Taking one for the team

So the Katrina benefit was fun. I ended up being first, which is a mixed bag. On the one hand, you're kicking off the show, which is cool. On the other, you get the audience at their absolute coldest, and nothing has been established as to what kind of audience they are.

It is a point of pride with me to be happy to kick off a show, since some people don't like to do it. Plus, a lot of the first paying gigs I'm likely to get will be as an MC when part of my job will be to take that bullet for the rest of the lineup.

"You're a great looking crowd! Give yourselves a hand for coming out to support live comedy, huh? Huh?"

This venue, which is a bar/restaurant/coffee shop/art gallery, usually has a good crowd, but very few are actually there for the comedy. Most are there for the coffee and the free wi-fi. The crowd is never more than about 1/2 into it anyway, so I don't judge myself too harshly.

So given that, I did well. I got laughs, about what I expected. I got what I might call a near applause break. (It started, but it couldn't overcome the inertia of the rest of the audience. Oh well.) I did one bit that I have done a few times, including in the contest, that didn't work too well. Consequently, it is now on the scrap heap. It happens, you move on.