Oh that blog!

I started awhile ago to blog each of 400 sets during the maraton "tour de farce" (400 shows in under 365 days). Then, I stopped. I have all the notes, and have 150 sets left to enter. I promise I'll do it soon.

Thanks for being a subscriber, if you are one. If that is the case, you are one of like 5.

Later,
Jeb

12:12 AM - 3 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Too Late To Stop Now.Catching up. 61-119/400 Sets in 365 days.
Current mood: dorky

Second Barrage of early sets of the marathon year: 61-119/400 Shows in 365 days

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As I write this, I am catching up on some of my old entries. I'd like to have all my sets entered into this myspace blog by the time I reach my 400^th set in under 365 days. It's actually happening in under 10 months. A marvelous experience, a rush, a crash course, is what this has been. I have two weeks and 15 sets let to go before I reach 400. I nice steady pace.

I am as excited about the material and skills I've developed as I am about the determination to spend more time on the business end of the art. You see…like an addicted kid, I want to play these games on a larger scale!

So, here we go, catching up with the sets I didn't enter from the beginning of the blog year.

The prelude to the below tale is me, working all day from home for Wellworks, and then jumping on my bike (probably missing a Sox game. Remember I went to about 40 Sox game amidst all this mayhem)…jumping on my bike I rode down by Wrigley to Belmont and Halsted to the Playground.

This used to be the WNEP theater, where I did lots of work with Suspicious Clowns, as well as some other stuff…so it was like an old haunt, already.

I had to check in with the producer, leave my bike and then catch public transpo after public transpo miles away to Thyme café for the contest.

61) 6/5/06 Thyme Café. Comedy Contest. 13 min. 9:20pm. This was the last of the Thyme Comedy Contests. I think they had 4. The whole phenomena of a hugely fun booming showcase and open mic scene was ending as the café was days away from closing the business.

In all my time so far in open mic and showcase land, I have to say that Cork Lounge and Thyme Café have been my favorites.

I had been a finalist in all of the competitions (along with Chad Briggs, and often Fojas). One of my earlier performances was still maybe one of the most solid performances of the last year or more; wherein I lit myself on fire and all hilarity ensued. And yet, Brad Fojas legitimately blew the whole show directly out of the water! Took it! I know it was just a little contest, but it was fun times. And that reference was earlier, back in lent. This particular contest was won by Dave Odd. I had two shows this night, and had to split right away

62) 6/5/06. Improvapalooza. The Playground Theater. Fundraiser. 10:10pm 11 min.

I took a cab here, from the contest, where I went first. I split right away after my performance. Got to The Playground, and performed almost immediately. A very fun set. And now, as I write this, almost 340 sets later, I only ½ tried to recreate the theatrical madness of my romping. You see, what I did was, I pretended like I was listening to a set on my mp3 player, a set from a few nights before at a huge "urban room". I told them it was my favorite set ever and I wanted to perform the magic of it for them, including audience interaction. So I was having "spontaneous" audience interaction with someone that was only supposedly on my headset. Hence, it was canned, spontaneous audience interaction with someone who wasn't there, with show conditions that didn't exist. Quite the hoot, including a big "fight" with someone from the "favorite show".

63) 6/7/06. McDunna's. 11pm 8min. At this time in the marathon year, whenever you see a set that is a single set, at about this time, chances are I went to a White Sox baseball game. I went to dozens this year. I love going to Thursday night games, after I work, alone. Getting a ticket for free or $5, sitting up in the upper deck with a beer and a score card, catching the bus to the bus, rushing to the bar to perform comedy…these are the days of our lives.

64) 6/11/06 Cozmic Café 10pm 8 min

65) 6/12/06. B.L.U.E.S Chicago. 9 min. About 11pm. Between sets of a rocking band. Most of the crowd is busy schmoozing the band during our set. People were practically screwing, and Rob Hecko, the owner, gave us lots of free drinks.

66) 6/14/06. Cigars and Stripes. ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Berwyn. 12pm. 18 min. One of my first longer sets. A success.

67) 6/15/06 Pressure Café. 9:30pm 8.5 min

68) 6/15/06 Thyme Café. Midnight. 8pm. End of an era. This is the last time that I perform here. The place goes out of business shortly thereafter, but of no fault of my own. Thyme Café was an extremely fun room, one of my first early romper rooms. I owned this room, and it housed my first large stand-up comedy growth spurts. It was run by Dustin White  and the now defunct 8-Bit Entertainment.

69) 6/16/06 Pressure Café. Anniversary show of Edge Productions for Dave Odd. Fun.

70) 6/17/06. Hyde Park Comedy Festival. Contest. Stash's Pizza. 9:30pm. 6.5 minutes.  This was perhaps the lowest point of the entire 400 sets. There were some pretty low points. The production company was of no fault, Ric March of Laugh All Nite did a great job. My choice of material was inappropriate, but even more inappropriate was my reaction to the reaction of offended party. I actually cupped my mic and kept talking about them. I then vowed not to do any more retard jokes.

71) 6/18/06 . Cosmic Café. 8.5 min. 7pm

72) 6/18. Mutiny. 6 min. 10:30pm

73) 6/18/06. Lilly's. 8 min. I think 1am. Third set of the night.  One of my favorite rooms. My favorite set of the entire 400 came from this room, some time shortly after this night. This room looks like an old courtyard from a Shakespeare play, but dirtier.

#### 6/19/06. Not numerated. 3 hour improv show. I hosted it.

74) 6/19/06 The Mix. Midnight or 1am. 5 min.

75) 6/20/06. Trace. 11pm 5pm. This room was an instrumental room in my arc. It was the first room that was extremely adverse to me, that I eventually won over. Actually, not only won over, but it came to be a relief to perform here. Odd that, as during this last 6 months, I haven't been here much at all. A poetry room. The first time I was here they booed me off stage.

76) 6/21/06. McDunna's Midnight. 3 min 55 seconds. In my notes about this set I wrote, "One of the worse sets ever, had partied a bit too hard before hand (probably a baseball game) and planned on just riffing. Sometimes the magic just doesn't' happen.

77)  6/22/06. Pressure. 10pm. 6.5 minutes. I use a cue card while going through new jokes. First time doing that. I consider it a bad habit, but it was fun. In fact, it helped me snap out of the rut, part way, caused by show #70.

78) 6/24/06. Cigars and Stri8pes. Headliner! (Though they don't technically have a headliner, I just went last). First time with this honorable position. Thank you Ronnie, for the honor. 32.5 minutes! At the time of this show, this was the longest I had ever performed. As well, it was quite the good set, high energy, rolling, mostly clean. Sean Rumrill, Daryl Amandes, Eric Pennell were part of the show. The audience included lots of Janice's family. Blessed be they. They came to another one of my shows, much later…in the 380s, at Riddles. That set, so much later, was SO not anywhere as good as the one here at Cigars and Stripes. Thus is life – the road to improvement isn't predictable.

79) 6/25/06. Gladhound's Pub. 9min. 8:45pm Elk Grove Village.  A Nick Lullo room. Very fun, but small crowd. This room is the first time I start doing a long form, "That's what I'm talking about", routine. Since then, I have largely abandoned it, but it was very fun for a good couple months.

80) 6/25/06. Bad Dog  Tavern. First time here. I wrote, "Mad Dog" tavern in my journal. Oh the folly of youth! Bad Dog has actually become one of my favorite open mics and showcase rooms since then, largely (though not quite) replacing Thyme café for its demeanor.

81) 6/25/06. Gallery Cabaret. 12:30am (so, really 6/26). 16 min. Ok, check it out. This day, really sticks in my mind as an extraordinary day. I actually first woke up, went to church of the south side. Maybe even read as a lector. Then, I walked about 2 miles up to U.S. Cellular field and went to the White Sox game. From here I took the train home, got the car and drove to Elk Grove Village where I did Gladhounds Pub (show #79). After I stuck around for most of Gladhounds, I went to Bad Dog (weird Glad to Bad, Hound to Dog, Pub to Tavern). After Bad Dog I went with Tony Blanco down here to Gallery Cabaret where we really burnt the midnight oil.

As I wrap us these 400 sets in under 10 months, with the initial goal of doing it in 12 months, I am determined to "work smarter not harder", though I shall still work hard. The only misgiving I have about pulling back and doing less sets, is that I am afraid of missing out on the magic late night sets that surprise you, when you think there was no magic to be had. I am writing about nights like this third set at the end of a long day. The crowd was very surprised and attentive. Worth it.

Since then, one guy has taken over running the place and he won't let comics go onstage.

#####Not numerated. Blue Frog. 2 hour Improv Show. K.T.L.Safe. Emceed.

82) 6/26/06. The Mix. 10:30pm. 6.5 minutes. Great set. Was late, but they put me up. Lots of networking taking place amongst my spies at various mics, helping me hit the right timing to really crank.

83) 6/26/06. Weeds (on Dayton). 1 am. 9.5 minutes.

84)6/27/06. Irish Eyes. 10pm show. Joey birthday (from 8-Bit Entertainment). Madhouse. 6.5 minutes. This was the first time when I saw Eric Pennell (who performed after me) absolutely own the room. First of many. It was awesome.

85) 6/28/06. McDunna's. 11:30pm 6min

86) 6/29/06. Pressure. 9:30pm 5min.

87) 7/2/06 Cosmic Café. 7:45pm. 8.5 min

88) 7/2/06. Bad Dog Tavern. 10:30pm. 7 min.

89) 7/3/06. The Mix. 9pm. 5min./

90) 7/3/06 Gunther Murphy's Open Mic. 10:30pm. 7min.

91) 7/5/06 McDunna's 5 min. Midnight

92) 7/6/06. Pressure. Hosted. 7 min up front. Multiple appearances. 8:30 till 11:30pm

93) 7/7/06. Kitty Moon. New Faces Showcase #1. Host. 15 minutes accumulative. 9pm

94) 7/7/06 Kitty Moon Show #2. Host 15 minutes accumulative. 11pm

95) 7/8/06 . Pressure Stand-up Squeeze. Host. 7 min up front. 8:30pm

96) 7/9/06. Bad Dog Tavern. 4.5 min. 10:30pm

97) 7/9/06/ Mutiny. 12am (so, rally 7/10). 10min.

##### Not numerated. 7/10/06. Improv Show. K.T.L.Safe. Emcee. In addition to all of these open mics and show cases, I rehearse once a week for a few hours with this group and we have these shows once a week.

98) 7/10/06. Gunther Murphy's Open Mic. 9:30pm. 7min. Did lecherous voting-guy character. Very fun to come straight from an improve set and do a character based set.

99) 7/10/06 Weeds. 7 min 12am. (so, really 7/11/06). I love the people at this mic. As I write this, I have not been over there in quite some time. Same guys as Trace, but only the coolest nucleus.

100) 7/10/06. The Mix. 1am (so, really 7/11/06). 5 min. On this night of 1 improv show and 3 stand-up sets, all over town, I was with Tony Blanco. He cracked me up. He and I hit quite a few mics together in the dog days of summer. But here I was, after all this hullabaloo, after tons of great moments all night long, doing my 100^th set in 3 months…and I bomb. (Disclaimer: The Mix at this time of night can be tough)

101) 7/11/06. The Cork Lounge. 10:30 pm till 12:30am. New Room, founded by Russell Williamson. Now, 6.5 months later, this room consistently gets 30 to 40 comics and 20 to 30 audience members.

102) 7/13/06 9:30pm 5min, 45 seconds. Pressure.

103) 7/16/06. 7pm. 12mim. Cosmic Café.

104) 7/16/06. The Mutiny. 10:30pm. 9min. I had gone to Bad Dog first, but they had double-booked it with a concert. No stand-up. In actually, for every 10 mics I hit, there are two or three that turn me down for whatever reason. Full, too late, no comics allowed, etc

105) 7/16/06. Lilly's 1am. 27 mins. With three acoustic songs and lots of stories. Without a doubt this was my favorite set of the entire 400 sets. Probably the most natural set.Certainly not the most marketable, but it would be priceless as an "unplugged set." Tony Blanco was there, he would also agree that it was his favorite set of mine. So fluid and real, unjokey. In fact, I didn't do my material at all. Narrative, musical, real.

At this point I depart from my stand-up duties and take a week off, to chill with some family.

106))  7/23/06/ Cosmic Café. 9:30pm 12min set.

107) 7/23/06. Bad Dog. 11:30pm. 5min set.

108)7/23/06) Mutiny. 1am. 7min set.

109) 7/24/06. Gunther Murphy's. 6 min set. 10pm.

110) 7/24/06. The Mix. 11:30pm 6min set.

111) 7/25/06 The Cork Lounge. 7min. 10:30pm

112) 7/26/06 The Chicago Improv (Schaumburg). A showcase, and like all showcases, it was an audition for work. I didn't get any work out of it. But I thought I did ok. Not stellar. A few doubles, a solid triple a couple steals and a hit by pitch. Unfortunately a few fouls and a strike out. Urgh! Despite the r.b.i.s, I was there too soon!....

113) 7/26//06. McDunna's. 1am. 7min. A much better set than earlier this night at the Improv.

Here is some figuring at this point: As of now, I am 104 days into this marathon, and I have done 113 mics. I did have a week of vacation though.

114) 7/27/06. Pressure Open Mic. 6.5 minutes

115) 7/30/06. Bad Dog Tavern Showcase. 12 min. 9pm

116)7/30/06 The Mutiny. 12 min. 12:20 am. (so, really, 7/31)

117)7/31/06. The Birds Next. 9min. 10:30pm

118)7/31/06 The Mix. Midnight. 4.5 minutes.

119) 7/31/06. Weeds. 12:30am. 5.5 minutes.

11:20 PM - 4 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Beginning of the Blog Year Part 1: Sets I never mentioned 1-60/400
Current mood: busy
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

When I first began blogging my sets, I was already on set 121. Currently, as I write this entry, I am at set 379. I did not start my 365 days on New Years 2006, I began on 4/11/06, at Thyme Café. My 400th performance is scheduled for the Lincoln Lodge on Feb 9th. (Also there on Feb 8th).

Genesis:

I had been performing almost exclusively sketch and improv comedy for the past 4 years or so. I had worked diligently at stand up in 1998 through 2001, beginning in rural places, transitioning away in Chicago. In December of 2005, while at Edge Comedy's New Faces of comedy show, I was inspired to get back to my stand-up roots. This decision corresponded with the fact that the sketch group of which I was part, The Happy Heads, had me as the man with all the hats, and I got burnt out. I just took on too many responsibilities; the imbalance within the group seemed ingrained. I needed to switch gears. Biggest thing I miss about that group is workng with Nick Vatterot. All the others were brilliant, but this fellow Nick...THE most brilliant performer I have ever seen. And to have worked with him, I consider myself blessed.

On leaving the Happy Heads, I had such a strong desire to be directed, to be a sponge, to learn. I hadn't had such a fix since the days I observed Vince Truman, of Suspicious Clowns direct about 5 revues (with a couple "best of" shows mixed in).  I joined an improv group for much of the 2006, spending three to six hours weekly rehearsing and later performing. I didn't count these shows as among the 400. Simultaneously I began taking classes at Annoyance Theater. By the time of this typing, I have completed all levels at Annoyance and am performing in our graduate shows.

Back in April, by the time I decided to perform 400 shows in 365 days, I had already been on a roll, performing almost nightly since that occasion in December. As soon as I took the energy that I had been spreading out to 6 people, their direction and script, and channeled it into my simple 5 minute stand-up sets, momentum exploded. By the time of this typing I have expanded well beyond the limits of 5 minute sets. And yet, I am still a baby. It was only last March or April that I did my first 10 minute stand-up set during this renewed phase.

1)      4/11/06. Thyme Café. 10pm. 5 min or so.

2)      4/11/06 Trace. 11pm.

3)      4/12/06. Pressure Café. Emcee.

4)      4/13/06. Juz Jokkin' Waukegan. 9:30pm

5)      4/14/06 BW3 12pm

6)      4/15/06 Pressure Squeeze Showcase. 10pm

7)      4/16/06 Raw Bar Comedy Blitz 9pm

8)      4/16/06 Mutiny Open Wound Comedy. 1am

9)      4/17/06 The Mix. 12am

10)  4/18/06. Gunther Murphy's. Chicago Underground Comedy. 8:30pm

11)  4/18/06. Thyme Café. 12:45am

12)   4/19/06. Pressure Open Mic. Emcee. 8:30pm

13)  4/19/06. McDunna's. 12:30am

14)  4/20/06. Juz Jokkiin' Waukegan. 10:30pm

15)  4/21/06 BW3. Open Mic. 11:30pm

16)  4/22/06 Pressure Comedy Squeeze. Hosting. 9pm

17)  4/23/06. Juke Box Comedy. Peoria. With Dave Odd and Jeff Hansen. First road trip with hotel.

18)  4/24/06 Gin Mill. 10:45pm. 8.5 min + Emcee.

19)  4/24/06 The Mix. Midnight. 4.5 min

20)  4/25/06. Thyme Café. 11:30pm 4.25 min

21)  4/26/06. Pressure Open Mic. Emcee. 8 min up top.

22)  4/26/06. McDunna's 12am. 7.5min

23)  4/27/06 Juz Jokkin' 10pm 12 min. Thus ends 16 consecutive days of going out and performing, including an overnight road trip. Not to mention four or five White Sox games. Throughout this entire 2006 season, I went to about 40 baseball games. I always find $5 to $10 tickets.

24)   4/30/06. Raw Bar. Emcee. 8:45pm. 14min. (In retrospect, don't know why I possibly would have done 14min as the emcee. Must have been a night with like 5 of us and we each indulged).

25)  5/1/06. Thyme Café. 10pm. Contest Showcase. Came in second. Lit myself on fire. 12.5min

26)  5/1/06. Gin Mill. 11:45pm. 8.5min

27)  5/2/06. 10pm. 7.5min. They move their show to Tuesdays, everyone is exhausted from Monday.

28)  5/3/06. Cigars and Stripes. 9:45pm. 23min

29)  5/3/06. McDunna's. Midnight. Came back to Chicago from Berwyn and got up at this rough spot. It worked out well and great.

30)  5/5/06. Kitty Moon. 1^st Show. Emcee. 8min.

31)  5/7/06. Raw Bar. 5/7. 9pm 8min. up top. Host

32)  5/8/06. The Mix. 9pm 7 min set.

33)  5/8/06. The Bird's Nest. 10:30pm. 6 min set

34)  5/8.06 The Gin Mill 11:40pm 7min set

35)  5/9/06 Thyme Café 10:15pm 5.5 min set

36)  5/13/06 Devonshire. Private Party, Adelman's 50^th Anniversary. Emcee, catered routine. 10 min set

37)  5/14/06 The Overstock @ The Playground Midnight. 13 minute set

38)  5/15/06 The Gin Mill.  11pm. 6 minute set

39)  5/16/06 Thyme Café.  11:40pm. 5.5 minute set

40)  5/17/06 Pressure 10:20pm 8.5 minutes

41)  5/17/06 McDunna's 12:30 am (so really 5/18) 4.5 minute set. On this night, I took a radical departure from the normal set. This room has the tendency to be real loud in the back; while the adjacent room, separated only by a curtain, emanates tons of noise at times. The previous week I had sang and swooned my way through the audience, singing an Elvis tune (Are you lonesome tonight?) until I got to the curtain. I then began yelling at the people in the adjacent room, to be quiet. But it was part of a carefully crafted gimmick. Next, when they got up in my face, I switched to the irrational defense campaign of the idiot. They'd be like, "Shut up and go back to your side of the curtain!" And I'd be like, "Yeah, well, those guys started it! (motioning toward the second loud party in the back of the stand-up room).
I soon got both crowds, one from each room, facing off, through me as the narrator in the septum. I was immediately surrounded by a vanguard of comics, friendly spectators, and a bouncer of sorts. These people were privy to the fact that I was misinterpreting fabricated arguments from both sides of the room. It was especially heated, as I was using an aggressive tone of voice. It was made ridiculous by the fact that whatever argument the other guys threw in my face, I would have something perfectly non-sensible to retort.
Them: Mind your own fucking business! We didn't bother you! Don't bother us!
Me: Oh yeah, well, I get really bothered by Mosquitos! Sometimes, when I camp.
The people in my proximity were actually laughing at the ridiculousness, and tenseness. The event was diffused when, for the first time of the loud night, everyone's attention, in both rooms, was focused on a single point, me, and I jumped back onstage and went into a quick set-up punch joke about something completely unrelated to the argument. "My fiancé and I were playing scrabble and…".
So…that was in one of the previous weeks. This week, on this night, in an equally loud environment, I got underneath the heavy square 6 by 6 by 12 inch stage and slowly crawled across the room, like a turtle. I would crawl until I reach a table and then, equally turtle-like, I would emerge, tell a quick joke specifically to one table, and then resume crawling. Like this I made my way all the way to the next room (long chord) and proceeded to try to tell jokes to the people in the next room. The people wanted to have nothing to do with the stand up show, they were just pounding down some beers. Here I come popping up out from underneath a stage that crawled up to them and I am like, "I asked my dad when is mother's day. He said, '9 months from father's day".
So, that was this week.

42)  5/20/06. Pressure Café. 10pm. 16min

43)  5/21/06 Cosmic Café 8pm 11 min

44)  5/21/06 Raw Bar. 10:15pm 7.5 min. Last performance at Raw Bar. Closing room.

45)  5/21/06. Mutiny 11:30pm 9 min.
At the end of the above Mutiny set, Jack Calhoun and I got on stage and did a tandem 22 minutes, while the bar slowly emptied. This was the seeds of the idea for the creative team which became The Jeb Show on live365.com. It was a 6 episode, hour each, satirical special, written by me, performed by Tony Blanco, Russ Williamson, Jack Calhoun, Katrina Willman, Rene Gautier, and Ric March.

46)  5/22/06 The Mix 10:30pm 6.5 minute set

47)  5/22/06 The Gin Mill 11:45pm 13min

48)  5/23/06 Trace 11pm 8 minute set

49)  5/24/06 Thyme Café. 6 minutes. Midnight

50)  5/25/06 Pressure 9pm 13 minutes

51)  5/25/06 McDunna's Midnight. 6 minutes

52)  5/30/06 Trace 11pm 5.5 minutes

53)  5/31/06 Pressure 9pm 7.5 minutes

54)  5/31/06 Heartland Café 11pm 5.5 minutes

55)  5/31/06 12:45pm 5 minutes. Banned. I pissed of Martin during my set and he announced me banned. I was doing a prat-fall character who was freaking out abou the lights, and fell over his music stand. But then later that night he got on stage and said, "Everyone loves Jeb. Jeb, you can come back to McDunna's. I had apologized.

56)  6/1/06 Pressure 10:30pm 7min.

57)   6/2/06 Gin Mill. The Gin and Comics Showcase. 10min. 10pm.
This was a train-wreck of a show. The NCAA Basketball tournament was playing. It was a Michigan bar, and their basketball team had made it into the finals. And lost that night.
The stand up show had to wait until after the game, before we could start. At that point, the room was a sea of over a hundred dudes in leather jackets with hair gel. I took the mic, I went second after Brendan McGowan. He did well for the people that were in his vicinity. The rest was a sea of noise. When I took the stage I tried pulling the same crap I pulled back at the top of set #41. I irrationally interacted with the audience, meandering. Some big dude put me in a headlock and took my expensive wool 1918 style ball cap. He tossed it to his buddy who was about to squirt ketchup into it. Then, out of nowhere, Mike Williamson, Russ' brother, (huge dude) comes out of nowhere and shoves those dudes out of the way and gets my hat back. I had gotten out of the headlock on my own. I'm still totally macho.

58)   6/2/06. Kitty Moon. New Faces Showcase. 12:30pm 10minutes. This wasn't my actual first new faces show, but it was Russ', who accompanied after the debacle up at Gin Mill.

59)  6/4/06 PBS Studios. Peoria. 4min. Television Studio Audience. For a pilot called, "Tell me a story". I did a four minute rendition of the time John Burbank and I jumped trains and hitchhiked across the Great Basin.

60)   6/4/06. Cosmic Café. 10pm. 8 minutes. After driving round trip to Peoria with Ric March and SpiLo, I came out and performed a loose, much better rendition of my set from PBS Studio.

1:51 PM - 3 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment

Fiesta Was Cozy, Gunther's Was Lonely 239-247/400 Sets in 365 Days
Category: Life

239) 10/19. Pressure Open Mic. 4.75 minutes. 10pm. The second half was great, the first half sucked terribly. Pissed at self for rambling too much up top. Ugh. When the set is over so quickly, can't afford to meander with their attention. Actually..can one ever afford to do less than the best?

..

240) 10/19/06. Murphy's Bleachers. 13 minutes. 1pm. Loud and raucous, great, sort of. I was [great] at least. The aud was tricky, but I like how I handled myself. I think I grained strength from the night before, at The Hidden Shamrock.

..

241) 10/20. Fiesta Mexicana. Host. 8pm. 8 minutes up front. Riffing between comics. New room, 1^st night. Nick Lullo put it together, but he only knew about it coming together at the last minute. Hence, I took over this night. 11 comics. About 20 audience members cycled through. A very warm, fuzzy, loving, good feeling show.
Everyone did well.

..

242) 10/22. Cosmic Café. 10.5 minutes. 9:45pm. My time flew by. Some fun, new or second time pieces. Told soul baring story about my sordid past.

Lots of relaxed, natural work. Eric thought it was great.

I was ..10 on the list but it took 3 hours to get up stage. Ugh. Everyone does 10 minutes and then answers two questions, and that takes another 5 minutes. Only a handful of comics wrap it up earlier. It seems like people abuse, though I know that the emcee runs it like that to allow us comics the comfort to develop longer sets and comfort on stage. It is good for the narrative comics too.

..

243) 10/22. Bad Dog. 4.25 minutes. High energy. Huge laughs, great crowd. Almost all newish material, or stuff I had only just began working out at Cosmic Café.

In a strange turn of events, I choose not to go to Mutiny, but instead to come home and process my sets.

..

244) 10/23. Gunther Murphy's Open Mic. 5.5 minutes. The Lonely Hearts Club Band. That's how I felt. About 6 comics to start with and we were each other's only audience. Then, when we were about to be done for the evening, and able to politely move on after having supported each other, more and more comics trickled in. I was like, "Great, that represents another 5 courtesy minutes..another 5 minutes..another 5 minutes".

I liked my set, as I was determined to go through at least some jokes. They weren't the strongest, but, so be it.

..

245) 10/23. Vertigo. Second Set of night. First time here. 11 minutes. Small but very very grateful crowd. Usually a music open mic. They loved that we were there, even though, all said, between me, Eric, Mike and Jay, we did almost 40 minutes... I went first, was only going to do 4 or 5 minutes, and ended up getting encore requests, and being able to riff and make up stuff. In fact, a last week after Cigars and Stripes, I riffed the rudimentary punch-line to a new joke and tonight, while riffing, an audience member yelled something at me about it. My response ended up being a new tag to a joke which is now a stable joke in my longer sets.

..

246) 10/23. ..The Note. 5 min. 3^rd set of night. ..Odd new place. Great stage. 4 women (who said they hate men) were loud and heckling everyone. The started to do the same thing to me, and then I asked them what they wanted to hear about. It turned into an interview basically. It worked out incredibly well. I was still able to weave in a few jokes, but my real responses ended up being stark and surreal enough to cause sparks. A couple of the responses I have since tried to make regular jokes in my routine. It may still happen, but I'll need to develop more material to convey the context.

..

247) .. 10/23. The Store. 4^th of night. 1:20am. 3 minutes. We rolled in there (Eric and Mike and I ) as it was closing. The emcee agreed to let us get up and do 3 mintues each. So it was a 9 minute total..or 9.5 minute total between us. Smooth. Mellow. Especially since my energy at Gunthers and Vertigo and the Note was so high. I used the short set as an opportunity to use solid old jokes as a frame to dust off other oldies that don't get used as much.

.

..

4:36 PM - 3 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Working It out. 230-238/400 set in 365 days, by 4/11/07
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Working it out, says it all. A long set at the end of the list, to punctuate lessons well learned.

230) 10/15. Cosmic Café. 8.5 minutes. Mostly new material. OK. Charismatic, a little wandersome in places but well presented. I actually got an applause break on an incredibly cheesy joke wherein I make the audience think I'm talking about loosing pounds, but I am talking about gambling in London. And the tag pertains to the fact that Euros render that pun defunct.

231) 10/15. Hops and Barley. 10pm-ish. 6 minutes. New place to me, run by the woman that runs the Thursday show at Murphy's Bleachers, and (and beginning in December, at Globe Pub on Wednesdays. Stolie.com. The audience was lively and attentive, grateful to have new faces trying new forms. One doesn't always come across such nicety when venturing into mics of other art forms. Rolled with Jay Harris and Nick Lullo. I went a little blue, made the emcee cringe a bit, but a good set, the crowd liked it. A couple full house applauses. Can't ask for much better.

I am entering this blog a couple months after the fact. And since the time of the above set at Hops and Barley, I have performed there against incredibly adverse conditions. Ups and Downs. Working it out.

232) 10/15. Third set of the night, back at Bad Dog. 11ish. 3.5 minutes or so. I got there literally 20 seconds before it was my turn. Fojas brought me up. Boom! Boom! Boom! I had the adrenaline of the travel and the rush, and none of the in-head distractions, as I hit the stage without forethought. I call this a dirty yet clean set. No foul language, but set ups implying sex, and punch-lines implying dorkiness.

233) 10/16. 9:20. Gunther Murphy's Open mic. 10 min. Good set, only 5 audience members though, all comics. Near the end of the road for the mic.

234) 10/16. The Store.   12am. 7.5 minutes. Mediocre. A few laughs. Only 6 people in room. Tonight then, I end up spending till past midnight to perform two sets, to 11 people total. I am never thrown off by tiny audiences, in fact, GOOD, let's jam! But was disappointed in my rhythm at this set. Only 2 or 3 minutes of this set found me in my straightforward groove. That's cool though, after all, that is why I work my ass off going to these odd corners of Chicago to perform to all types of crowds. I do it to built steadily toward resilience.

235) 10/17 Cork Lounge. 6.5 minutes. Good set, I thought. After listening to set closely at home I was like, "Cut out the Fluff Cadwell! Still a few quality bits though. Hosted by Eric Pennell. I performed #15.

236) 10/17 The Holiday Club. 4.5 minutes. Weak beginning. Too many beers tonight. Too new of a material choice. Beginning to hear a certain flatness. Lack of engagement and real-ness in sets. On certain nights the fakeness is gone, but I am noticing that over the last few weeks, though hitting in points (like at Bad Dog the other night, and at my home club, Cork), I have been presenting with a certain plasticity. Work on it.

237) 10/18. Cigars and Stripes. Feature. 37 minutes. My longest set ever, at the time that I peformed it. (Now, as I type, it is already 12/17, and I have since tied it and surpassed it: 52 minutes).

The plasticity that I mentioned above seemed to not be a factor during tonight's show. I tried not to repeat material from my most recent appearance at Cigars and Stripes, and I didn't do lots of the jokes in my arsenal. This was the first time I realize just how much material I have. Still though, there were too many minutes of jokes that were soft. Maybe 7 minutes of intimate crowd work, or reactions to jokes that didn't work. I certainly did have quite a few rolling chunks of material and crowd-work that made up the remaining ½ hour. So it was good. The crowd liked it, but I am determined to get a hard-core rockin' solid already-organized and memorized set. I had to peek at a sheet of paper a few times to achieve this 37 minutes. I am still new to these longer sets, not just the memorization, but planning the arc of the material.

I traveled with Rudy out to Cigars and Stripes but he hooked up with a girlfriend and rode back with her ("No room in car").

Stay posted and read my upcoming set notes from my show on 12/16. Also a 37 minute set, also a "road show", also with Rudy…but two short months later, a world of experience (100 sets) has been incorporated..

Instead of leaving and going home, I took the train back to Chicago, walked to the bus, took it up the Diversey, and walked over to the Hidden Shamrock.

238) 10/18. Hidden Shamrock. 12:20am .10 min. Nothing like a super loud bar. Real glad I did it. Maybe 25 people were at the bar, but only a few listening. By the end, about 10 people were listening. Did material, but practiced transitioning into and out of riffing.

This show brought up new theories about taking charge of a room. Usually they say to use your best material up top and at the end. I formulate the "sweet spot theory". If one persists, professionally and steadily with good jokes and audience interaction, about 3 to 6 minutes into the set, the room tunes in…or a critical mass of it, at least, if only briefly. This is the time to seize the crowd with sharp, character defining, well edited bits. A stream of punchlines or one-liners.  3-6 minutes is usually about the time it takes for the people in back to finish their conversations and pause to hear what the people in front are laughing about. A sink or swim moment.

4:00 PM - 3 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Callback Audition and Comedy Milestone 222-229 of 400 sets in 365 Days
Current mood: contemplative

As I write and enter notes in chronology of my year of performing 400 sets in 365 days, it is 3 am on 12/11 and I have just completed my 325^th set in 9 months. I have just booked my 400^th show to be a big event at the Lincoln Lodge. And now that I have that date (a month a half)…I am actually really now convinced I need to rock and reel and roll and ride my way without slowing down…a difficult task, what with the cold weather onset and the holidays. I shall not future divulge the exact present. Faithful reader, you will keep tuning in until I dutifully work my way up to the present.

222) 10/9 – This was technically an audition set for the Las Vegas Comedy Festival, at Zanies. 2pm. I debated whether or not to consider this as a set, but considering that there were about 50 people watching the show, and it was a fun, raucous event, it was certainly more of a "show" than some of these open mics. 3 min. F*cking slaughtered. Didn't get a callback. My buddy Eric Pennell did get a call back along with 2 other comics and went to event. Whereas I stayed at home, had some wine and dinner and was leisurely preparing for an exciting night with a showcase at the Bird's Nest.

Suddenly, Eric calls me, from Zanie's, wondering why I'm not there for the show, as I am on the list of callbacks. Thus 4 comics and a handful of hand picked, more advanced-in-career comics were chosen for the show.

Janice rushed me down to the show that night and….

223) Zanies 10/9 – Showcase for Las Vegas Comedy Festival Auditions, Second round. 6 minutes. I rate myself an 80% out of 100%. Although I certain brought charisma and some boisterously loud laughter in parts, there was too much time up top farted away with something quite experimental, a new bit that I was working on that involved audience participation. I put stock and trust in their reaction and energy, instead of producing the solid, high energy self-character work I did in my first round. I look at the audition as a set with a few triples and a couple doubles, a walk and a shut out inning. Sure, there were RBIs, but no home runs.

I didn't get the job, but I still consider the show a win. I consider it thusly especially because since then (I am writing these notes two months later), I have been schooling myself incredibly on sticking to an intended set when I need to do such.

224) 10/10/07 8:30 PM Phyllis' 10 min. Good.

225 10/10/07 10:30 Cork Lounge 6 min. Great.

226) 10/10 11:30pm Trace. Multi-media mic. Mostly spoken word poetry. 4.5 min. Third set of night. Mediocre.

227) 10/10. 1:30 am . Holiday Club. 4 min. Mediocre. At the time I thought it was mediocre, but since then I have received feedback (6 weeks later) about the experiment I pulled.

228) 10/12 9:15pm Lincoln Lodge. 7 min. This is the milestone, a certain big sense of achievement, at Lincoln Lodge has a reputation for having great shows with well-achieved performers, the cream of whom are only going up in the world. It is hard to get booked to at the Lodge, and I stood up to the plate and brought a very likable, solid set with some applause breaks and call backs. After the show though, when I listened to the set I reviewed my goals for the year.

I had set the first big goal to really learn how to stand still on stage and channel my energies, not distract the audience with extraneous movements. I have succeeded in that goal. And now, the second half of the year, I am working on using my natural voice on stage. Certainly the voice can be souped up with exaggerative emotion and conveyance as such. My goal is the eradication of the involuntary slight Kermit voice. No one else noticed this, and I am certain the set was well received, but from my view, I understand that this show meant a lot more to me than the average set: I had more adrenaline and was more affected by the nuances of each moment.

229) 10/12 Murphy's Bleachers. 12:40am 11 minutes. Second of night. Rather than chill and bask in the pleasant post show drink, I thanked Bill and Mark and Steve from the Lodge, jumped on my bike and rode down to Wrigley.  Killed. Absolutely. Felt maybe like the wild accomplished Huck Finn after he returns to the mayhem of unstructured living. There I was, with no pressure, after having done so well when I felt it really mattered earlier in a big showcase. I felt loose and tight at the same time. Best set of the last week, maybe including my Las Vegas Audition. This is an extra accomplishment, because those music open mics can also be inherently difficult: The audience is taught to tune out after the din of so much music.

3:05 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

The Faster We Go, The Rounder We Get. 212-221 /400

Doing some catch up work here in the MySpace blog. Over the last few months I've been averaging about 48 sets a month, with some long, time consuming nights thrown in to achieve audition sets at clubs far away. Am doing this work on 11/16, a night when I came home after only one set. By tonight I am actually on set 286. This month, November, I have slowed my pace down a bit so as to facilitate "processing" my sets. My routine, as of lately, has been to come home and write detailed journal entries first about my sets. Then, on an average of 3 nights a week, I'll listen to my sets and transcribe riffing that touches on new jokes. You know, flesh out stuff that worked, get all philosophical. I am also interested in not burning out. But by that, so far on this 16th day of November, I have worked out probably about 14 new minutes of material and chipped away at some old persona issues over the course of 25 mics.

212) 10/1. Cosmic Cafe. Sunday Night. 9.5 Minutes. Small crowd, mostly newish stuff, few completely new ideas, otherwise there were bits I had only done a couple times and wanted to rework.

Once again, came out strong and petered out at end - this actually became a theme on this week. As I am currently blogging after the fact, I can say that a couple weeks later I have been making a point to save a closer for the end. Simple,but easy to forget in the rush. In fact, I want to have 10 closers, that I can pull out the best one according to the flow.

From notebook on the date: "...Again, time and energy would have been saved had I invested more time and pre-stage work, at home."

213) 10/2/06. Zanies, Chicago. 7 minutes, 20 seconds. This was my first time performing at Zanies, Rising Stars of Comedy Showcase, or something to that effect. Had been emailing since April to get this gig. Before the show there was an hour long lecture in the green room, delivered personally by the club owner. Dos and Don'ts, some history, method behind madness, etc. Some comics grumble about this meeting, but I really enjoyed it, and feel it could have been a workshop that people would pay good money to attend.

My set went quite well, though the club owner (who had feedback for others) had no feedback for me. Could be a good thing, or otherwise. I just know that I got on stage, had a strong set - hit 22 punches, about 17 of them got solid laughs. Boom Boom Boom. A few dead jokes, but no aborted jokes. Of course, the perpetual dissatisfaction in me loathes the few dead ones. No time for a joke funeral, just resurrections and hilarity! 

214) 10/3 – Phyllis' -11.5 minutes. 8:30pm. Working on wording of new material that seemed like it would be fun and I wanted to just play with it. Sometimes it seems like the best way to proceed is with a sense of play other than scripting. At other times it feels like 5 hours spent trying to get a short set at a mic could have been better spent at home writing and editing. Same old story. But here, this night it was a fun mix of natural moments and blocky premise-laying.

215) 10/3/06 The Cork Lounge. 6 min. 10:30ish

Fun! Mike Sheehan hosting, some great moments had by most comics happened as well. Just an incredibly fun night.

Feeling in the upswing of the creative cycle. We all have out ups and downs and cycles of developing. More of a spiral than a circle, as we improve each time around.

216) 10/4 Hidden Shamrock. 8 min. 11pm. Thought to evaluate my set by the strength of the beginning, middle and end. Almost like averages in baseball. Wrote in my notes: %80 beginning. 70% middle, 40%.

Biggest Spike of room-wide applause: %90. 20 or so people went from being loud to focused at this busy music open mic. They (or I) petered out at the end. It felt like quite the accomplishment though. I had gone out to a super fancy Italian dinner with my fiancé right down the street before this open mic.

217) 10/5. 8:30 pm. Comedy on State. Madison WI. Emcee. 5.5 minutes up top, a couple here and there in between. Drove up there in Eric's car with Haji as well. Got stuck in traffic of construction site and ended up getting to club just on time. But I prefer to get there a half hour earlier, at least. The club was cool with it, as we had called along the way, and because we all really brought the goods. And yet, after my 3^rd or 4^th appearance up there, I have yet to achieve the post of being hired to emcee an entire weekend. It always seems close, I always do real well up there. They re-scheduled us for Thursday 11/30. I'll be rolling up with Eric Pennell and Brad Fojas – Haji will be hosting his own Thursday show at another time.

218) 10/7 Saturday. The Cornservatory. Two 5 mintue sets and a little emcee work between. Nick Vatterot hooked me up with this one. It is a theater with a set that looks like the set from Sesame Street. Doors are walls, rough appearance – very loved. Was there four years ago.

Comfortable in a theater setting, thank you The Suspicious Clowns.

First set was solid. Second set I tried something pretty far out which didn't hit and then the last few minutes were swell.

Went up on the roof under the full moon in Taurus between one set – went and got a beers between other set.

A few times this fall I have snuck up to roof tops of clubs and enjoyed the moon and the city skyline, and so much more.

This varies from my other tradition of sneaking out the back or side door. The Elvis gene.

219) 10/8 The Cosmic Café. 9:30. 10.5 min. Sunday night. Late for Cosmic Café. 1^st of three tonight, very smooth and fun. Some oldies and newies, had emphasis on being real. Time went by! Did old eye chart jokes

220) 10/8. Mutiny. 10 min. 11:30pm. First time back since a previously blogged night when something gave out in me and all I heard was, "Bla Bla Bla Bla Bla Bla." Tonight in all 3 places the crowd appeared fragmented and small but in all three places the energy rose up and we had a rockin' time.

221) 10/8. Gallery Cabaret. 12:30am. 3^rd set of night. Music jokes. Weed jokes, mySpace. Women jokes. Smooth with riffing. Tonight was able to tag jokes above my normal level. "I just like the idea of having a joke about menstruation and having the punch-line be, "Gazpacho".

10:28 PM - 2 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment

Living on a Prayer: Wrapping up 49 sets in September: 200-211/400
Current mood: determined
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Doing as many sets as I do, I can only get stronger and stronger. I also recognize now that no matter how many one does in a short amount of time, maturity itself takes time to achieve.
The best result of blogging and keeping track of these last 215 sets, is the ability to appreciate the different ups and downs with out getting carried away by them. Different influences, bad habits, or inspirations and boosts have a tendency to come upon my sets right now and affect them like weather fronts moving into a region for any number of days. It'll be like, "Oh here's preparation for a big showcase. Cold front just moved in, expect self-conscious lows and organized highs through until Monday. After the audition on Monday expect relaxed, sharp relieved Jeb with highs of new conceptual audience interaction pieces mixed with lows of too wordy new set ups.

To begin the spectrum, Show ..200 wasn't as climactic as it may sound. I was getting quite warn down. This was at the Last third of Sept. During September I pulled out 49 sets. And felt it.

200) 9/21 9.5 minutes. Waukegan. Juz' Jokkin. Took train up, had fever, didn't feel good at all. In Zombie mode, without having eaten and with no appetite, I walked the chilly, windy dark and dangerous streets.
At the show I was one of 3 white people. The other 40 or so were black and latino. Great group of people, one of the toughest for me to try to perform to - maybe I'm just too dorky and hippie new age for them sometimes. I don't know. I came out of the gates strong, got some solid response throughout, but most of the jokes didn't work - like a was a character-less over-confident guy who kept going and going with non-sting-zingers. But I kept reacting in genuine surprise to the jokes not working. This spurned some genuine laughter.
On way back from the show, at midnight or so, I ran into Vince Truman, my old collaborator buddy from the Suspicious Clowns. 2 years it had been. Nice to see him.
Was sick after this show for two days.

201) 9/24/06 Grape St. And Vine. Sunday Night Showcase Open mic by Mikey O.
Local Locos Comedy. In Gold Coast. 4.5 minutes. The audience was great, my set was great too. I was tighter and funnier than 3 nights before. Felt like I'd been away forever and like the vacation did me well.

202) 9/24 12 min. Bad Dog. While I was at the above show, planning on taking an early night, still getting back from fever, James F. calls me and invites me to showcase at Bad Dog. Caught ride with Rick M and Brad F up to Bad Dog. Had a fun set. Pulled out more than 1/2 solid, known material, and then a flourish of new ideas. A night to inspire the week.
I write this over a week later though, and in retrospect, some of those ideas became short jokes, but the longer form ones proved too cumbersome - I tried them over the next few days to marginal success. These ideas are still on the burner.

203) 9/25/06 9 min. 10:30 Birds Nest. Monday Evening Open Mic. Newish long form routine. Expanded bit from 3 months before. Routine about being a safe comedian that gives away all of his punch-lines and slows his own show down to death, by warning everyone about every punchline just before getting to the punch, and by outlining the arc of the show up top, so they can, "plan their breaks". Funny in concept. So far though, it actually is heavy, slow and cumbersome. Needs works - but it will eventually be a seriously hilarious routine. Don't take it.

........ The non-set. Went to Mix after Birds nest, by 11:20, but the emcee, whom shall remain nameless, was already determined that the act who was on stage was the final performer. It was early, I knew the fellow, and other comics were just allowed up, and I've seen this show extended for others, over and over. I was pissed for days.

204) 9/25 12 min. 12:30 am. Weeds. Monday. After having done Annoyance Theater Class, then the Birds Nest showcase, then getting rejected at Mix, I was pissy, and rode my bike down to North/Clybourn, went to Weeds. There were a bunch of Poets and musicians, burning the midnight oil. They put me up last and let me do a longish set, getting experimental and also throwing in polished gems to surprise them. Oh it was fun, and it was like coming home to a brotherhood after a ridiculous rejection at the Mix.

205) 9/26/06 Phyllis'. 9 minutes. About 4 people listening. About 8 people talking loud at bar. The mic was loud, but reverb and echoing. Felt like I strained my voice.
Only night morning before I had woken up refreshed from fever over weekend. But then the night before (Monday) I worked all day, took 2.5 hour acting class, did a showcase and an even longer open mic performance and got back super late. So, voice already shot and straining.

206) 9/26/06 The Cork. 7.5 minutes. Riffing with mostly new material. This room has been almost exclusively comics since "The incident", but there have been about 20 of them. I tried doing my, "safe comedian" routine, which was a little heavy once again.

207) 9/27. Hottie Biscotti 10:15pm 7min. Went first with Eric Pennell, Mike S, etc. Did well. Went really fast in parts, dropped parts, rushed, told a couple stories that were too long - on the heels of the already too long "safe comedian". But at the end, after the amusing and sometimes funny "off set", when I was done, the emcee wasn't around. So the audience yelled for me to keep going, which I did. But the auxiliary few minutes were remarkably with a new, light, responsive tone. As though I had hit a re-set button, or though I had developed anti-bodies against my own self-consciousness.

208) 9/27. 11:45pm McDunna's. 5 min. Loud next room and LOUD first table, and LOUDER big-mouthed couple to left. But streaking up the right, pooling at the back, about 16 people that wanted to listen. Incorporated the loud mouth lady as butt of every joke, and popped out a bunch of short bits. Awkward. Glad though, that I worked hard and achieved some good results in part of the room.

209) 9/28 11 pm. Riddles. Orland Park. 6 min. Did Well. Went ..19. Eric Pennell hosted. Had some big laughs and some big silences too. The owner told me he wants to see me one more time before he books me on a weekend. He thinks I'm funny, which is cool. I knew this was an audition for me, so the old "in my head" came out, if only by 20%. The good thing about it, I know that the more of these I do, the better I'll get.

210) 9/28 1:30 am (so, technically, 9/30). 6 min.Not Sharing the name of this one.
Second one tonight. Got back from the long drive to burbs, and Pennell dropped me off at my bike. I was on my way home and he called me, saying there is a super late night, incredibly awesome open mic going on. I rode my bike over there and was able to get up and do 6 minutes. The crowd loved it, they were totally tuned in and wanted more more more. I heard Janice saying, "leave 'em wanting more". Got off stage at 6 also so Eric could get up, but then a band got up there and we split.

211) 9/30 Cigars And Stripes. Berwyn. 32 minutes. Featured. Did really well. In fact, one of my top 10 sets (of over 10 minutes) of all time. Had 7 friends come out to see me, place was packed, I got rolling. Interesting muscle development too, as it was a little heavy of a crowd (there was about 25 minutes of non-funny comedy just before me. Emcee was fine but bit the bullet to focus them) and I had to really work them, touch in, improvise, and then lock in to the bits.
I think sometimes, lately, I am developing that "road comic" voice, and cadence, which strolls one through the bits. Not my goal. However, I think for some auditions and certain crowds, one needs to utilize this skill.
Also, I learned that I had a lull at about 23 minutes, which took a grueling 4 minutes to get over. Not that this makes it one of my top 10, but the fact that I did pop out of it for the end is redeeming. There is a need for a change of gear, with gear changing different paced material, I believe, when I hit that 23 minute mark.

8:30 PM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Living on a Prayer -Wrapping up 49 sets in September: 200-211/400
Current mood: busy
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Doing as many sets as I do, I can only get stronger and stronger. I also recognize now that now matter how many one does in a short amount of time, maturity itself takes time to achieve.
The best result of blogging and keeping track of these last 215 sets, is the ability to appreciate the different ups and downs with out getting carried away by them. Different influences, bad habits, or inspirations and boosts have a tendency to come upon my sets right now and affect them like weather fronts moving into a region for any number of days. It'll be like, "Oh here's preparation for a big showcase. Cold front just moved in, expect self-conscious lows and organized highs through until Monday. After the audition on Monday expect relaxed, sharp relieved Jeb with highs of new conceptual audience interaction pieces mixed with lows of too wordy new set ups.

The begin the spectrum, Show ..200 wasn't as climactic as it may sound. I was getting quite warn down. This was at the Last 3rd of Sept. During September I pulled out 49 sets. And felt it.

200) 9/21 9.5 minutes. Waukegan. Juz' Jokkin. Took train up, had fever, didn't feel good at all. In Zombie mode, without having eaten and with no appetite, I walked the chilly, windy dark and dangerous streets of Berwyn.
At the show I was one of 3 white people. The other 40 or so were black and latino. Great group of people, one of the toughest for me to try to perform to - maybe I'm just too dorky and hippie new age for them sometimes. I don't know. I came out of the gates strong, got some solid response throughout, but most of the jokes didn't work - like a was a character-less over-confident guy who kept going and going with non-sting-zingers. But I kept reacting in genuine surprise to the jokes not working. This spurned some genuine laughter.
On way back from the show, at midnight or so, I ran into Vince Truman, my old collaborator buddy from the Suspicious Clowns. 2 years it had been. Nice to see him.
Was sick after this show for two days.

201) 9/24/06 Grape St. And Vine. Sunday Night Showcase Open mic by Mikey O.
Local Locos Comedy. In Gold Coast. 4.5 minutes. The audience was great, my set was great too. I was tighter and funnier than 3 nights before. Felt like I'd been away forever and like the vacation did me well.

202) 9/24 12 min. Bad Dog. While I was at the above show, planning on taking an early night, still getting back from fever, James F. calls me and invites me to showcase at Bad Dog. Caught ride with Rick M and Brad F up to Bad Dog. Had a fun set. Pulled out more than 1/2 solid, known material, and then a flourish of new ideas. A night to inspire the week.
I write this over a week later though, and in retrospect, some of those ideas became short jokes, but the longer form ones proved too cumbersome - I tried them over the next few days to marginal success. These ideas are still on the burner.

203) 9/25/06 9 min. 10:30 Birds Nest. Monday Evening Open Mic. Newish long form routine. Expanded bit from 3 months before. Routine about being a safe comedian that gives away all of his punch-lines and slows his own show down to death, by warning everyone about every punchline just before getting to the punch, and by outlining the arc of the show up top, so they can, "plan their breaks". Funny in concept. So far though, it actually is heavy, slow and cumbersome. Needs works - but it will eventually be a seriously hilarious routine. Don't take it.

........ The non-set. Went to Mix after Birds nest, by 11:20, but the emcee, whom shall remain nameless, was already determined that the act who was on stage was the final performer. It was early, I knew the fellow, and other comics were just allowed up, and I've seen this show extended for others, over and over. I was pissed for days.

204) 9/25 12 min. 12:30 am. Weeds. Monday. After having done Annoyance Theater Class, then the Birds Nest showcase, then getting rejected at Mix, I was pissy, and rode my bike down to North/Clybourn, went to Weeds. There were a bunch of Poets and musicians, burning the midnight oil. They put me up last and let me do a longish set, getting experimental and also throwing in polished gems to surprise them. Oh it was fun, and it was like coming home to a brotherhood after a ridiculous rejection at the Mix.

205) 9/26/06 Phyllis'. 9 minutes. About 4 people listening. About 8 people talking loud at bar. The mic was loud, but reverb and echoing. Felt like I strained my voice.
Only night morning before I had woken up refreshed from fever over weekend. But then the night before (Monday) I worked all day, took 2.5 hour acting class, did a showcase and an even longer open mic performance and got back super late. So, voice already shot and straining.

206) 9/26/06 The Cork. 7.5 minutes. Riffing with mostly new material. This room has been almost exclusively comics since "The incident", but there have been about 20 of them. I tried doing my, "safe comedian" routine, which was a little heavy once again.

207) 9/27. Hottie Biscotti 10:15pm 7min. Went first with Eric Pennell, Mike S, etc. Did well. Went really fast in parts, dropped parts, rushed, told a couple stories that were too long - on the heels of the already too long "safe comedian". But at the end, after the amusing and sometimes funny "off set", when I was done, the emcee wasn't around. So the audience yelled for me to keep going, which I did. But the auxiliary few minutes were remarkably with a new, light, responsive tone. As though I had hit a re-set button, or though I had developed anti-bodies against my own self-consciousness.

208) 9/27. 11:45pm McDunna's. 5 min. Loud next room and LOUD first table, and LOUDER big-mouthed couple to left. But streaking up the right, pooling at the back, about 16 people that wanted to listen. Incorporated the loud mouth lady as butt of every joke, and popped out a bunch of short bits. Awkward. Glad though, that I worked hard and achieved some good results in part of the room.

209) 9/28 11 pm. Riddles. Orland Park. 6 min. Did Well. Went ..19. Eric Pennell hosted. Had some big laughs and some big silences too. The owner told me he wants to see me one more time before he books me on a weekend. He thinks I'm funny, which is cool. I knew this was an audition for me, so the old "in my head" came out, if only by 20%. The good thing about it, I know that the more of these I do, the better I'll get.

210) 9/28 1:30 am (so, technically, 9/30). 6 min.Not Sharing the name of this one.
Second one tonight. Got back from the long drive to burbs, and Pennell dropped me off at my bike. I was on my way home and he called me, saying there is a super late night, incredibly awesome open mic going on. I rode my bike over there and was able to get up and do 6 minutes. The crowd loved it, they were totally tuned in and wanted more more more. I heard Janice saying, "leave 'em wanting more". Got off stage at 6 also so Eric coul