Back In Kentucky

Wednesday June 9th, 2010 - Louisville, KY

It feels like old times again. I’m back on the road working a full week comedy club. It’s what I used to do almost every week for many years. Now, it’s almost uncommon. Many clubs have shrunk down to Thursday through Saturday or just Friday and Saturday. I like a few more days to get into a groove and hopefully draw some locals by word of mouth.

I hadn’t been out on any trips in a while, and my road chops were very rusty. I couldn’t seem to get motivated to make the drive, and it’s only 360 miles. In the old days, that was almost a local gig. Now, it seems like a trip to Mars. The road has finally lost it’s luster.

Well, the drives have. I’ve been up and down I-65 as much as anyone who’s ever driven a four wheeled vehicle, and I’ve seen enough of it for several lifetimes. Truck stops don’t really differ all that much, and there isn’t a hill over ten feet tall to qualify as ‘scenery‘.

I ended up both leaving late and getting hung up in Chicago traffic, and had to postpone a lunch with Greg Phelps in Indianapolis. I barely made it to Louisville for the new show time of 7:15pm. Louisville is on Eastern Time and I always have to remember that. Plus, a comedy itinerary is usually never correct when it comes to show times. Mine said 8:00.

The audience was small, but WOW were they good. The club has a t-shirt program that lets people who buy and wear certain club attire get in for free on Wednesday nights. I’ve always thought that was a smart idea, as it’s a billboard for the club on that particular day.

It also cultivates more repeat business from those who come out to the club in the first place. Trained audiences are the best. If they’ve seen a lot of comedy, it’s easy to perform for them because they understand what I’m trying to do. First timers can tend to just stare.

These people were right on the money all night long. I’d guess there were around 30 or so but they laughed at the right places and were with me from the first ten seconds. I love working for audiences like that no matter how large or small, as it makes me work harder to please them even more. This one was great - plus I ended up selling four cds as well.

I’ve always enjoyed playing Louisville, and it feels good to be back. The club here has a fantastic staff of competent people, and I love the whole stage setup too. There aren’t any poles or bad sight lines to worry about, and the sound system is right up there with any of the best clubs I’ve ever worked. I think I can still record myself both audio and video too.

The problem here is that there’s another club in town, and I’m not completely sure two clubs can coexist. They seem to be far enough away where it shouldn’t matter, but maybe there aren’t enough comedy fans in the area to support them both. That’s yet to be seen.

I know one of the owners of the other club, and I get along very well with him. I hate to see these border wars happen, but that’s business. I suppose I could get a booking over at the other joint if I wanted to, and probably for more money. But I won’t. I’m loyal here.