I Ain't There Yet

Saturday December 27th, 2008 - Milwaukee, WI

Just when I thought I was having kick ass shows on a regular basis along comes ‘one of those nights’ to keep me humble. I hadn’t had one of these in a long time but tonight sure let me know I’m a long way from being able to get cocky. I’ve got a LOT of work to do.

I was back at the Northern Lights Theatre at Potawatomi Casino where last week I let it rip for two really hot shows. I was happy with both of them even though there wasn’t that many people there to see them. The ones that did come were great and I loved them all.

Tonight I had quite a few old friends and acquaintances and even relatives come out for both shows and I thought I wasn’t even close to being on my game. For whatever reason I had a hard time getting into my groove whereas last week I had a hard time getting out of it. I could do no wrong last week but this week I felt as if I couldn’t buy myself a laugh.

It’s just like that sometimes and I don’t know why. Is it diet or biorhythms or the moon and tides? Who knows? I sure don’t. All I know is after both shows tonight I wanted to be able to erase them from my memory bank and the audience’s too. I didn’t like either one.

The funny thing is I had people lining up after both shows to tell me how funny I was. It was almost to the point of embarrassment. The more I thought I tanked it the more people came up and said ‘I’ve seen you before and you were funny but TONIGHT was the best!’

I had to rip into a couple of front row hecklers and I am way sick of doing that by now. I know how to do it but I don’t like it. Maybe that’s what the other people liked. I haven’t a clue. The wait staff had all kinds of complimentary things to say after both shows and that caught me totally by surprise too. I truly thought I had two of my worst shows in a while.

That’s a part of the game. The staff has always liked me here and that doesn’t hurt. Plus I had several of my regulars come out to support me and they’d like me if I stood up there and read the backs of soup cans. Maybe they said they enjoyed the show because they did.

My friend Mark Krueger and I have been friends for over 20 years. We worked together at 93QFM and he’s one of the most naturally funny people I know. His wife Amy is sharp and funny herself and has been not feeling well for a long time. I admire her courage and I always am flattered when they come out because Mark tells me Amy thinks I’m hilarious.

THAT’S pressure to me. I could eat cheese in front of 2000 strangers and sleep soundly ten minutes later but it really matters to me if Amy Krueger has a good time just because I respect her so much. She has more fight in her than 100 ‘regular’ people and she takes it a lot better than I think I could. Knowing she’s in the audience makes me want to be great.

Mark is also a solid judge of funny. He could have easily been a comic himself but he’s still very creative. He plays in bands and is an excellent guitar player and buys and sells a few collector’s records. Like me he’s got a lot of projects going but he still supports me.

That makes me feel like I owe them both a good show just for coming. Another group who has supported me is from the Tom Green Elvis shows. They all came out last week and brought a few more people this week and it was really flattering to see them as well.

We had dinner before the show and joining us was a guy named Don Schmitt who’s an upcoming guest on the Mothership Connection radio show next week. He’s an expert on Roswell and he wrote some really interesting books on the subject and he thought I was a laugh riot. That wasn’t the show I wanted him to see but he did and he thought I rocked.

My former orthodontist Grace Machi came out too and brought her father Tony. He was the owner of the building on Farwell Avenue that was the Funny Bone Comedy Club way back when I was starting out. I hadn’t seen him in 20 years and he said he had a lot of fun.

Hearing that from Tony Machi really meant something. He played a gruff businessman back then but was really a gentle funny mellow guy and I always liked him. He predicted I would go far in the business because I used to snap back at him when he’d bust my balls back then and I made him laugh. Seeing him tonight again after all these years was great.

Neil Sorensen came out to support as he usually does as did my friend Greg Chadwell. I have a special place in my heart for Greg because I’ve known him since high school days. We worked at a steak restaurant called ‘The Rustler’ and were both cooks. That was not a great restaurant if they were letting ME do any cooking but it did pay my bills for a while.

Greg brought some people and he thought it was a good show as did my old cable show partner Tim Marszalkowski who was in town seeing his mother for the holidays. Tim and his wife showed up to support and it’s always great to see Timmy. He’s a life long friend.

Mark Shilobrit and his wife Tracey came out along with magician Glen Gerard. It’s not often comedians come to see other comedians but those guys showed up to support and it felt beyond good to see them all. I was grateful for all of them but I still felt I stunk it up.

I’m not going to argue. Every one of them came up and said how especially funny I was tonight and I just smiled and said a sincere thank you. I know in my heart I can do MUCH better and I will focus on making that happen. I’m not satisfied with tonight in the least.

What did feel great was that so many people came out to support me. Yes the tickets are free at the Northern Lights Theatre but still to get someone out of the house these days for any reason is no small accomplishment. Whether anyone paid a penny to get in or not is a moot point. What really means something to me is every one of the people who came out.

It’s strange how performers are. Most of the ones I know want to please an audience but we want to do it our way. Maybe they don’t like it that way and want to enjoy the show in their own manor. It’s up to us to let them do that even if it differs from how we see it. I’m not getting cocky and even though tonight wasn’t how I wanted it I am still grateful for all the fantastic people who came out with the express purpose of seeing me. I ain’t there yet.