East Coast Trip: New York

It's 5:47 a.m. and I'm at the Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. headed home after an awesome east coast trip. I spent the whole week in New York, and did 3 shows in 4 days. After hearing about the NY comedy scene for so long, and watching and reading about it for all these years, I gotta say it COMPLETELY lived up to the hype. It was my most amazing week as a stand-up comic, without a doubt. Stand-up is so pure out here, there's no bullshit—if you're funny and they'll let you know, and if you aren't funny they'll let you know. There are so many clubs, all of them get at least decent sized crowds for almost every show, and the crowd is full of people who are just fans of good comedy. Maybe this isn't coming out the way I'm thinking it, but sometimes in LA/Hollywood its more about looking/acting like a star and trying to get noticed and star in a movie tomorrow, but out here its simply about being funny.

Tuesday night I was at Caroline's on Broadway, in their new talent showcase. Caroline's is probably the most famous club in New York, right in the heart of Times Square, and I was just so excited to get on that stage and do my thing. I had a lot of friends and family in the area come to the show to see me, which was awesome. I was up 8th out of 10, a pretty good spot, and sat back and watched the others to get a feel for what the crowd was into. Most of the comics were at least pretty good, like any other show there were a million Palin/McCain/Obama jokes, some clever and some not so clever. I'm so tired of political humor, it's been beaten to death so hard lately that there just aren't any more ways to take the topic and use it without sounding like a hack. Anyway, I was lucky because they guy who went right before me was a pro, really went after the crowd and swore a lot and whatnot, but did it well, so the crowd was nice and loose at that point, and nothing I was gonna do was going to shock them after that. I had 7 min, and my set went great. At the risk of sounding like a douche, I had this moment when I first got on stage. I grabbed the mic and said "What's up, New York, how are you guys doin'?" and it was just the fucking coolest thing ever. It's been a year and a half, and I've done about 200 shows—written every single day, studied my favorites, hustled to get stage time, just doing everything in my power to turn this into a career. All of the sudden it hit me: I was on stage at Caroline's on Broadway in Times fucking Square in Ney York City, the stand-up Mecca. Of course, all of this happened in my head in about half a second, so I don't think the crowd noticed what a reminiscing toolbox I was. I had a great set! The crowd was with me from start to finish for the most part, and I ended on a high note and got out of there. I bought the ridiculously overpriced DVD of my set, because what the hell? It was a special occasion. Then I went out with my cousins and friends from home that now live out there, and got really drunk and had a blast.

Wednesday Night I did a set at Broadway Comedy Club. It's a smaller room, but it was a lot of fun. The place was packed, and the crowd was eager. My set went really well, I was having as much fun as they were, and just genuinely excited to be on stage in NY again. After that, I took a cab straight to the Comedy Cellar because I saw that Dave Attell was on the lineup for that night. Attell is the reason I got into comedy, and he is still my hero. I've seen him live a hundred times (slightly exaggerated) but I knew that the Comedy Cellar was his workout spot for all these years, and I wanted to see him working out new stuff. The entire lineup was great—the Cellar is probably the most famous workout spot for the biggest names in comedy and they did not disappoint. Jay Oakerson and Nick Griffin were great, and I can't remember the names of the other two or three but they were all total pros. But Attell had me rolling. He shows up in his huge winter jacket, black beanie, sipping hot tea while on stage. He could not have been more casual. "Halloween, or as the pedophiles call it… The Super Bowl." I was dying. What a fucking genius. Anyway, it was a great night, both as a performer and as a fan.

Took Thursday off from shows, and met up with a bunch of guys from my fraternity in college that live out here now. It was great. We got hammered all night, took us right back to college. It's rough when you get so drunk when its so damn cold outside, cuz you get cocky with your ability to tolerate the cold. It was an extremely chilly walk home—thank god I have numbed all my nerves with about a dozen pints of Brooklyn Lager.

Friday I did a show at Stand Up NY on the upper Westside. On the bill with me was an SNL writer, a guy who tours with Dave Attell across the country, and Godfrey. Quite the company for a small crowd. My set went great and I got a lot of great feedback from these comics that I have a ton of respect for. The general manager of the club told me I did great and to call him on Monday. Hope that means more NY gigs in the future!

Overall, I loved the city and I especially loved the stand up scene. It's amazing out there, and I definitely plan on living there at least for a year or two at some point in my life.