Where has Neal been and why haven’t there been any videos of his subpar stand-up performances thus far in October? Both excellent questions. If you follow the blog or any of my thousand +1 social media accounts, you might have known that I did a set at the Hoboken Comedy Festival and I had quite possibly my best set yet (BSY) at Eastville Comedy Club. Before I get into those perfs, I’ll kindly ask you to respond see voo play for my next set at Gotham Comedy Club on Wednesday, November 12th.
Wednesday, November 12th will be my first stand-up comedy set as a 34 year old. I’m entering my last year in the “hip” young adult male demo. My birthday is the previous Sunday, November 9th. There’s no better gift you can give me than showing up and watching me make you laugh.
RSVP by calling 212-367-9000 and saying:
–Your name
–# of people in group, show date & time (11/12 @ 9:30pm)
–My name
Okay, back to my 2 sets from October, neither of which were recorded, either visually or auditorily (aurally?). The first was the Hoboken Comedy Festival fundraiser. This was originally scheduled to take place at Pier 13 “rain or shine” and then the clouds unzipped and pissed buckets. So, the organizers decided to move the show to The Shannon, which is not at all close to Pier 13. The announcement happened around 11a – 12p the morning of the event via email and on the HCF site. No clue if anyone at Pier 13 put up a sign or let anyone know that it moved to the Shannon. Judging by the first hour or so of the show, my guess is probably not. Luckily, the showrunner didn’t know what I looked like and figured I was running late, so he pushed my set back, which ended up being a #blessing because the room was packed when I went up.
The old invisible man interrogation bit at Hoboken Comedy Festival.
The material was fairly Hoboken and Jersey-centric. I had a brainfart heading into my last section of jokes, but the room didn’t mind me pulling my set list for a refresh. I had a couple audience members congratulate me along with a couple comics. That’s always a good sign. I asked the cameraman if he could send me a copy of the video and he said he didn’t film me. That’s on me. Should’ve known to ask beforehand. We (me, the GF, and GF BFF) then proceeded to punish our senses with imbibing the likes of which is reserved for apocalyptic conditions.
We ended up at Willie McBride’s where the black lights highlight every flaw you’ve got. Started off in the front, bought into an open bar for a friend of a friend’s birthday party because it was “worth it”. There’s never an instance where buying an open bar isn’t worth it. And 9 times out of 10 whenever you say it’s worth it, you end up making out with someone, getting kicked out for fighting, or leaving because you have no idea where or who you are before getting your money’s worth.
We migrated to the back of the bar where a cover band called “The Amish Outlaws” was playing all your favorite hits. The lead singer looked like a cross between MTV host Matt Pinfield and that kid who does the dinosaur noises from Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle. The lead guitarist might have been related to WWE’s The Undertaker. Needless to say they weren’t pleased with me head banging and devil horning in the front row while they’re trying to kick game to the groupies.
The next morning it looked The Rapture at my gf’s apartment. Just clothes everywhere…
The next set was Tuesday, October 21st at Eastville Comedy Club. This was my first set there so I had no idea what to expect. Unlike Gotham, Eastville is extremely casual. There were 2 employees (bartenders who doubled as waitresses), the MC / host, and 4 other comedians. Each comic got 8-10 minutes, but I began to freak out when the first comic was left hanging on the stage for what seemed like an additional 8-10 minutes. Would I have to improv and do crowd work? You haven’t lived ’til you’ve seen me in full Scramble mode.
I ended up going third and according to all 14 of the guests I brought in attendance (out of a crowd of 30? 40?), I did well. I incorporated some material from my set at HCF and added in some jokes that I’ve been working on for a while. Only 2 minor slip-ups: 1. No matter how many times I practice saying, “Old habits die hard”, it will come out, “Ol’ dabbits die hard”. 2. Didn’t have to pull the set list from my pocket but I did have to backtrack after forgetting my place. Note to self: Alcohol affects the memory. Time to sign up for Lumosity.
After the show, we hit up Phebe’s, which was a weekend staple for us when I was passable as a 20-something. In the 3 or 4 years since I stopped frequenting, they must’ve renovated because the frat basement environment had been replaced with a lounge-y type aesthetic and a sterilized / sanitized vibe. All I could think was: do people still hook up here? I drank Blue Moons with orange slices thinking it would help my impending flu infection, but my forecast was abjectly off.
And for the second straight time, I didn’t have video. My BSY and no proof, just oral legend, which might benefit me. Without evidence, stories are way better. Hopefully, those 14 people I brought don’t get neutralyzed by the MiB and can spread the gospel of Neal.
Check out my last RECORDED set below…
Neal Lynch 
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