With my voice pretty much back to normal, it was perfect timing for a show. This evening I was in Kentish Town at Monkey Business, sharing a bill with the usual ragtag group of upstarts plus one of the finest comic minds of the last decade in the form of Steve Merchant. To say I was excited was an understatement.
As is often the way, reality came along to yank the rug of glee from under me, so while it was very nice to meet Steve and to see him at work, because he’d double booked himself he had to go on first and Russell Howard – who was due to go on towards the end – dropped out at the last minute, the night really dragged. The room was packed to the rafters early on, but people slowly filtered out as the evening wore on and with no real running order beyond where Steve and Russell (ably replaced by the impressive Simon Brodkin) were set to come on, we lowly newcomers were left to go on as and when.
I went on last. The last one of the night. You could argue that I was headlining, but you’d be wrong: I was just the last one on, playing to a room containing just less than half of the people I was excitedly hoping to perform to when I first got to the venue, but thems the breaks, I guess.
The show must go on. You must muster all that you can muster and if there is just one paying customer in the room, you play. You do that show and you do it as best you can. This is likely to be the way things work come Edinburgh 2010, so it’s good to get used to it.
I just jest, of course. Just as tonight went pretty well all things considered. That makes it sound like I’m making excuses or deluding myself, neither of which is the case – I’m full of humility when I need to be and none is required tonight. It was good, solid, decent and steady, and if the room was as packed and electric for me as it was at the start of the night I think I might have been able to throw a few superlatives into the mix, but that’s the name of the game at this stage.
The onus is on me to get moving up through those stages when I can.
Just one vowel away from being a completely different kind of sentence which, admittedly, wouldn’t make any sense and would be completely out of context.
2 responses so far ↓
Will // October 10, 2009 at 11:30 pm |
I do wonder what the optimum slot must be (at an open mic at least). I wonder if it’s ending the first section. You don’t want to be on too early because the crowd hasn’t warmed up, but – as you point out – going on at the end mean people have left (sometimes including the other open mic comics – tut tut).
Going on earlier also means not having to worry so much about someone doing the topics of your jokes first (I probably worry too much about that) and also being able to start drinking sooner, as I try to gig sober…
jameswilliamsmith // October 10, 2009 at 11:46 pm |
Usually I’d say somewhere in the middle, pre-interval. On this particular occasion, any time post-Merchant and pre-Brodkin would have been preferable because the audience was still there and, as Brodkin proved later on, still in the mood to laugh – problem was that a number of the acts in the middle were pretty hack and didn’t give them much of an opportunity to do so. When that happens I actually find myself champing at the bit to get out there so I can try to show them how it’s done, which probably sounds a bit big-headed but there is some measure of pleasure to be had in following a misogynist act with jokes about gingers, rape, paedophilia and the X-Factor.