20050409

March 3, 2006

Charlie’s Standup Comedy Journal

April 9, 2005: A Wild Saturday Night

Folks, there’s a first for everything — and this was my first Saturday night spot at the Comedy Studio. It also set the high-water mark — or came damned close — for the number of friends and coworkers who came out see little old me perform. So — no pressure, right?

And, in the end, there wasn’t a lot of pressure, really. I went on pretty early in the show — which turned out to be a good thing, because the bachelorette party that you can hear on the clip getting a little too giggly… well, they got a lot too giggly later on. Plus, some guys in the back were asked to leave. So, I was pretty happy to get in and out before things got too rowdy.

As it was, the crowd was a blast. And the tape of the set — on DVD, thanks to Rick at the Studio — looks spectacular. Or at least, it did, before I butchered it six ways to Sunday by converting it into four different formats here.

(And a word to the wise — if anyone watching any of my clips could ever be called ‘wise’ — if you’ve got the bandwidth and the patience, try out the AVI of this show. I could never get the WMV file to convert, and it’s probably the next-best format, in terms of quality. And maybe the MPEG and RM files are okay; I don’t know. All I know is that I converted the original high-quality, razor-sharp DVD clip into one of these formats, and captured a still shot below… and managed to make myself look like I’m made of Legos. And wearing a Hitler moustache. Digital pic wiz, I am not.)

Anyway, check it out, if you get a chance. And know, too, that you’re not quite getting the real experience of a Saturday night at the Studio, without parking your ass in a seat and laughing along with the crowd. Besides the phenomenal other acts, you’re also missing out on the aftershow — mine ended at around 3am in a diner in Watertown, with a couple of friends, a bacon omelette, and some of the best corned beef hash in Boston. And between the end of the show and that moment — well, that was five hours of good times, my friends. You should check it out sometime; you won’t be disappointed.

Clip of 04/09/05 Set —

The Comedy Studio, Cambridge, MA (6 minutes, 44 seconds):