Original humor & comedy articles daily weblog

20050128

Charlie’s Standup Comedy Journal

January 28, 2005: Studius Impromptus

Well, that was unexpected. Unexpected, but very, very cool.

I moseyed down to the Comedy Studio on Friday night, just as a ‘civilian’. I wasn’t scheduled to perform again for another couple of weeks, but I had some time on my hands and wanted to catch some standup, so I headed over. Just in the nick of time, too — when I arrived the last song on the ‘warm up the crowd’ soundtrack was playing. The show would be starting in just a couple of minutes, so I said ‘hey’ to a couple of people I knew and looked for the waitress to grab a beer.

That’s when Rick, who runs the joint, walked over to the group of people I was standing with and started

pointing. ‘Okay, guys — here we go. You’re number six, you’re on second, and you — you’re on first.‘

Me? First? I just came down for a couple of beers and some fried rice.

(The Studio operates in the attic of a Chinese food restaurant, by the way — the Hong Kong Restaurant in

Harvard Square. Don’t think that there’s some sort of illicit fried rice trading going on in the back rooms of

comedy clubs, or that ‘fried rice’ is some sort of code for anything. Maybe that shit happens, but I wouldn’t know —

I’m not allowed in the back room of anywhere.)

Anyway, Rick took me by surprise, but the rules for an aspiring standup are dead simple: you don’t pass up stage time. And you sure as hell don’t pass up stage time on a Friday night at the Studio, with forty or fifty people packing their asses in the seats. I’m new to this biz, relatively speaking, but I’m not stupid.

So, I worked out what I could fit into five minutes — some of the same bits I’ve been doing for the past few

weeks, so if you’ve seen those, then this probably won’t help you much. Still, what the hell else could I do —

I had something like four minutes to prep for the set. So step off, there, Skippy. Cut me some slack.

Happily, though, I managed to pull something together, and had a blast up there. And maybe I showed a little

something, too — apparently, Rick likes to put new faces on the spot occasionally, to see what will happen, and I

didn’t fold. So that’s something. On the other hand, I never got around to ordering my fried rice. But all in all,

I’d call the night a big fat ‘win’. Thanks, Rick! (And Erin, who hosted the show and gave me a really sweet intro.)

So have a look, if you like. This is also the first — of hopefully many — of my sets pulled off the Studio’s

new digital camera-to-DVD burner hookup. So the file sizes aren’t quite in line with the other clips, and I don’t

have a Windows Media version available (yet, at least). *** UPDATE: Now I do! Woo hoo!

But the production quality is superb. I’m not saying that my filming jobs with my little video camera

were ‘crappy’, mind you — I’m only saying that they’re ‘crappy by comparison’. Just so we’re clear. Look, just watch

the damned thing, okay? Stop making me crazy.

Clip of 01/28/05 Set —

Comedy Studio, Cambridge, MA (4 minutes, 41 seconds):

20050112

Charlie’s Standup Comedy Journal

January 12, 2005: Taking It Easy at the Emerald Isle

I made a resolution this year to get out to more comedy shows, and get more stage time. This gig marked my second

time at the Isle in two weeks. And the Isle only does open-mic style comedy on Wednesdays, so I’m two-for-two. How’s that for commitment, people?

(Of course, the first two weeks are the easy ones, right? Even those slackers who pledge that they’ll

go to the gym every day make it through the first two weeks. And I’m not trying to get there every single

week, necessarily — I’m just saying that this is a good start. We’ll see how long it takes for Lord Laziness to

rear his ugly head.)

Of course, hitting the Isle is always a good time. I usually know a lot of the comics there, and get to catch

up on the latest news, have a couple of beers, and — oh, yeah — do a set. Which I did, to an obviously empty room

near the end of the night. But that’s okay. I think I looked relaxed doing it — this is my first ‘seated’ routine, and I think it went pretty well.

(By which I mean that I didn’t forget what I wanted to say, nor did I fall off the chair in a drunken or

exhausted stupor. All of which were distinct possibilities when I parked my ass on the stool. So I’m pretty happy

with the way it turned out, lack of audience participation — or presence, for that matter — be damned.)

All of which is to say, you won’t find this to be the most ‘high-energy‘ standup set you’ve ever seen.

But hey, practice is practice, right? And a couple of beers on a Wednesday night are… well, that pretty much speaks for itself, now, doesn’t it? Who’s gonna quibble with that?

Download Clip of 01/12/05 Set —

Emerald Isle, Dorchester, MA (5 minutes, 31 seconds):

(Click photo to enlarge)

MPEG Format — 29MB

RealMedia Format — 9MB

Windows Media Format — 4MB

20050110

Charlie’s Standup Comedy Journal

January 10, 2005: An Adventure at the Cantab

Ah, the first audience of the new year. It almost brings a tear to these jaded old eyes.

(Particularly since it wasn’t my first show of the year. But that’s neither here nor there — I can’t

control who’s going to be at these clubs, now, can I? No — no I can’t. Apparently. But lord knows I’ve

tried.)

Anyway, this was a modest little show for a Monday night — ten or so comics, and a handful of ‘civilians’

there to cheer us on. Still, there were a few chuckles to be had, I learned that the Cantab makes a quite reasonable

facsimile of a steak sandwich, and — get yer bonus noisemakers ready, people — I also got to try out the new

camera tripod that my wife bought me for Christmas.

(For the record… the thing tipped over, and the camera fell off. And I learned not to set the tripod on a

wobbly bar shelf ever again. So that’s even another bonus, if you’re looking on the bright side.

And if you’re not, well… the fall didn’t break the camera, so you’re stuck with the clip, anyway. And

stop being such a damned grinch. Poopyhead.)

In any case, if you’re into a few yuks for the new year, then check it out. None of the material is new, I’m

afraid — I’m still recovering from my Christmas ‘vacation’, and haven’t worked out any new bits since — but hey,

this is the only set so far that comes directly on the heels of a steak sandwich. So have a look, and let me know

whether dead cow makes me any funnier. Maybe I’ll start a pre-set routine.

Download Clip of 01/10/05 Set —

Cantab Lounge, Cambridge, MA (5 minutes, 46 seconds):

(Click photo to enlarge)

MPEG Format — 30MB

RealMedia Format — 9MB

Windows Media Format — 4MB

20041215

Charlie’s Standup Comedy Journal

December 15, 2004: Wrapping It Up at the Studio

Yeah, and don’t get the wrong idea, there, smartass. I’m not ‘wrapping up’ my comedy career with this show — oh, don’t you wish? No, I’m just finishing up the year; this is almost certainly my last show until 2005, as

the holidays loom large ahead.

And what better way to boot the year’s comedy out the door than with a show at the Studio? I can’t think of

one, myself — and if I could, it wouldn’t matter, because I had the Studio gig to do. So let’s run with that.

This was a Wednesday night show.

(In case you’re reading this later, and trying to count backwards to determine the day of the week. Put your

toes away, there, Skippy — I’ll just tell you, and save you the trouble. Can’t have the readers smoking out their

ears, now, can we?)

Wednesdays at the Studio are designated ‘experimental’ nights. I’ve never quite figured out whether that means that the comics are supposed to try out brand new stuff, or if it just means that Rick, who runs the room, is being ‘experimental’ on risking letting new fish like me ruin a weekday night show. Either way — it’s all good. And

suddenly, I don’t think I want the real answer. Meh.

In any case, a show at the Studio is always a barrel of liquored-up monkeys. And this particular show was a

great mix of comics I’ve seen quite a bit, folks whose acts I haven’t caught in a while, and a few that I’d never

seen before. I went on second, right after the ‘comic in residence’ — this month, the lovely and talented Mary Beth

Cowan, who you no doubt saw on the first episode of Last Comic Standing this past season — so I got to sit

back, relax, and just watch most of the show. Good times, people. Good times.

So, have a look, if that sort of thing floats your particular brand of sailing vessel. I will mention, though,

that if you’re checking out many of these clips — and for the love of god, how can you stand it?! — the set

in this clip is a stripped-down version of the class graduation routine from Saturday

night of this week. And it got more laughs then. Dammit.

So, if you wanna see this shit really working — or as close as I get to it — then hop over and watch

that version. Of course, if you’re interested in what a typical open mic weekday gig looks like around here —

or you’re just morbidly curious about how I spend my Wednesday evenings — then by all means, have a look. Either

way, you probably won’t have as much fun as I had. But then, you don’t have the benefit of the rest of the

show to watch and a friendly waitress to bring you beer. I can’t do it all, people. Some of this shit, you’re

gonna have to work out for yourselves.

Download Clip of 12/15/04 Set —

Comedy Studio, Cambridge, MA (6 minutes, 5 seconds):

>

(Click photo to enlarge)

MPEG Format — 31MB

RealMedia Format — 10MB

Windows Media Format — 4MB

20041213

Charlie’s Standup Comedy Journal

December 13, 2004: Gearing Up at the Cantab

Folks, some venues call for your ‘A’ game. There’s a certain pressure, a charge in the air, an atmosphere that

demands you stand and deliver the laughs. And that if you can — if you rise to the challenge — then all things are

possible. Some rooms just have that electricity.

The Cantab is not one of those rooms.

But let me explain that, lest you get the wrong idea. (Or the right idea, for the wrong reasons, which

might be even worse.)

The Cantab is actually a great place to play, at least for me — it’s a few blocks from my office, they’ve got

cheap Guinness (bottles only, though… enh), and with mostly comics in attendance, it’s cool to try out new jokes.

It’s a great place to experiment, to push the envelope, and to get loaded with other comics… but not necessarily in

that order.

The only minuses to the Cantab are really out of anyone’s control — the stage is in a stark, black-painted

basement, are hosted on Monday nights (’cause that’s what’s available), and there’s no advertising budget, so few

people outside of friends and family will ever make it to the shows. It’s not the ‘Improv’, but it’s what we’ve got

right now.

(And come to think of it, at least two of those points apply to just about every other place I’ve played, too.

Or they would, if you substitute ‘Monday’ with ‘Wednesday’ or ‘Thursday’, and ‘basement’ with ‘attic’ or

‘demiliitarized zone in Dorchester’. Welcome to my world, folks. Ouch.)

Anyway, I’m just screwing around here — Amanda runs a fantastic room at the Cantab, and I always see friendly faces — comedians and civilians — when I go there. And this Monday was no different. In fact, there was a fairly sizable crowd there, by Cantab standards. And once I got through the first few fumbling lines of my set — in my defense, I debated which bits to do right up until the show, so I wasn’t exactly Joe Smooth starting off — they

seemed to dig the material.

So check it out, if you like. There’s some stuff here that’s not yet on tape anywhere else, so I’ll definitely

be watching it to gauge how it went over. So I’m stuck with it, and as they say, ‘misery loves comedy’. Or at least,

they should say that. So join me in a viewing — it’s the closest you’ll get to a dingy dark basement in

Cambridge in your life, folks. If you’re lucky.

Download Clip of 12/13/04 Set —

Cantab Lounge, Cambridge, MA (5 minutes, 37 seconds):

(Click photo to enlarge)

MPEG Format — 30MB

RealMedia Format — 9MB

Windows Media Format — 4MB