#would be funny as hell if they were in the creator clash crowd

[day-mark]

i need that team mafia to florida/dteam house trip like air

[winstonhcomedy]

How’d Winston Do Last Night? 10/25

I AM SO BEHIND ON EVERYTHING I’M A GIANT FAILURE!!! OMFG

JK baybees and laydees! I am back to run down and reminisce about an insane night packed with three, COUNT EM, three shows in the comedy hub of Richmond, VA.

So after work my day started by running my PA over to Crossroads Coffee where Sarah Ahmed runs Beans Bits and Brews a monthly showcase/open mic! That show is always super fun and Sarah does a good job of curating a fun show/crowd. Sarah was actually one fo the first comics I ever met, and at my first show she was one of the people who placed in the competition with me! So I've known her for a long time, and always love seeing her!

After that I jetted over to The Camel which is run by Jameson Babbowski. Jameson is one of my favorite dudes to hang with, and I continue to enjoy watching him curate and run what is slowly but surely becoming my favorite open mic in the city.

I think I’m going to start calling him Jameson BadBoyski for no other reason than it’s not funny to anyone other than myself and I want it to stick. I get there and I get to see Francesca Lyn. She’s a comic and friend and wonderful comic book artist/creator who I unfortunately don’t get to see very often.

Then Bert “the Squirt” Martling, Rick “Paw Paw” Williams (I didn’t make that one up, that’s his actual nickname” and Paige Campbell show up, and now we’ve got a riff session started! We are all busting balls, chops, ovaries, etc. and having an amazing time. Bert had on an adorable Bill Cosby sweater, he can really pull off that look.

At the beginning of the show it was a pretty light crowd. Honestly the lightest I’ve seen there. I went up and did about 7 minutes of the newer stuff I’m trying to hash out. As I did my set more people came in, so they missed parts of the joke, but only one joke got no response. Not a great set by any means but productive.  I’d give this set a C- to a C. 

After this I jetted off to start my weekend at the Richmond Funny Bone Hosting for Leonard Ouzts (Conan/netflix/wildnout/Master of None etc) and Eva Evans (Hustle in Brooklyn). 

The Richmond Funny Bone is my home club. It is the first place I ever did standup. My first set was there for their monthly comedy contest “Clash of the Comics”!  I had never done standup before, and luckily had a good set and won the competition against some people I really respect and who would go on to later be some of my best friends in comedy. 

With that said, it is in no way an easy room. It is an urban room, and on some of the off nights when the room is comped out (given free tickets) and not full it is almost like the audience could not give less of a shit about what is happening. Hosting isn’t easy anyway. It’s the worst gig in all of comedy, and is a hell of a skill to have.  Being able to go up in front of a cold room, train them into a comedy audience, keep the show going, give the announcements, introduce comics, get their credits right, and close the show. It is super unfun. If you have a good set as a host it is a bonus.

I have struggled a lot in this club, but also it has taught me a ton and I definitely feel like it has helped me be prepared for any room or audience.  So this club is my home, but my home is brutal, unforgiving, and a proving ground. 

SO WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY. OH BOY DID I BOMBALOMBBBB!!!!

This was one of those sets where every other joke works. Which is worse than just bombing in some ways, because when every joke works it gives the illusion of hope. You have a joke hit and you’re like oh dope I’ve got this, and then one bombs and you’re like SHITTT BACK TO SQUARE ONE! So that is how my set went. It was like a pendulum between good feelings and total despair. 

I’d give my set a D-

That crowd wanted crowd work. That’s what a lot of the crowds in that club want. I’ve always been taught the host should never set the tone for the show. A host shouldn’t do crowd work, or be super dirty. It is up to the feature and the headliner if this will be a crowd work or dirty show. My job is to be a host just like at a party, and rarely at the party is the host having the most fun. 

My point was proven when Eva had a pretty rough feature set as well and actually got off stage a little early. She didn’t go into the crowd, and they didn’t seem to enjoy material either. Leonard went up and immediately started doing crowd work. He used the first 15 minutes of his set to get them where he wanted before we started his material. It was super impressive and he killed.

After closing the show I got in my car to head to Crossroads to finish my night on their open mic. The crowd there was a little dead. All the comics who went before me said they just couldn’t get any life into the crowd. 

I got to see some of my buddies Alex Castagne, Kat Malone, Bert Martling and Rick Williams again. It was a fun hang just busting balls and enjoying the weird vibe of the crowd. 

They were using my PA and it had started to tilt and the one speaker looked like it was Michael Jackson swaying to one side. It was legit about to fall and was being held up by the cord. I was dying laughing because my PA dropping and breaking would be the perfect ending for this night. 

I went up and actually did well. My new stuff did well and connected and it immediately erased the bad set from earlier. I didn’t kill, but I was told it was one of the best sets of the night and that felt good to hear at the end of a show on the open mic portion. I’d give my set a C+. Productive and fun af. 

I chilled and hung out with some friends for a bit then headed out. I got McDonalds and gorged myself. All in all not a bad night, but the Funny Bone set definitely put some questions in my mind. I won’t lie I think about quitting comedy all of the time. I feel like I’m wasting my time, and could be using it to further my education and fully focus on my teaching job. This was one of those nights. I’m 3.5 years in and I know I don’t know everything, but this night felt like the beginning of the end. Fortunately I’ve got really good/supportive friends who are making this journey easier. 

I love you baybees and laydees! xoxoxo I’ll see you all real soon.