I'd call it 2 for 2...

Tonight there was an especially sparce crowd at the Forum tonight. Some of the guys just went up and gave minimal attempts, which yielded minimal results; I don't like speaking bad about people especially in a blog where there's a possibilty someone will print it off and use it against me (Kevin White). Some of the comics, mainly the guys I enjoy on a consistant basis actually made an effort. My theory has always been this, if you can get 10 people out of 15 people to laugh, that's quite an accomplishment, way more so than making 100 people laugh out of 150.
I would like to say I tried tonight, but since I try not to talk myself up to much (I don't want to sound arrogant, this is my "diary" for Christ's sake) I'll say I had fun and got some laughs. My take-off-your-pants joke is still really fun to do, and I'm loving my new Harry Potter joke. I gave my Voldermort joke to Andrew Topping as I'll never do it again; I loved that joke and learned alot about being a comic from it, but it's not what I want to do on stage. No show tomorrow, so I have to wait until Monday to perform.

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Sweet set

Tonight was a good night at the Funny Bone in Westport. The crowd was pretty well warmed up by the time I got on stage, and since Michael Robinson (who happens to be black) was on stage a few comics before me, my Black Name joke got an extra little kick. I was working on a bunch of new stuff as I have been lately, and I'm starting to think some, maybe most, of it is keepable. I did a joke about the Kentucky Six Flags incident, and got groaned and almost boo'd, but I think I handled it well (not in a quippy responce-type fashion but by not letting that shake me). Most of all, I had fun on stage, and I think I seemed more comfortable and sounded more conversational or relaxed. I'm pretty excited about it, and am really trying to not let any negative thoughts take hold. That's what usually happens... but not this time.

Check out my MySpace blog for jokes on which I'm working.

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I'm afraid 'cause I have no fear

Lloyd and Harry's at last

So tonight, Dan Walsh, Mike Shawkee, Jeff Wesselschmidt, myself and Clayton took the stage (meaning the new VIP section) at Lloyd and Harry's for the open mic. Due to remodelling we haven't had a show in a while and since there were so few comedians we got do to WAY more time. I ended up doing 15 minutes infront of an audience that started with 10 people (four of whom where actively paying attention to me) and ended up being around 30 or more people (two of whom were kinda/sorta paying attention to me). Since I knew I could be on stage longer, not only did I try out new(er) stuff, I tried to dive in the vault and do some jokes I haven't done in a while. It was tricky and I had to actually stop and think while on stage, which bugs me in a way. I would like to have a better command of my "library" (I think "arsenal" is too strong a word) of jokes. I would almost never consider Lloyd and Harry's a waste of time, because everytime you get on stage, there's an opportunity to learn from it. If you pay attention and (this may sound corny) reflect on it. I'm on the list for the Bone tomorrow, which is awesome, because

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A thousand miles seems pretty far
But they've got planes and trains and cars
I'd walk to you if I had no other way

Seriously, Kea's cool.

Tonight I was in a super hyper, giddy kind of mood. Chances are I annoyed the other comics, but that didn't stop me from goofing off and running around like a 7 year old (to quote Jeff Wesselschmidt). Al Canal let me to about 10 minutes on stage, so I got to play around alot. The crowd was pretty good throughout the show, and I took advantage by trying some of my newer stuff, and one thing I wrote yesterday (it went alright, Nikki) about Match.com dating. I was/am in a really good mood tonight, which was really cool, because I could kind of feel myself flowing through my set with less emphasis on whether the crowd was laughing enough. Sometimes good sets aren't good enough for me; it's nice to be satisfied with good. I usually beat myself up over the not-great/perfect sets. Those are awesome to have, but I'm glad I am not not-appreciating the good ones. Try blogging that kind of wisedom and self-insight, Gabe!

Check out my MySpace blog for jokes on which I'm working.

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Mine Sweeper

We didn't have a show last night at Lloyd and Harry's, but we did have a show at the Westport bone tonight, and I got added to the list, which I was pretty excited about. Sadly, my recorder didn't capture the magic on stage as I told my new Fathers' Day jokes and the rest of the somewhat-new stuff I'm playing with. The audience was on and off during my set, which left me kind of disappointed, especially when I discovered my recorder didn't take. I got a weird, applause-like, reaction to my Black name joke, but I'm trying to figure out how to make it bulletproof, which is kind of a pipe dream, I suppose; no joke works 100% of the time.

Check out my MySpace blog for jokes on which I'm working.

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Another blog without a good title

Tonight at Laughs we didn't have an audience. At all. Andrews Topping had some people, but I think they showed up after I went up and bailed before the end of the show. A bunch of the comics just went up and riffed, which was awesome, I was acting very goofy and was hecking Kevin White and Josh Arnold. All in all, I had a blast. Mikey Manker got super drunk, which was hilarious, and I stayed up until almost 2am. Work's going to be rough tomorrow...

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If you can't be the top dog, you gotta be the Scooby Pup

I need more verbs...

I was up late last night but still did not get to write about my set, so I'll have to combine my thoughts on it with those from tonight's performance at the Forum. As far as I'm concerned, both sets went very well. The crowd Tuesday seemed a little stiff, but I was only going up 2nd, so maybe they weren't adjusted to the atmosphere. I had fun, which some people say is more important (I may have even said that before, but you can have fun with a mediocre set; that's just not enough for me) than doing well. I may not have destroyed, killed, slaughtered, rocked, killed (again) or brought the house down, but I got laughs, audible ones and worked out the newer jokes I've been playing with.
As far as I'm concerned about tonight's set at the Forum, I did kill, slaughter, rock, kill (someone else) and brought the house down. That may be over exageration, but I got a mid-sized applause break off of my first joke, which I brought out of retirement; the Black Name joke. I did my blackout/shampoo/braille joke because Friday is my 3 year anniversary of being sober, and I did a bunch of my my-friends-are-jerks/I'm-bad-with-women stuff. The one joke I forgot to do was my Mia Wallace joke; but I did think up a line for it while watching Last Comic Standing at the bar with some of the other comics.
These past two sets have really helped; as I've been kind of unsatisfied with my performances as of late. The most frequent comedy thought that runs through my head is; will I make it full time professional? I see the other talent in St. Louis alone, and it's a little discouraging. I see guys (and girls) who are really talented and I don't really feel like I can hang competitively. Working clean does limit my subject material and my ability to open up on stage, I'll admit that, and as far as talant goes, comedically, I probably have a shorter stick than most of my collegues, which may sound negative; but it's what's on my mind, and simply typing it helps me organize my thoughts and kind of form a game plan.

Check out my MySpace blog for jokes on which I'm working.

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6 out of 7, 7 out of 10

I do not feel well at all; my nose is clogged and I have a cough that keeps coming up when there's nothing better to do. That might be why Al Canal put me up first at the Forum tonight. He also have me seven minutes, six of which I used. I would have gone a little longer, but I didn't want to do any of my "fat jokes" because there were some heavy-set women in the crowd. I won't miss the opportunity to say there were A LOT of women, and each one was A LOT of woman. Seriously that bachelorette party had the highest average weight I've ever seen. Anyway, my set was alright, being sick I didn't have a ton of energy, but I did make most of the crowd jump at my TAKE OFF YOUR PANTS joke. I tried all the new stuff I've been tooling with and even had some time to do my Advice-Math, and Dumped via Email jokes. All in all, I had a good time, but I had to get out a little after my set because I want to take some meds and have them kick in before I pass out. I have that bachelor party tomorrow, so no Laughs on the Landing, and the rehearsal and wedding are this weekend, which means I'll be hard pressed to go see Kevin Bozeman at the Bone. That guy cracks me up.
Check out my MySpace blog for jokes on which I'm working.

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Wait a minute (hold up)
Wait a minute (hold up)
Hold up (wait a minute)
Hold up (wait a minute)

A-chew

I'm coming down with a cold. I'm not happy about it in the least. The only remotely good thing is that it didn't get in the way of my set tonight. I did a bunch of new material (basically the same set as Laughs on Thursday) and only had to check my cheat sheet once. I couldn't find my iPod microphone, though and so I couldn't record my set, which sucks because I want to be able to listen to it later. I do remember I messed up a bit of my Mia Wallace joke; meh, it happens. We had a bunch of comics tonight but the show was really good and the audience wasn't bad. Tomorrow is the Forum and I have to skip the Landing because I am going to a bachelor (LAN) party.

Check out my MySpace blog for jokes on which I'm working.

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Marcus 1: Bongo-Guy 0

Last night I promised Nikki Glaser I'd go to Laughs on the Landing because I was skipping the Comedy Forum to take care of some home remodelling projects (that never ended up getting worked-on/done). I wasn't psyched about doing an open mic that started at 10:00pm because I really don't like getting home late and being tired at work. The open mic actually started at eleven, and I was second to last, but I did ALL new material (with a cheat sheet) and had a really good time. I like all the stuff I did, and even came up with a new joke, with which I opened my set, and it was recieved well. After the show, Mikey Manker said I was very converstional and not as hyper/animated as usual; he said it worked out well and he liked it. So I'm pretty happy that I did the show, even though it's a quarter after one and I can't call in sick to work because my boss reads this blog...

Check out my MySpace blog for jokes on which I'm working.

Visit RooftopComedy.com. Watch videos. Laugh. Feel warm and fuzzy.