Saturday February 11th, 2012 - Kenosha, WI Finally, after more than 25 years of trying in utter futility, I was the headliner of a show at a venue with a capacity of more than 100 that was legitimately sold out, jammed to the rafters nuts to butts and then some. I didn’t think it would take this long, and I sure won’t get cocky. Even though I was the headliner for the night, I wasn’t the reason they came. This was the 7th annual Valentine’s Weekend dinner and show package at the Parkway Chateau in Kenosha, WI, which is technically The Brat Stop. It’s an event put on by WIIL radio, the FM sister station of WLIP where I do The Mothership Connection on Sundays. The event has been building each year, and this was their biggest to date. The facility is quite nice, and was decked out to the nines with banquet tables and linen cloths to prepare for a fantastic spread of delicious food before the show. A lot of work went into putting it together, and I take zero credit whatsoever. I knew I was just a hired gun for the evening. Fletcher Lee is a promoter in the area who has been running all kinds of shows for years from music to comedy and everything in between. He’s a musician by trade, and everyone likes him. He’s fair and reasonable, and I’ve never heard of anyone ever feeling ripped off after working for him. We’ve done business for at least twenty years with never an issue. Fletcher and WIIL teamed up on this event years ago, and are building it together. I was asked to be part of it this year, and I’m delighted. I was able to suggest Dwight York to be on the show too, even though I don’t consider him an opener. This was a double headliner show, and the reason he came down here this week. Our other shows were added fillers. The evening was billed as ’Prime Rib Buffet And Comedy Show’, and that’s probably a wise move. I wish I were the draw, but I know I’m not. I like prime rib too, so I get how it works - even though it’s a direct kick in the balls of our ego. Dwight knew it also, and we laughed it off as much as we could. The fact is, anyone else could have been booked here. This wasn’t about any individual comedians. It was about a radio station promotion that has been building for seven years, and we just happened to be the ones that got the gig for this year. Next year, two other comedians will get it and we’ll be long forgotten. The true star of the evening is always the prime rib, and it never disappoints. How can I compete? The show tonight was sold out and then some. They were turning away people who had assumed they could get in, and it felt good to see them bringing out more tables to seat all those who were there. I’m not used to being part of shows like this, and I enjoyed all of it. Next week I’ll be back to struggling, but for one night I got to play Mr. Show Business. I know how to do shows in situations like this, and so does Dwight. We’ve both paid an overwhelmingly insane amount of dues to be able to walk calmly into a situation like this and blow the doors, windows and roof off of a packed house. It was a pleasure to share an evening like this with a friend who deserved it, as did I. It took long enough to get here.
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