Oregon, People!
Beautiful state. No doubt.
It seems I am willing to go to almost any length to avoid flying in and out of LAX. I flew into Portland on Thursday, rented a car and drove to Eugene on Friday. Because I could fly to Portland from Burbank direct and I figured it would be nice to hang out in Portland for a night. It was.
It turned out that Michael Ian Black was in town there at Helium Comedy Club. I can’t even remember the last time I saw that guy. I’ve known him since the early '90s, probably. We’ve always had a slightly dickish relationship. We used to snark it out on Twitter in the early days of that platform and for some reason we started at each other again here at the end of that platform. That’s how I found out he was in Portland. So, I DMed him that I was there and he told me to come down and get on stage with him. I didn’t really want to get on stage but I thought why not go watch the guy. It was probably ’95 when I last saw him do standup and I was mad about it. It was the days of the Luna Lounge and I really had a problem with sketch people doing standup because I was some kind of bitter purist. I resented it. I still do a little.
I went down to the club and went into the dressing room. It was good to see him. It’s odd when you’ve known someone that long and you both look at each other and see all the years that have gone by. Just a couple of middle-aged dudes who made it through and are still at it.
His act was good. It was tight, personal and funny. He’s an odd, sad guy. He brought me on stage for 15 minutes or so. We just talked, got some laughs, I got off and he finished his act. It was fun. Shit like that doesn’t happen too often to me anymore. Just comics having fun on stage dicking around. Riffing it out a bit.
Before I drove down to Eugene the next day I stopped by Ship John to say hi to the gang over there. I caught up with Mike. I got some pants, shirts and actually needed gloves which I got as well. The ones I brought were all fucked up. It was cold. Not NY cold but cold enough. I brought the wrong jacket.
The drive to Eugene was bright and not that great. I was a little disappointed. The show at the Hult was fine. Tory Ward from Portland opened for me. She’s funny, dirty.
The drive from Eugene to Bend was spectacular. Made me remember why I love the Pacific Northwest. The big trees, the hard-edged mountains, the rivers. Stunning. Made me remember Alaska from my childhood. Made me think of Keasey.
The show in Bend was fraught but fine. Ski towns give me the willies somehow. Too small for me.
The drive back up to Portland was awesome. I got there a little early so I had breakfast with Mike and flew back into Burbank with a stopover. That’s how much I hate LAX.
I’m staying in LA for Thanksgiving. I’m going to cook a brisket, stuffing and a Chess Pie and go to my friend Dan’s house with Kit.
Have a good holiday, people.
Today I talk to Robert Siegel about his new series Welcome to Chippendales, The Wrestler, being the editor of The Onion and other stuff. On Thursday I’ll post my live episode I recorded in London with David Baddiel. Great talks.
Enjoy!
Boomer, Monkey and LaFonda live!
Love,
Maron
Brisket, Stuffing.
