My pal Dustin Meadows set up a show this past week through Whiskey Bear Comedy called HOT DOG! It was part comedy, part Japanese gameshow (where the point is to punish the participants) and a bit of an eating contest. During short sets, all the comedians had to perform while there were unknown triggers. If one of the parameters was met, a hot dog was sent onstage, where the dumb comic had to eat it before leaving.
I wasn’t sure how it would go – I got violently ill from a bad dime a dog night in 2003 and haven’t had hot dogs much since. Surprise! Eating 10 heat lamp cooked processed meat sticks made from pig ass don’t make you feel like a million bucks.
I tried to figure out what my buzz word was by saying “Pantera, Captain America, Busch Light, White Trash” right off the bat. Nothing. Turns out it was if I mentioned my wife, kid or sounded like a hillbilly. I got six hot dogs and I caught on pretty quickly. It was fun, although I should have been drinking Pepto Bismol, not Bud Light.
I think from the crowd’s reaction it was a hit idea. There really was a little something for everyone. Laughs, gluttony, pain…but I found out the real show was about an hour after I woke up the next morning. Thank God they weren’t gas station hot dogs; the EPA might have got involved.