The smoky, orange haze is upon us, Folks.
I was in Denver for three days. There are no fires in the immediate vicinity but the fires that are tearing through Northern California are generating so much smoke that the skies in Denver were a murky, dry, flaming haze. The sun looked like the sun on the horizon at the end of time. I guess we get used to it until… the end of time. When most of Western America is called the Great Desert.
Dealing with the sky and the altitude makes it very challenging to function. The day I woke up to leave I finally felt like I could breathe properly.
All that said I had some monumental comedy sets at The Comedy Works. It is truly one of the great clubs. It’s a tiered basement room with ceilings so low your head almost touches them. Perfect.
Coming out of months of doing short 15 to 20 minute sets at the Comedy Store every night and the four hour-plus riff shows at Dynasty Typewriter it was time to start tightening what I had. If I actually had anything. It was time to figure out what the bits were and whether or not they can stand on their own. The only place to do that kind of work is a comedy club. Where doing the job is the imperative? The job of getting laughs.
Thursday was fragmented and a little choppy but good. Though it did send me spiraling for the following day. I sat with my dumb notes spread out on a table at the Crema Coffee House in Five Points. I just sat there beating the shit out of myself for doing the work this way. The way I have always done it. I thought, I can’t do this nightclub shit anymore. I don’t need to. Why put myself through late shows on Friday and Saturday? This stuff I’m doing is delicate. It needs to be done in a supportive room. Not for drunks in a nightclub.
Then I remembered. Oh, yeah. I’m a professional fucking comedian and this is the way I have been doing it for 30 plus years. This is how you do the work. You build the set-in front of strangers in a nightclub to make sure the bits have shape and land. Truth be told, at this point, these rooms are supportive. They are my audience coming to see me. Also, there nothing like a comedy club set when it hits. That is where standup happens. It’s the best place to perform and see comedy. Theater shows are for when the frenzy of the work and the riff and the immediacy flattens into an act. Still good, but not the same.
So, despite the spiraling and telling myself I should probably quit, Friday and Saturday were amazing shows. Early and late. I started to structure the hour, figure out the themes, and work some of the bits in different ways to see what sticks. I also started to get rid of pieces that weren’t quite there.
It was a great weekend for me and I believe the people who came saw something real and funny and a bit sad and dark in places but that’s what I do.
All the shows were vax only so there wasn’t that weight of immediate fear in the room which made people a bit more comfortable. All the upcoming club shows that I am doing will be vax only. If some of you believe that infringes on your freedom you are free not to come. It’s a public health issue. Period.
I’ll be in Phoenix at Standup Live this Thursday and Friday. You can check the schedule at wtfpod.com/tour for more dates.
Today I talk to Tom McCarthy, the writer/director of ‘Stillwater’ ‘Spotlight’ and ‘The Station Agent.’ Thursday, I talk to writer/director Sterlin Harjo about his Native life, his feature films and his new show ‘Reservation Dogs.’ Great talks.
Enjoy!
Boomer, Monkey and LaFonda live!
Love,
Maron