve been told that they keep the place pretty cool to make sure the audience stays awake. I don’t know if that’s true, but I can tell you that it was pretty frickin’ frigid that night. If the video quality were just a touch better, I’m pretty sure you’d be able to see my nipples poking out through my shirt. (Not that you’d want to, just that you could, is all I’m sayin’. Let’s move on.)

This was also the second, and final, show ‘guaranteed’ to the attendees of the ‘Standup 101‘ class that I took this fall. Our lovely and talented instructor, Rich, is also the emcee at the Emerald Isle’s Wednesday night open mic night, so he invited all of us to perform on the same night. He also graciously offered to book any of us (like me) who’d like to continue making asses of ourselves in public (and made good on that offer by lining me up for December 17th — Rich rocks!).

Another thing about Rich that’s somewhat important, as you watch my set, is that he’s a big, tall, burly guy, with a thick black beard. He looks very outdoorsy and rugged (though, if you can believe the jokes in his act, he’s actually not), in sort of a Grizzly Adams-meets-Siberian woodsman kind of way.

(Or not, maybe. I’m not really sure what would happen if old Griz’ met one of those big Russian lumberjack types, anyway. I mean, what would they talk about? How would they talk to each other? And some of those Russian dudes are pretty hairy — would Adams think the other guy was a bear? These are not questions I’m equipped to answer.)

Anyway, keep that in mind — I mention Rich a couple of times during my set, so it’s probably good to have a mental image of him in mind. And one of these days, maybe I’ll see if I can find a digital image of him, too, to help you along.

I’m not sure what else to tell you, other than that this show was a lot of fun, despite the cold (and the harrowing ride to Dorchester; I’ve got to find a way to get there that doesn’t involve so many burnt-out buildings and vacant warehouses). I feel like this set started out a little slow — hey, I’m still learning over here! — but I think I picked it up, and I hope it’s worth your while to download. Hopefully, you’ll have as much fun seeing it as I did performing it. And you’ll almost certainly be warmer. Damn, that place was cold!

Download Clip of 12/03/03 Set —

Emerald Isle, Dorchester, MA (5 minutes, 42 seconds):