Come See My AXS TV “Gotham Comedy Live” Audition Audition

I’m performing a 6 minute set on the 9:30pm “New Talent Showcase” at Gotham Comedy Club. The booker said he would be selecting 1 comic from this show and 1 comic from the earlier show to audition for “Gotham Comedy Live”, which airs live Thursdays at 10pm ET on AXS.tv. It’s an audition for an audition. A pre-audition. And you’re invited. Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, ‘cuz I’m makin’ everyone laugh up in Gotham on Wednesday, August 27th.

RSVP by calling 212-367-9000 and saying:
–Your name
–# of people in group, show date & time (8/27 @ 9:30pm)
–My name

In listening to all my sets since I started in January 2013, I noticed there’s a lot of dead air. Lot of silence. My girlfriend’s boss said a lot of my jokes were, “too smart”, but I think that’s code for “no one gets your jokes, homey.” That’s always been a struggle for me; do I “dumb” the material down to get broader acceptance and comprehension or should I stick to my more obscure / abstract stuff in the hopes of cultivating a strong, more closely knit, loyal, cult, niche following?

Way back when I started my blog (Blogger.com WHAT) in the summer of 2003… Jesus… I would take a simple joke and stuff so much into it then pour so much on top of it, that it went over the heads of 99% of the readers. I didn’t want to be cliche and I guess a little part of me wanted the reader to work for the fulfillment. Looking back I think I was trying to be too clever or cute. I’ve always had a torrid, lustful, passionate affair with words and I’ve always wanted to create new ones in the process. Stop trying to make “fetch” happen, Neal. That said, I just came up with like a dozen new words that I hope to work into an upcoming set.

So, what about this set on Wednesday, August 27th, 2014 at 9:30 pm ET (21:30 military time)? Countless friends have told me to go with my best jokes from the past. That’s what lead me to reviewing all my old sets. Man, was that brutal. Though, I think if I’d given my material to a seasoned comic, it would’ve done way better. Thanks, Captain Obvious. No problem, Sergeant Sarcasm. The key is to really dig deep into the material to find the inherent comedy without being too predictable. Then, rehearsing the material so it’s second nature. On 2 or 3 occasions now, the booker has told me “Lot of people here tonight, bring your A game, use your ‘A’ material.” Really helpful when I’m about to take the stage with ALL NEW material. I don’t even have ‘A’ material!

Anyway, the point is, I’m going to use the ‘best of’ my prior sets, but I’ve modified them and sprinkled in some new stuff so my friends don’t complain. It would help if some of my readers (HINT: YOU) would get the word out. Even if you come (ew) and don’t get my jokes, do as David Bowie says and “just laugh, put on your red shoes and…”