Sunday, April 02, 2006

Breaking through a plateau

Had a couple gigs last night. On my way to the Upper Deck Sports Bar and Grille, in beautiful Barre, Massachusettes, we stopped off at 3G's Sports Bar in Worcester, for Andy Paquette's open mic. Andy was gracious enough to give me a few minutes on stage, even after I interrupted his hosting with a cell phone call. Got a few laughs there, though it was hard to tell from the stage who was laughing and who wasn't. Left there and headed for my next gig, put on by the wonderfully bubbly Anne Diaz. It was upstairs in a bar at a snow park, which was a really nice venue. My friend Dave Kanell went on first, and had a great set, the best I have seen him have since we have been doing shows together, he's really progressing very well. I got up next and in my own estimation, as well as a few audience members who sought me out after the show, absolutely destroyed. Once again, no notes, I ad libbed, messed with the crowd a bit, even threw out a new joke I used for the first time earlier in the night at the 3G's open mic. Anne went up next and had a great set, no surprise there, followed soon after by Sparky. This guy, is a certifiable nut! He does a great mix of improv, stand up, and music, with a ton of crowd work, and he got a ton of laughs as well. Had a few drinks and talked with some people after the set and headed home. I feel like I'm breaking through a plateau lately with my comedy. Getting up once a month was doing nothing for me, and now that I am able to go up at least once a week, I am improving by leaps and bounds.