By, ‘more than OK’, I mean only that the place was filled to capacity; the only way that crowd could have been improved, would be by having smaller tables, thereby having people a little closer together, and allowing even more in the audience. ‘A little distance,’ may be key to a successful relationship, but, the more distance between people in a comedy setting, the more difficult it is to garner the, ‘Big’, laughs. But, there are no quibbles on my part for the response we got last night! The audience was a little older than I’m used to, but they were there to laugh and have a good time! For myself, it was a welcome break from housework!
Hosted by, “Laff Trax”, the Master Emceed, and a veritable, ‘Bat Masterson’, he was; shooting from the lip, every shot his best, and each piercing it’s intended target. Due to a little travel ‘hitch’, I didn’t arrive ‘til just after 8:30, as it started, and it ran till 11:00. First up was Sir Trent O’ Paisley, and due to the fact that I was in the ‘ready’ room, I didn’t see his act, but, from what I heard from the audience, it went well indeed!
I wanted to get a good reaction, but, at the same time I had four new bits to try; three I’d done before, and one a virgin! The perceived wisdom dictates that you should never do more than a minute or two of new material in your regular act, and then, place it right near the beginning, between two established funny bits. And, while that’s good advice, my ten minutes consisted of five established,, and five experimental minutes. I didn’t want to do it all at the beginning, so I did a couple minutes at the beginning, then my established stuff, then a couple minutes at the end. You should always go for your best laughs at the end of your set, but, I was willing to compromise.
"You'll never shoot yourself,
In the foot,
But, you might,
Take your eye out!"
It went well, with myself deriding, as usual, myself! The most interesting moment, from my point of view, was in the pause just after delivering what I consider a good line; for a second, nothing happened, then, in the back right corner, a few people started to laugh. I smiled in their direction, and said, “Thank you!” Immediately the rest of the crowd fell in line!
Next was our Crown Prince; the Jester had told me once that, while he himself excels in bars, the Prince beats him every time in large halls. From what I saw last night, he’s right. Our Prince was at once, warm, comfortable and charming; the audience loved him!
Next was Sir Lot’s O’ Laughs, and he came on stage in the best style of the ‘Spaghetti Western’; ...both guns blazing. Loved his self deprecating opening on the subject of, “Wops”, he began by describing his father:
“My Father was very dark,
Just one look and you knew,
That, at some point,
He’d gotten off a boat!
Blistering set! You could see wisps of cordite smoke from the back of the house! Just wish I knew where this boy get’s his comedic steroids!
Then the Master again took the stage; he informed the audience members that, while, “Laff Trax’ does not stop for breaks, he would entertain for a few minutes, allowing them to get a drink, or have a smoke or restroom break. This takes balls, but, no shortage of those on stage with the Master!
Our ‘Headliner’ for the evening was, Kelly Tailor; I’d seen him only once before, and then had not been introduce. I must admit that I embarrassed myself last night, but then, why should last night be different from any other?! I’d been instructed to meet the Master at 7:30, and arrived on time. By 8:05 I was beginning to feel something was akimbo, and called my Bride to see if I’d misconstrued my instructions. Just then a car pulled up and the Jester jumped out; I didn’t recognize the driver, but went over and explained that perhaps I was who they were looking for.
When we arrived I was too flustered to pay attention to anything but my immediate needs, although I did pause to wonder where our ‘Headliner’ might be. Since the last time I’d seen him, a year ago, Kelly has taken up a gym program and lost a little weight! He was driving the car the Jester jumped from! Didn’t get it figured out ‘til I came offstage!
When Kelly stepped onstage you could hear Sergio Leone whistling amongst the tumbleweeds; the man is a genuine, ‘High Plains Grifter’. This was a ‘Showdown in Big Sky’ country, and it was the audience that died! Loved his beginning; he talked about toilet training his son, and the enthusiasm of children for things we adults take for granted. Great set, ...forty-five minutes the far side of fabulous!
Gotta’ dash! I’ve guests arriving any moment, and another show in Clavett tonight. Must mention, though, while in town today to pick up papers, I found my birthday present! That’s right, this Leghorn now has a Foghorn! Haven’t had time to play with it! But, last night was magic; one of those evenings when, although the coyotes weren’t entirely silent, the moon howled!
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