Some days, everything works out like it’s supposed to. Today wasn’t one of them, but it all came together onstage and that’s all I really care about. Everything else I can deal with if the show part goes well, and it totally did. It just happened to be here at the wrong time.
I agreed to do a last minute fall out in Decatur, IL at a sports bar I’ve worked at least ten times before. Probably more. It used to be booked by the Funny Business agency, but they ran it into the ground by sending sub par comics week after week. The venue went with a new booker and they’re trying to bring it back. I hope they do, as I’ve always liked it here.
The sports bar is located inside a gigantic hotel and convention center which used to be a Holiday Inn. It isn’t anymore, but still an impressive complex. Comedy gigs in locations like this are what made a lot of the road comic’s income back in the day. There were a lot of them all over the place and strung together they allowed us to piece together a living.
Life is great when the gig and hotel are in the same place. It’s a few hundred feet to get from shower to stage, and most of the gigs were pretty decent. There are fewer and fewer of them these days, but tonight was a throwback to the time when they were everywhere.
The stage, lights and sound for the Decatur gig were never that great, but the people did come out to laugh for the most part and I remember having some rock solid shows at this place. There were also a few where I wanted to jump onto some rocks, but not that many.
One thing I do recall is every time I came back here there was a new manager running it and a different radio station hosting it. That’s pretty typical for these one nighters in small towns, and of course some situations will always be better than others. Tonight was great.
The host was a total sweetheart named Storm who does afternoons at the rock station in town. I had to do a phone in interview this afternoon, and she was sharp and funny on the air which doesn’t happen often. Usually the jocks hate having to put us on the air and it’s a mutual feeling from most comedians who don’t want to do it. Still, it’s part of the game.
I always knew from the start how important doing good radio is. I’ve been on both sides of the issue and the fact is more people will hear a two minute interview on the air than if I headlined any particular venue seven nights a week for a year. Radio gets the word out.
The people who showed up tonight were totally there to laugh. They were with me from start to finish, and lined up to buy a CD afterward. Storm did a great job hosting, and they even upgraded the sound and lights since last time I was here. I enjoyed myself all night.
I didn’t enjoy the drive there and back, and the ‘road chops’ I used to have for so many years are fading quickly. I feel it. I used to be able to drive 1000 miles in a day and go on stage without a hitch. Tonight was barely 500 miles round trip and it seemed like forever. The money wasn’t great either. I’m getting the message. My road dog days are numbered.
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