Spring Lake Fever

Thursday October 9th, 2008 - Spring Lake, MI

Today was a perfect weather day and I actually enjoyed my 238 mile drive. I stopped in Ann Arbor to have lunch with Kate Brindle. She’s a sweetheart and I always enjoy seeing her. We had Chinese food and talked about life and comedy and enjoyed the weather too.

On the way to Spring Lake I stopped to fill up my tank in Lansing and it brought back a flood of bittersweet memories. I had my first radio job there at WMMQ back in 1990 and I wish in retrospect I’d have turned it down. That whole experience detoured my life path.

Had I focused on comedy only I’d no doubt be a lot farther along than I am now but I’m where I am because of what I chose and moving to Lansing to be a morning guy was what I chose then. Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda. I took a lap and then headed over to Spring Lake.

How many times have I played the Holiday Inn in Spring Lake, MI? However many it is it was one more tonight. This place has been doing comedy for many years and I have had some hellish nights here but tonight wasn‘t one of them. It was another night at the office.

There have been several bar managers here over the years but the guy now has been at it for a while and he’s the best one they’ve had. They did have a super hot blond for a while but she partied too much and they had to fire her. I remember one time I was here and she took me in to her office to get paid by grabbing my crotch and walking me like a pull toy.

I doubt if Holiday Inn management enjoyed that as much as I did and she never fit what anyone would picture a Holiday Inn bar manager to be but DAMN she was a scorcher. To have Spring Lake on the calendar meant a chance to see what wild stunt she’d pull next.

The guy now is very smart and runs a smooth operation. He knows the town and how to please his customers and whatever they’re paying him is a bargain because he’s been very dependable for several years now. The pay for this gig is $50 less than everywhere else in Michigan but that’s how it’s always been. They have a budget and that’s what they’ll pay.

The degree of difficulty can be very high here. It’s a long skinny room with a little stage in the far corner away from the bar. They don’t charge a cover so that means loud talking is usually part of the equation along with hellacious second hand smoke. Michigan hasn’t enacted the smoking ban and I forgot just how brutal that can be. I smell like a Marlboro.

There’s a pretty good sound system but the lighting is terrible. There’s one stage light to have to stand in to let the audience see any kind of facial expression and it prohibits how I like to work. I like to be free up on stage but tonight I had to stand stationery in one spot.

I challenge anyone to stand in one spot and rattle off material to hold the attention of an audience full of people who all got in free and make them laugh consistently. I did it for a whole hour and as I was up there I realized how much I’ve grown over the years. I’ve had my share of nights here where I didn’t get them but tonight I took charge and kicked ass.