Review - Performance

Day 113 (253) – Snooker’s Open Mic

As I noted yesterday, I went to an open mic tonight to return from my 3 month break of doing stand-up…  and what an interesting way to come back.

First, I have to say there’s no such thing as bad “stage time,” and I feel fortunate for any opportunity I get to perform.  With that being said, tonight was definitely one of the most difficult venues that I’ve done.  For starters, the show started 30 minutes late (as we waited in hopes that more people would be arriving – they did not).

Due to some conflicts, the only mic that we had was actually a PA mic (one of the ones you have to press a button to turn on, like what’d you see sitting at some type of judge’s table).  And the cord only reached a certain distance, so even though the venue actually had  stage, you couldn’t actually be standing on it, and have the mic in hand.

The audience (of which there were about 10 comics and about 6 bar patrons), was split on the left and right side of the “stage,” with nothing but a walk way in the middle.  And to make things even better – I got to open the show.

Now it seems to be pretty well known that going first is the hardest spot in a comedy show, because you have to warm up the crowd.  By the time you reach the 3rd or 4th guy, the audience is warmed up and ready to laugh.  When you’re the first comic, they’re still getting acclimated to the environment, and they are still sober.

But even with all of that stacked against me, I still did… oh, who am I kidding.  I wanted to say I did great, but I did pretty poorly.  I got a few chuckles here and there, but nothing significant, and I even stumbled through some of my set.  I tried out a few new things, found out that most of them didn’t work in that atmosphere (they’ll get more two more chances before I decide to trash them), and even closed on a “solid closer” that didn’t go over too well.

Considering everything, I still had a pretty good time, and will definitely be back to the place.  Sure there’s only a small audience, and the environment isn’t ideal, but if you can do well there, imagine how you could do in a place that’s set up perfectly for comedy.  Plus all of the comedians were friendly and nice, and it’s one of those places you can really come together as a group of comedians.  Besides, every comedian needs to have that story about the worst place they did comedy.