Recently, I had a somewhat extreme 48 hours in comedy. I arrived late to the city to headline a Thursday show which was supposed to start at 8pm but because ticket sales were better than expected, didn't start until 8:20pm as more and more people arrived to be seated. Some of the city's best comedians opener for me and crushed it. By the time I went on stage just before 10pm, I had, at best a mediocre set and at worst a bomb. It was late for a Thursday, but I should have done better and as a seasoned pro, I should have adjusted to the late show and the energy in the room but I didn't.
The next day I was scheduled to feature (open) a weekend for a friend of mine at a club I have been trying to get into for a few years. Twenty minutes before the first show on Friday, a disgruntled employee was threatening my friend's life so we had to cancel the shows. I quickly texted a few other comedian friends randomly in town that I knew to see if I could get up on their shows. I also looked up flights to leave town the next day to avoid a weekend without shows if that didn't work out. They both said ok. As I was leaving to go to the other venue, the manager of the club contacted me to say the other show (same club, different room) they had that weekend did not have a feature all weekend. I called my friends who gave me spots and said it would not be necessary. I ended up featuring all weekend with a comedian I knew and respected and had four amazing shows. Then, that Saturday the shows that I was scheduled to perform resumed as planed, so I did those shows as well. I was on a high. Well, the next day, I found out a gig I was headlining in March was cancelled for another comedian who had 500k followers on social media. About two hours later, I got a call where I was made a headliner for the Improv in Chicago this Sunday when the scheduled headliner had a conflict and had to leave town early. Two ups, Two downs, ending on a high. Comedy #standup #formerlawyer #comedian
0 Comments
I was asked this recently after I posted a rather benign criticism of the President's response to a national tragedy last week. Anytime someone rushes to blame, regardless of party, without an investigation, due process or some due diligence, I will be sure to point it out. Everyone should. I was working in Washington DC when the Oklahoma City bombings happened and I remember a few lawmakers rushed to blame terrorists from Iran and I was worried about my family who is Iranian and lived in Oklahoma city. Thankfully cooler voices in office made sure that blame game stopped until more information was received.
Even though I don't practice law anymore, I still love the legal system and justice. In the past, I have posted about current affairs not only from a comedic standpoint but also legal, given my background. While most recently I have been critical of the President, in the past I have been critical of the left as well. Cancel culture is a problem when people paint broad strokes to include mild infractions with criminal abusers. I also provide legal information to folks, when I can. For example, I was on the judicial review for judges when I practiced law for the Chicago Bar Association. After investigations and due diligence, a non-partisan group of lawyers determined who was qualified and not qualified to be a judge. I share those results for Chicago voters every year, even though I no longer do the investigations. This is information, not opinion. In 2020, I provided information on election law when people were questioning the legality of then President Trumps claims. A lot of his supporters accused me of a false narrative when I explained the actual law and precedent (or lack thereof). I had done some election law cases when I practiced, representing elected officials who were both Republican and Democrat. That being said, when I see something that affects me or people I am connected to, I will likely speak up, especially if it touches on the law. If I lose sensitive fans because of that, perhaps those are not the type of who would be an ideal fanbase at a comedy show. Critical thinking is required for some of my jokes, I guess. So the short answer is, I guess I am not afraid of losing a few fans. #standup #blog #formerlawyer #duediligence We lost another soul in comedy. It seems that Stand Up comedians never die a natural death. So many die way to soon. When I was a lawyer for almost 20 years, I can only remember one unnatural death. Just over 10 years in stand up comedy, I can count well over 10. Every year, we lose at least another one well before their time.
Unlike other jobs where you may get a yearly review, we get reviewed every 30 seconds. You don't laugh at a joke, that's a bad review. You don't have a good show, that's a bad review. There are even customer reviews which can result in bad reviews. There is self doubt daily and comparisons to not only yourself and your other shows, but your peers and their success as well. It's hard to deal with, especially if you started comedy at a young age with limited traditional structures of a job or a career. Then there are the coping mechanisms. I saw a lot of substance abuse as a musician, band manager and also as a lawyer, but nowhere near the levels I see in comedy. We get paid with free drinks for Christ-sake! Drugs and alcohol are a big part of any creative, but for some reason, it seems that comedians always have the most "fun" and the most use of substances to "enhance" or "heal" us. Dealing with this career leads to all sorts of unhealthy habits. Like timing on stage, timing for your career often depends not only on talent but luck and circumstances beyond your control. When those align, you can have some success. Unless you are undeniable. When you are undeniable, all the gatekeepers and forces cannot stop you. Your talent guides you to new levels where the world can see you shine. And that's what Ken Flores was. Undeniable. He took off like a rocket and never looked back. He was a unique voice who took chances on stage with no fear. Even with all his success, he stayed humble and kind. He was only 28 and we lost him this week. He will be missed. Take care of yourselves and each other. hashtag#standup hashtag#kenflores hashtag#rip I don't think there is any topic off limits, so long as you can handle the topic in a funny, unique and/or intelligent manner. Trying to talk about something just to "shock" your audience is just not funny to me. I love dry and dark comedy but it has to be funny. If you are gonna punch down on a group or a topic that is sensitive to people, it should be funny. Same if you are being political or punching up. If your punchline is "Shut up, that was funny!" when people moan, that's not funny. Do better.
On the flip side, I also hate comedy that just looks for applause. That's not funny, thats "clapter." If you want to make a point, political or social, it should also be funny, in my opinion. Otherwise, its just a speech or a soapbox. You may be brave for making a political point about your cause or your political candidate, but people paid money for you to make them laugh. They can agree or disagree with your cause or politics online, for free. And yes, they can watch comedy for free there too but its better live! What do you think? Love these questions. Hope to see you at a show. #standup #comedy #clapter 100% not true. To begin with I did use all my degrees in a traditional sense, as I had a political science and speech communications background and my law degress which was used when I practiced law and worked on various campaigns and for various cities as a lawyer. And of course, the speech communications degree honed my skills as a litigator and public speaker. That being said, all of my degrees are so vital to my comedy career. I'm not saying you need a law degree to do stand up comedy but it helps.
Einsten said "education is not the learning of facts, but the training of minds to think." My legal mind helps me dissect observations I may write about and of course, my training allows me to think on my feet and respond to changes I face at shows. I love the fact that my undergrad and legal education provides me with the ability to think critically and use my logic and reasoning, not only when I write jokes and perform but it reading everyday news and responding to politically charged news articles. I used to think that a college degree was not needed unless you used your major, but thats simply not true in today's world. We see it with false narratives spread daily and a push to keep people uninformed on the issues facing the world. Oh and college also helps with organization and planning, allegedly. I'm still working on the latter as my friends will tell you, I can't plan anything. Thanks for reading and hope to see you in Oak Park this weekend and Little Rock and Sarasota later this month! #standup #comedy #formerlawyer Photo by Connor Daly |
AuthorPaul Farahvar is a comedian hailing from Chicago, Ill. Archives
February 2025
Categories |
Paul Farahvar Comedy
All From Paul
SUbscribe TO WHy ARE YOU AWAKE on YOUTUBE! |
Buy My Merch |
SHOWS |
clips & Press |
WHY ARE YOU AWAKE? |
MIXTAPE PODCAST |