June 22nd, 2023

Recently I headlined a show at one of my favorite clubs. I was having a good time until the "check drop" which is when the staff drops the checks about 35-40 mins into the headliner's set (some clubs wait till the end, which is awesome!) At that point, everyone is looking at their bills, doing math for the check or splitting checks. All momentum is lost, especially if you are in the middle of a 2-3 min joke/story. It went South fast for me because I didn't get the big laugh at the end of the joke I was in the middle of, and I panicked to get them to focus on me again. I did crowd work. I did jokes about them taking too long to pay the bills, everything. Nothing seemed to work. I felt like I lost them for a good 10 minutes before I did some closers and got them back. It messed with me.

I went to grab a cigar after the show at the cigar bar nearby where a guy ran up to me and said "I got whatever he wants!" to the clerk. He was at the show with his wife and they said they loved my set so much. They were regulars at the club and had seen me before, opening for another act. They kept track of me and when I was returning. I did tell them I was not happy with the end of the show and the "check drop" but they genuinely didn't seem to notice.

Soon, another group of four from the show sitting a little further back came up to me to take pictures, quoting my jokes back to me. They said I made their night, after a long trying day dealing with a tragedy. It made my night. Their kind words change the view I had of the show when I lated watched my video of the show as well. So share your good thoughts with comedians and artists when you see them, we may need it more than you know. #standup #careerchange #kindwords #laughs