20040818

March 3, 2006

Charlie’s Standup Comedy Journal

August 18, 2004: Lights! Camera! Dorchester!

Oh, director! I’m ready for my closeup!

This was what we in ‘the business’ call a ‘special engagement’ show. Or maybe a ‘limited run’. Or ‘feature

presentation’. Definitely something with quotes around it, though. It was that special.

Actually, what happened was that the local Brookline cable access channel moseyed by to tape each comic’s set, to broadcast later to the millions and millions of adoring fans throughout… well, throughout Brookline, I expect.

So it’s not really millions of people we’re reaching, I suppose. Probably thousands in Brookline — maybe tens of thousands at the most.

And of course, not all of them watch cable access TV on a regular basis. So maybe we’ve got a target audience of a few hundred… who probably don’t all tune in for a look late on Sunday nights, when I think the clips are going to be run. So perhaps the ‘real’ audience will just just a tad smaller than I first estimated. Just

a touch.

Okay, let’s face it. The only people that are ever going to see the tapes from this show — apart from you

watching mine online, maybe — are forty-something insomniac dudes living in their parents’ basements, accidentally

finding local TV while they’re searching for scrambled porn. And you know, I don’t care. It was still a fun show. I won’t have my parade pissed on, dammit.

So, if you want to see the kind of energy and buzz that comes from not thinking these sorts of

things through before getting on stage, have a look at the clip. It’s even ‘TV-friendly’, if you can believe it.

(We were told to ixnay on the ‘money words’ in our sets, just in case the FCC was looking in on the

local cable access shows, ready to pimp-slap a big fat F-bomb fine on them. Personally, I think those guys probably

have other bugs to squash, but hey, I’m a team player. I went along for the ride. Does that mean I can call myself a

sellout and be all cool about it now? Oh, can I, can I please?)

Anyway, check it out. Hell, nobody else is ever gonna see it, so you might as well download it yourself.

Unless you’re one of those guys living in his ‘rent’s cellar, and you were surfing for Internet porn when you found

me. You guys, keep on moving. I’ve already got people like you lined up to watch, just as soon as the TV station gets around to airing my clip. Nothing to see here for you. Shoo!

Download Clip of 08/18/04 Set —

Emerald Isle, Dorchester, MA (5 minutes, 3 seconds):