I went to a comedy show last night at 50 Mason to see two friends of mine perform stand-up comedy. Sam Chanse has done shows at 50 Mason before, but I've never made it out to a show, and for Jeff Cleary, it was his first show here.
I was a little nervous going, becuase I've seen comics I didn't know bomb before and it made me cringe inside. I think Sam and Jeff are great, but I'd never seen the perform before, so what if they suck? It would feel all horrible and guilty and I would be awful lying about it; "Yah, that one part where you told the punchline and nobody laughed? Well, I thought it was funny but I didn't get it until just now, ha ha ha ha ha!"
I've done some acting before and I know how nerve racking it can be to be in front of an audience. I can only image that stand-up would have to be way more difficult. Thankfully however, they (along with the other 4 comics that night) were great! Both really had the crowd for their whole performance and I was really glad that I sucked it up and decided to go. Its not that I ever doubted their abilities, but I'm sure Evel Knievel's friends and family were a little uneasy when they first watched him jump 16 cars on his motorcycle. That's right, Evel Knievel.
Afterward, everyone went to Foley's and had a few drinks where the subtlies of comedic performance were discussed briefly before moving on to making fun of the other patrons and trying to look cool for photographs. Anyway, it was a great time, and I'd encourage everyone to go check out Sam and/or Jeff whenever they next play!
