Stand Up

In continuing the Week of Only Comics, Geo and I went out with some awesome pals to see some stand up. Yup. More comedy. It's no laughing matter, people. I fully intend to continue to bask in the glory of other people's hysterical poignancy until it becomes so ingrained that Lorne Michaels calls me to run the latest sketch by me.

But hey, here's a fun fact: Probably the hardest thing a person could ever do is stand on a stage and tell jokes. Jokes that have, for all intents and purposes, gotten the "go-ahead" from friends and family. Then you stand up on a stage in front of a room of strangers and tell those jokes. And because your non-funny or a$$hole friends suck, you fail miserably.

If you're a truly funny person, you recover semi-successfully. If you're a bad comedian, you take it out on your audience. It's just SOOOOOOOOOOOO much like life, right?!

Whatever.  


Here's the thing: watching people bomb on stage tonight took me on my own painful journey back to fifth grade. I sat next to my friend Sara (that's right, no H) and failed miserably at reciting a poem about cicadas. It's my own fault, really. I was so sure I'd dominate that public access cable performance, because I had TOTALLY nailed my "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul routine at the talent show earlier that month. I couldn't lose.

Ugh. But I LOST. Like, blank-stare, red-faced LOST. Instead of taking the cues from my parents and teachers behind the Channel 185939 camera, I just froze. Staring into the deep lens of failure.

So when the comedians bombed on stage tonight, I didn't just NOT want to respond. I wanted to foster their bravery and courage. I laughed 50 times as hard for the bad jokes as I did for the truly hysterical bits.

Am I robbing these kids of honest feedback? Probably. However, much like my parents during my Cicada Serenade, I couldn't just sit idly by and watch someone fail miserably at life.

After fighting through a few painful and depressing comics, though, I was paid off in spades. The show we went to featured Josh Sneed, who was seriously one of the best acts I've seen lately. It was surprising and fun and not at all the "deer-in-headlights" routine I'm most familiar with on a personal level. I laughed, I thought, and then I bought a T shirt and CD after the show. He was good people, you guys.

Anyway, I'm tired and not feel at ALL funny after the show tonight. The point is: Go see some stand-up. You could be pleasantly surprised, and then horribly disappointed in your own sense of humor. But mostly, you'll laugh and have a good time and forget that you are a no-name blogger...or whatever. :)