Back on stage, folks!
Ridiculous.
I really thought that I may be done with comedy. I thought I had said enough or there wasn’t really much more for me to say or I was just tired. I thought I could walk away from it, walk away from show business and all the expectations and bullshit that come along with it. I still think I can. What I realized is—it doesn’t matter. I don’t have to do anything. I can do it because I just want to or, maybe, I get some joy out of it or some enlightenment or some excitement, find some personal truth, get some laughs.
What I realized is that comedy doesn’t have to be life or death.
After all my wallowing and wondering, what really compelled me to get up on stage was the same thing that always does, spite. Competitiveness. Not wanting to miss anything. As soon as I saw other comics, my peers, planning tours and putting themselves out there I thought, fuck this, then I have to get out there.
I did my first sets last Friday and Saturday in the Original Room at The Comedy Store the second weekend it was open. I had to.
Leading up to it I felt no fear and I may have been excited. I’m not sure. All I know is I am so happy I waited to work at a real club, the club. I didn’t sell myself short out of one kind of desperation or another and do drive-in shows or outdoor shows. It would’ve been terrible for my spirit.
The Comedy Store is like home, like Mecca, like the rock. Seeing the place, seeing my peers, getting up on the stage, holding that mic, sitting on that stool. It comes right back to ya. Well, actually, it’s always there. Part of me lives up there. A big part of me. I am a comic to the core.
It was emotional and exciting to be there. Doesn’t matter that it was at low capacity and that there were not that many people there in the sold-out room. It’s a comedy club. We’ve all played for small, scattered audiences. Usually at the end of the night and they’re wasted. This is at the beginning of the night and they couldn’t be more excited to be there. They are getting used to being an audience again and we are getting our chops back and our acts together. Good stuff.
Today I talk to the legend that is Steve Miller. His songs are in us. On Thursday I talk to Kristen Hersh about Throwing Muses and her solo career and her books and her kids and life. Great talks!
Enjoy!
Boomer, Monkey and LaFonda live!
Love,
Maron