The night started regular enough, with me sitting at home trying to come up with a reason not to go. But I decided to go ahead and meet him there. He told me he was going to go up for an open mic (it was less of an open mic and more of an amateur comedy challenge) in front of a lot of people, so I thought I should be there for support or at the very least to throw the first stone to get the ball rolling. A really loud band was playing and it was very mediocre but it was ok because a Professional Comedian would be coming up after the open mic. The room applauded as the band finished their song but I could see my buddy trying to hide his nerves as he sipped his drink that was only missing an umbrella. I guess he was trying to loosen up before he had to go up but who can blame him, I get crippling stage fright so who am I to criticize his process.
The MC goes up. He does this weird little dance thing where I’m pretty sure everybody is laughing at him instead of with him. I would soon learn that laughs are laughs. The MC tells his corny jokes but they’re hard to hear over the obnoxious rumbling coming from a man hating bachelorette party. He finally finishes and begins to announce the first person up for the open mic. My buddy is up first. He starts to walk up and he takes the microphone in his hand and looks at the stage, the bands equipment is still there. By the look on his face he was thinking the same thing I was and that was Where exactly is he supposed to perform? He decides to do it right where he’s standing, no lighting and poor visibility are his only friends. The MC had given an explanation about the “Amateur” comedians, Don’t expect anything good is what his words meant to say( that guy was a douche). He had either set up my buddy and his opponent for failure or was telling a truth that was so pure he didn’t even understand how true it was. I have hear most of my buddys jokes before and he’s a funny guy but there was something about him that this room just loathed the minute he occupied the space in front of the stage.
My buddy tells his jokes, only the sound of drunk talk in the back of the room can be heard. I couldn’t laugh because I was being choked by the hate emanating from the room. I couldn’t believe it, I knew he was an amateur but I never knew a room could be so cruel to a person. It only got worse when his opponent went up. The room hated his opponent and his jokes weren’t funny. I was dumbfound by the experience of being in a room that could be so closed to them. To add insult to injury the verdict was is and by a small margin my buddys opponent had won the night, corny jokes and impressions had beat out original material that actually was better.
Its going to be a hard road for him. Standing in the darkness telling your jokes into a room that is only expressing a distaste for anything you say is not only what my buddy went through but its what every comedian goes through. Tough.
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