Class Action In A Suit

Saturday June 21st, 2008 - Chicago, IL

This is the longest day of the year. After today it’s all down hill. Sunlight decreases by a few seconds each day and before long it’s the dead of winter again. Today is as good as it gets and everything is operating at it’s top peak from the weather to our week at Zanies.

Tonight we had three shows which is never easy especially this time of year. Comedy is difficult enough without having to deal with the sun still being out. There’s something not right about that and the first show at 7:00 puts us right in the trick bag. It’s a tough sell.

Most three show nights are similar. The early show is tight because they haven’t eaten a meal yet and it’s the beginning of their evening. The middle show at 9:00 is usually really hot and by far the best of the week and then the late one at 11:15 is the drunken debacle.

That’s not 100% guaranteed but more often than not it’s pretty accurate. By that last one most comedians aren’t exactly sure what material they’ve already done and it can get very confusing. I like to switch it up more than the average comic so I have to really stay alert.

To make it even tougher we recorded the early show tonight. The radio station wants to have clips to put on their website and Marc Schultz wants us to make a DVD so he can go out and try to sell us for corporate work. The only show we were able to record was 7:00.

There weren’t many people there but enough to record. Marc wanted us all in suits but I don’t feel comfortable in a suit on stage anymore. I used to go with that look and had a lot of suits but I’ve evolved and now it doesn’t fit what I’m doing anymore. I just don’t like a suit on stage because I feel claustrophobic. I like to be free to punctuate with physicality.

Marc knows what he’s talking about though and I didn’t argue with him. If I had a name recognition factor I could wear a diaper and mukluks on stage if I wanted. To get the gigs now I have to play their game and that involves dressing how they expect me to. I get it.

But I still wanted to put my own flavor in it so I wore my tuxedo instead. Who argues a tuxedo? It’s different and hopefully will stand out a little. I made some jokes about being a theatre manager and I kept my whole act squeaky clean for the DVD. It worked nicely.

The station will be able to take clips for the website and Marc will have plenty to work with for a corporate demo so I made the best of an opportunity. Maybe I’ll have to wear a tux for corporate gigs but I don’t care. If they’re paying me I’ll wear whatever they want.

The point is that I now have a new video. I put some different material on it than my old one and left out what I thought could be controversial in any way. My big closing bit for a club about stupid people not breeding gets huge laughs but it scares off potential work too so I left it off. I know it works and I’ve polished it to a point that when I need to use it it’s right there and ready to go. Marc has told me people love it but are afraid to book me as it may offend somebody. That’s how that crowd thinks so I won’t argue and do it their way.

The 9:00 show is the big tester. That is usually the best show of the week at Zanies and all clubs that do three shows on a Saturday. As a rule there are NO comp tickets this show and everybody pays. It’s the money show and it’s assumed this will be a prime audience.

All those assumptions came true tonight. The show was jam packed and when Jerry hit the stage it hit me just how cool it is to be working the downtown Zanies in Chicago even if we didn’t sell out every show this week. This is a major deal and it’s finally sinking in.

The audience for the money show was spectacular. They got every little nuance and it’s a thrill when that happens because laughs are contagious and it’s easy to get on a big roll. They loved Ken Sevara’s Harry Caray impression and Tim Slagle was on fire. His stuff is very subtle and smart and not all crowds get how bright he is but these people got all of it.

When I got on I took no prisoners and launched right into my greatest hits. This wasn’t the show to experiment because they all paid full price and I wouldn’t cheat them. I went right to what I know works and work it did. I had to stand there and let them finish their waves of laughter so I could move on to the next bit. This is as good as it gets in comedy.

Standing on stage at Zanies in Chicago on a Saturday night wearing a tuxedo waiting as people finished laughing was a moment I wish I had a picture of to show my grandfather. I hope he saw that because he would have been pretty proud. I worked very hard to get all of that to come together and I thought of it as I stood there watching the crowd go nuts.

In all honesty I don’t really care if we come back as a group to the downtown club but it never gets old to me as a single performer. Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld and a whole lot of other big time comedians have worked Zanies and every time I’m on that stage it’s cool.

The Jerry’s Kidders concept really isn’t shooting for clubs and the ones we should focus on are in the suburbs where the WLS listeners are. Pheasant Run would be a much better choice for us and we will probably do it at some point but for now we got our ball rolling.

The late show wasn’t horrible at all but it wasn’t very crowded. I changed out of the tux and came back to Earth. I know how to entertain a smaller audience and this was one that wasn’t very drunk at all so at least I had a chance. Actually I liked them and we had a fun time together. I was still high from that middle show but that’s ok. It ended the night well.

This was a long week and it’s not over yet. There is a Sunday show and that’s usually a let down after a big three show Saturday but not always. Sometimes those shows can be a pleasant surprise. No matter what happens this week put a lot of good things in motion on a lot of levels. The station is happy with us and the perception is we’re a successful entity.

We are a successful entity. This is a very strong show and it’s being tailored to work for a WLS crowd who listens and reads the paper and doesn’t behave like drunken frat boys. I for one love the thought of working in theatres to people who aren’t drinking $1 beers in plastic cups by the dozen. The longest day of the year was the peak of a lot of work so far.