20050302

March 3, 2006

Charlie’s Standup Comedy Journal

March 2, 2005: Three C-Words to the Wind

(Warning: If any of you are particularly sensitive to hearing or seeing the ‘C word’, you probably don’t want to go any further here. Check out another clip instead, or read any random post. You see, I’m not afraid to use the ‘C word’, but generally keep it under my hat when it comes to blogging or doing standup. Of course, if you’re now intrigued as to why this show is an exception to the rule… by all means, read on. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.)

In many ways, this was another typical night at the Emerald Isle — an astronomical comic-to-audience-member ratio, good times, comic friends, and an informal feel throughout. In fact, with respect to that first point, there was only one audience member. But she’s what made the night special, too. Let me explain.

You see, the audience-of-one came courtesy of one of the other comics. And she was a laugher. A loud, generous, bordering-on-hysterical laugher. And that’s gold for a comic — like a heroin hit to a junkie, people. In a crowd of a few dozen polite folks, all it takes is one or two true laughers to get them going, and turn an okay show into a great show. In this case, having her there turned a potentially depressing, quiet show into entertainment all around. So that was key.

Ah, but her influence didn’t stop there. Apparently — and I got there late, so I missed it — somewhere near or before the beginning of the show, our favorite crowd member called someone a ‘nasty old cunt’. No one actually present, mind you, and I never heard exactly who she was talking about — a boss, or old teacher, maybe even her grandmother. Who knows? What I do know is that this single act of wanton profanity kicked her up several notches in the eyes of the comics. If we liked her for her laugh, we loved her for her ‘cunt’.

(Yes, that was in quotes. Don’t get any ideas, there, scooter. Ain’t no ‘comic orgies’ going on down in Dorchester. Keep yer pants on.)

Anyway, I tell you that to tell you this — when my turn came to go onstage, I decided to have a little fun. I wasn’t really trying anything new; I was just practicing old bits for an upcoming longer set I’m putting together. So I decided, in honor of our giggly guest, to sprinkle her favorite word into my set. So I littered three ‘cunt’s into my act, just to keep her entertained, and to say thanks.

(And I seem to have succeeded with the ‘entertained’ part. The best reactions I got were on cunt-ified lines. Makes me wonder about a whole new direction for my comedy. Yeah… not really.)

So, that’s the explanation/excuse. If you’re not terribly cunt-shy, the clip is worth a look, just to hear her laugh. And if you’ve read this far, you’ve already seen as many ‘cunt’s as you’d hear on the clip, so you shouldn’t be too shocked.

(And yes, if you’re counting, that’s five, instead of three. Even in my standup, I apparently follow the first rule of essay writing — tell ’em what you’re going to tell ’em, tell ’em, and then tell ’em what you told ’em. So there’s an extra ‘C bomb’ at the beginning and end, in addition to the three ‘official’ ones.)

Anyway, there you go. Not necessarily my proudest moment in comedy, perhaps, but it was a bit of fun. And it shows adaptability, right? I’m not sure I could sculpt my comedy to entertain a room full of nuns, or any shit like that — but this kind of situation? Yeah, this is right up my alley. Nice talk, eh?

Download Clip of 03/02/05 Set —

Emerald Isle, Dorchester, MA (7 minutes, 34 seconds):