Coming this week:
Tuesday 3/19 7pm: Amnesia, SF
Wednesday 3/20 8pm: The Uptown, Oakland
Friday 3/21 7:30pm: Copyright, SF
Saturday 3/22 7pm: Bar Fluxus, SF
Also coming soon: catch me at California’s newest comedy clubs. I’ll be at DNA’s Comedy Lounge in Santa Cruz on 4/5, and headlining the Savage Henry Comedy Club in Eureka on 5/24.
Going down memory lane…
I moved to San Francisco in 2007, and immediately realized my jokes about Buffalo Wild Wings and drunk clowns weren’t going to hack it, and I loved how some comics would tell stories filled with jokes. So, I wanted to do that. And I eventually somehow landed on the subject of Craigslist. I began to craft a bit about how craaaaaazy and wild Craigslist was, maaaaaan.
The bit eventually swelled to about 4 minutes long (an eternity when most of your sets are 7 minutes) but at the time I thought it was an epic masterpiece. I don’t recall when or why I stopped using it, but at some point you just know a bit is played out and you move onto other material (hopefully).
While cleaning out some boxes recently, I found some old DV tapes circa ’09 to about ’11, and put them on a hard drive, and there were lots of old standup sets. And from 2009 until about 2011, the Craigslist joke was a big part of my sets. And now, here it is, recorded at the now-defunct Purple Onion, RIP (before it was Doc’s Lab, also RIP):
It was something I was very proud of, and I would close sets with it for years.
But now I can look at it and think that it’s too long, there’s no real point to it, it’s plodding and I’m just making excuses to get to the next funny word or sexual term I want to loudly blurt into a microphone. It’s sweaty writing, and on top of it I’m doing my best Patton Oswalt impression, for the whole goddamn joke.
I can barely watch it (and there’s another 2 minutes I didn’t keep on this clip, yeesh) because it reeks of new, undisciplined comic. And also, get a higher tripod, dummy.
But it’s still interesting, and valuable, to watch. I was lucky enough to close out two shows for packed audiences at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on St. Patrick’s Day weekend, and 2011 me would have been very excited to get that opportunity. 2011 me also thought he was ready for it, but he was most definitely NOT prepared, and the rest of the set this was pulled from is on the verge of hot garbage.
I mean, I’m not the best comic in the world. But I certainly feel like I’m comfortable being myself now. And the writing is a lot better (I think?) and audiences seem to enjoy it.
Thanks to those who have been around for all this nonsense and put up with the over-eager delusional silliness.
Here’s my set from last night, btw…I can’t just leave the other clip alone.
Tonight! March 16th – two shows at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco for the #HellaFunny St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans. Come see my red beard be an advantage for my comedy career!
Here’s the video that opened the show at our March 2019 edition of I Think I’d Be Good At That featuring Marcus Osborne. The show was a huge success, and a big thanks to all the comics, our family at the Punch Line, and to that fantastic crowd for coming out.
Shows coming up:
3/7 8pm Comedy Oakland
3/8 8pm Belly comedy in Santa Rosa, CA
3/9 8pm Nightlife on Mars at Murphy’s Pub, SF
3/10 8:30pm Hella Funny Comedy Night at Neck of the Woods, SF
3/12 8pm Pizza Hacker, SF
3/13 I Think I’d Be Good At That at The Punch Line, SF
3/15 8pm FDR Brewing, SF
3/16 7pm and 9pm Palace of Fine Arts, Hella Funny St. Patrick’s Day
From the San Francisco Punch Line.
Denim on denim huckstering, taken at the Dragon Theatre near San Mateo, CA last Friday.
