Facts In Black And White

Saturday August 15th, 2009 - Brookfield, WI

I couldn’t be happier this week of torture is finally OVER. Whatever lessons I may have needed to learn are not yet sinking in. All I feel is a thick emptiness inside combined with strong feelings of disappointment and frustration thrown in to make it really sting. This is not at all what I expected to be dealing with three weeks after appearing on network TV.

Every aspect of this weekend’s experience was unacceptable except the audience for the first show tonight. There were maybe 100 but they were spread out very strategically as to appear it was packed. Seating a room is a subtle skill. It’s like an audience’s comb over.

The middle act again didn’t have a clue as to where the line was and crossed it as much as any middle act I’ve seen in quite a long time. Normally I don’t point fingers but I’m as frustrated as I’ve ever been with a booker for booking someone like that in front of me. It really does make everyone’s job harder. If I had my way I’d have had him just go home.

Instead, he dug me two cavernous holes I had to climb out of but I came out swinging in the first show. It’s my job to grab a crowd by the throat and take them wherever I feel like taking them. I didn’t like where they had been so I had to bring them over into my world.

One factor that could have gone either way is right up front in the first row there was a large party of about twenty people who happened to be black. Any large party in a smaller crowd is an important factor because how they respond goes the show. It’s majority rule.

Many times a large party can disrupt the entire show. Bachelorette parties are infamous for it and most comedians wince when we see them walking in. They’re usually drunk by the time the show starts so when I get up there it’s a free for all combat zone. NOT fun.

Even when the large group is into the show it can present problems because there is also the rest of the audience to entertain as well. Sometimes there are private jokes or someone wants the comedians to “Make fun of Hank” but nobody else knows or cares who that is.

Tonight’s group was fantastic. I happen to really enjoy working for black audiences that are a little older and smart because they really pop when they love a show. They laugh out loud and clap and they like to add comments during the show but it’s not mean spirited or heckling. That’s just how they tend to be quite often and I like it a lot. I can roll with it.

People feel uncomfortable talking about differences in certain audiences but it’s fact so why avoid it? Stereotypes wouldn’t be stereotypes if there isn’t at least a thread of truth in there somewhere. Southern audiences tend to be dumb. Sorry, that’s just how it is. I spent my whole life putting theory into practice and I don’t see a change coming any time soon.

East coast audiences tend to be impatient and will heckle if they don’t like a show. I’ve experienced it too often to deny it happens. Black audiences have their own rules and it’s a fact of performing life. Many black comics completely alter their show to fit the crowd.

Some are not able to work both ’urban’ and ’mainstream’ audiences which is just a nice way of saying ’black’ or ’white’ in a different way. It seems to scare people but there’s no reason for it. People are people deep down, it’s just that some of us have different flavors.

I grew up around black people and went to school with them and played on sports teams with them and shared a workplace over the years. I’m extremely comfortable for the most part but nobody can deny that racial tensions do exist and always will. Ignorance has a lot to do with that but if everyone would just think a little the majority of it would go away.

The group tonight was great. They were PEOPLE who came out to see COMEDY and I happened to be the headliner and white. They happened to be a group and black. Together we clicked from the first ten seconds on stage and it was by far the best show of the week.

What made it even better was my friend Mark Krueger came out with his wife Amy and any time they come out I know I have two fans. Mark happened to be wearing a Dolemite t-shirt which is a character played by comedian Rudy Ray Moore. Rudy was an icon and a legend in black comedy and not many whities have a clue as to who he is. Mark and I do.

We both appreciate Rudy because he was an innovator. I pointed out Mark to the group and mentioned his t-shirt and they went crazy when they saw it. It was a respect thing and they all knew who Rudy Ray Moore is but to see not just one but two white guys who did too took them by surprise. I love to drop references in black crowds nobody ever expects.

What means a lot is that we all acknowledge it and accept it. THEN we can make fun of it and the laughs will be free of tension, which is exactly what happened tonight. I was on point the whole show because they let me run with it. My rhythm on stage combined with theirs as a group and we made music together. When that happens, comedy is pure magic.

After the show one of the guys in the group came over and shook my hand and said he’s a regular at Giggles but I was by far the funniest comic he’d ever seen there. He didn’t say the funniest white comic, he said the funniest comic. I told him they were the best group I had ever seen at Giggles. Period. And I meant it. They saved the week and I loved them.

Mark and Amy and I hung out after the show and I always feel pressure because Amy is always going through some kind of medical procedure and I never know how she’s doing on any given night. She is the most amazing trooper I have ever seen and I wouldn’t last a quarter of the time she has with so many health issues. I always want to do my best show.

She mentioned that the middle act was disgusting and I was very ashamed. If anyone on earth loves to laugh and are NOT prudes it’s Mark and Amy Krueger. When Amy said it I knew that I need to not let this kind of behavior continue. One goofus ruined it for many.

The second show was sparse and slow and very hard work. This is not what I want to be doing and I had a talk with the owner afterward. He wants me back and that’s nice to hear but I think I need to shoot for something much higher. This was a hint for me to move on.