What Makes It All Worth It

Saturday March 28th, 2009 - St. Charles, IL

The early show tonight at Zanies in Pheasant Run is an example of what has kept me in this business for an entire lifetime. There was a magical chemistry between the audience’s vibe and mine that was as close to a perfect match as I’ve ever seen. It was magnificent.

I’ve had good shows and bad ones but this was in a zone by itself. I don’t think I’ve had a dozen shows like this in my entire life that have been this good of a match. I felt like I’d known them all for years and we were just hanging out and having fun. And we all were.

What made it so special was that it lasted the whole show. There were no weak spots in a forty-five minute set and it built perfectly. I started strong and finished stronger. It feels as if I just bowled a 300 game or hit a hole in one. The stars aligned in my favor tonight.

This audience was a touch on the sick and twisted side which also helped make it work so well. They could take whatever I dished out and I knew it. That made me try to go for a few shock lines which totally worked. That can be delicate if they don’t buy it but tonight they totally did. It was like they were all on the same page and I was reading it to them.

Part of what helped was that there were two larger groups in attendance. Some of them obviously knew each other so there was a familiarity there but they were different groups so they were still strangers. To have them all come together so well was a rare happening.

After the show I was totally drained. I gave them all I had and they loved it. I did too. It was as good as comedy gets and that’s pretty damn good. I even remembered to bring my postcards to pass out and I sat and shook hands and passed out cards until everyone left.

These are the shows that keep us all going when it gets rough. The high is that intense. I knew it while it was happening and I just enjoyed the moment. I was totally free up there. I’m finally learning to enjoy myself during my shows. It’s like an out of body experience. It took years to learn how to do it right but now I can sit back and let instincts take over.

The late show wasn’t nearly as good. It was also full of chatty people and I had to deal with that all night. This was the late show Friday we didn’t have last night but after a hot show like the early one I didn’t really care. That buzz would last me the rest of the night.

That’s a good thing because I needed it on the way home. The weather was nasty and it was snowing hard as I heard a thumping noise coming from under my car. Apparently I’d hit a nail or a pothole or something and it shredded my front passenger side tire. I was not near civilization so I nursed it a couple of miles until I was at an identifiable intersection.

Of course my AAA membership had expired and I didn’t know that. It was a huge pain in the ass to get a tow truck to get me at 1am which became 2:30 by the time one came to help. A local cop was great and helped me find a tow truck and waited until it came and I really appreciate it. Highs and lows in the same day are what make life such an adventure.