The New Nostalgia

On Saturday night I went back to The Tomorrow Show.  The bus was twenty minutes late, so I couldn't change buses at Sunset and Vine.  Instead I just walked down Hollywood Boulevard.

 

When I got there, I heard some music.  The person from whom I bought my ticket gave me a fan in the shape of a black bell with the words "The Black Tongued Bells.com."  It was not of this time or place.  On the stage were an otherworldly set of musicians playing swampy bluegrass, decked out in 1930s costumes and filled with jolly dispositions.  It reminded me of some kind of larger-than-life animatronics.  There was another band in a similar style from Japan.

 

I loved it, but I nearly dozed off.  I get tired sometimes.  I hung out after the show and asked how one gets booked on The Tomorrow Show.  Later I would email a link to my tape online.  I'm performing there on Saturday the 28th, so check it out if you're in the area.

 

I took the 204 to Olympic and Vermont.  The bus driver told me the 28 was also running, so I waited for an hour but it must not have been running, so I walked home at 4am.

 

Sunday I did what I suspect will become my usual habit, I went to the open mic at IO West.  It's never a guarantee that you'll get on stage, but that's not the point.  It's a great place to hang out.  There's free pizza, there's an improv open mic/jam, and it's just fun to watch.  So, therefore I didn't get on, but I hung out after the show at a bar down the street and bummed my first ride since moving out here.  It was like I was back in Boston.  Memories.

 

On Monday night I took my open mic list and decided to go to a different Monday night room.  This time, I went back into the Valley but to a place called Ireland's 32.  It was hosted by a singer called Shane Kelly.  He sings standards in the style of Frank and Dino.  He stresses honesty, integrity, and support of others.  But it was the last night of that show on Monday.  Even the rule in which comics are to be clean as a whistle was relaxed.  It was neat show, despite the fact that even the comics were too loud for the person on stage to be heard.  Most of the acts eulogized the show which was find, but it meant I didn't get on stage, and from an audience member's point-of-view it was quite repetative.  There were dozens of comics and there could have been still more if there weren't so many tears.  It's okay though.  I thought I was crashing someone's retirement party.  And I was.  I decided to take a souvenir anyway.  I took a round wooden disk that was labeled "Ireland's 32."

 

The show ended at about 2am so another comic offered a ride to a nearby bus stop, but then decided it'd be easier just to drive me home since I live off the 10.

 

Tuesday night, I went to Westwood Brewing Co. also known as Brewco.  I got there and put my name in the tin and saw Jan Davidson, a comic who moved to LA in 2003, just months after I started.  We caught up a bit and I put my name down as the last with a five minute set.  Jan took the bullet.  It would be bookended by quirky Bostonians!

 

Actually there were two after me and by the time I got on stage, they just about made up the entire audience.  But the host, Vance Sanders, laughed consistently throughout.  At the end of the show I offered to help put stuff away.  I was going to go home, but he said he was going to "See You Next Tuesday" at UCB and offered a ride.  So, I went and met the person who books that show.  I would later email him with link to my tape online.  I haven't heard back yet.

 

Wednesday I went to apply for some more jobs.  This time I went to Melrose and applied for some retail sales positions.  From there, I tried to figure out how to get to Culver City for Synergy Cafe.  It was a fun time, as I expect it to be most of the time.  Sean Patton hosted the first half of the show and Dan Rosenberg the second half.  Dan Rosenberg actually invited me to the King Davids of Comedy Show he was hosting at the Improv the next night, I'd get comped.  I told him I'd try to get stage time, but if I couldn't I'd come.  I might even see some other comics I knew like Dan Levy, one of my classmates from Emerson.

 

No such luck...

 

I got to the UnUrban Cafe in Santa Monica a little late.  I put my name in the hat and as each comic's name got drawn the host asked where they'd like to be in the lineup.  Of course, everyone answered, "The next available spot please."  Sean Patton got the eleventh spot and I got the fifteenth.  I was talking to him about the show at the Improv and he said he was going too and that he'd wait and give me a ride there.

 

That would've been fine, but the host was a strange fellow.  He told each comic that they'd do five minutes and several minutes later he'd give them warnings for two and three minutes remaining.  He had a watch, but I don't think he looked at it once.  Then he'd usually goad them into doing more jokes.  He didn't have any concept for time.

 

The other major problem was that he'd often heckle the comics.  He was like the ignorant audience that cheers the comic on with his heckles that add nothing to the show.  This meant that we were missing the show at the Improv.  "Sean, I'm going to do a quick four minutes," I said.

 

The host outroed the comic before me by applauding how the comic handled the heckler that meant, and was trying to help out the show, but he was talking about himself!

 

Angry that I was up so late, feeling bad that I was keeping Sean waiting, and determined to do a short set, I only did new jokes that I'd written over the past couple of weeks.  But first I said, "No, what you were doing was exactly heckling."

 

"Ooh!  Militant comic," the host said with a goofy grin and a naive obliviousness to his actions that I almost envied.

 

On my last joke, I said, "Thank you good night!"

 

"No, do some more!"

 

"Nah, I have to be somewhere and there are other comics that need to get on," I protested.  I was trapped.  So, I did one of my surefire jokes and got the laugh and walked straight out of the coffeehouse.

 

Sean and I caught the last one and a half comics at the show and I thanked Dan Rosenberg for the invitation before I left.

 

Friday I took a nap and got to Groundworks late.  I wanted to see if I could figure out a way to do both Groundworks and the Black Box Theatre.  My plan was to sign up for an early spot at Groundworks and a late spot at Black Box.  I got to Groundworks late and so I had to do the opposite.

 

I waited at the Black Box Theatre in the rain.  Yes, the rain, it was the first rain that I was in since flying out here!  I hung out with a bunch of comis and we were making each other laugh until we got let into do the show upstairs.

 

I signed up for an early spot and kept checking the time to make sure I'd be able to make Groundworks.  I did my set and got a bunch of laughs from the all comic audience. 

 

Groundworks was a slightly different matter.  I have a feeling the host there laughs at me because he doesn't get me.  But I had fun even though I only did about half the material I did at the Black Box. 

 

I went back to the Black Box to catch the the rest of the show, and some free pizza.  I went to the show at UCB too, it was a Friday the 13th, themed show, but I left right after that.  I needed to go home.

 

Thank you, I'm Eric Cheung.  I'm on MySpace and Live Journal.

 

Upcoming gigs

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October 28th: Saturday Midnight. "The Tomorrow Show." The Steve Allen Theater.  $5.