Well, after three months off, I had my first two shows in the post-COVID/pre-normal world of 2020. Every rule was broken, but it’s where we are. The show was outside for safety (usually a big no no for comedy), the attendance was regulated (a big no no for making money) and the first show was at 2 pm (another consequence of COVID) so they could sanitize between shows. The best part? Not my set, but it worked!
It was 88 degrees when I hit the stage, the crowd was sober and there was no opener, but it went better than I thought. Here’s a tip for the comics about to hit the stage: you will screw up a joke or two. I honestly hit a dead spot in my brain that took me about 10 seconds to figure out what I was going to do next and I forgot a huge setup in one of my “bits.”
The second show was much more normal, it cooled off, the crowd was bigger and I had a 30 warm-up under my belt. It went better by a mile and I had the added bonus of a drunk heckler. The headliner was popular radio and YouTube personality Donnie Baker. Very nice guy, but his fan was not. She was a very drunk lady who conversation bombed us before the second show and yelled way too many woos during my set, then finally yelled, “Get Donnie Baker onstage!” Replaying hecklers in a blog doesn’t really capture the moment, but I at one point made the audience cheer very loudly by playing off a guy revving his motorcycle comparing it to her and may have also inquired if there were any serial killers in the crowd that could help me out. She finally shut up or passed out and all was good. I had such a long gap between shows that I mowed my mother in law’s grass 45 minutes from the venue, but it worked. Big thanks to the Smiling Goat and their staff for being very friendly and safe in a tough environment. Now to wait another season to tell these garbage jokes!