Friday, November 10, 2006

Bombing


I'm not funny. Last night proved it.



Maybe it's not that harsh but it sure feels like it. I've done about a hundred shows this year. They've ranged from amazing to soul crushing. But last night ranks as one of the very worst.

The crowd was good. They loved everyone on stage. They wanted to love me. But they didn't. I could blame my late spot. I could blame the checks. But it wouldn't be true. They wanted me to be funny and all I was was cute.

I'm used to small, bad crowds. I'm used to patting myself on the back for the small amount of laughs I receive. But this was a crowd that delivered huge laughs and I was the only one incapable of drawing them out. I got the same response from a great crowd that I get from a bad one. That's my fault.

The fact is when I write jokes, they're tight. Short. Sweet. But I get up on stage and my mouth starts throwing words in all over the place. I ramble and the audience gets bored. And I do this so habitually I'm not nearly where I should be. In fact, I'm wondering if leaving advertising was a good idea.

The worst part is I'm going to have to get right back up there tonight.

7 comments:

Walker said...

That's not the worst part, that is the best part....Now you have the opportunity to make adjustments. I like your style of comedy jon, it's not the stupid,typical shock em quick with a dirty thought comedy. It needs a certain audience and they will find you.

Anonymous said...

Why do we fall Bruce?

Anonymous said...

"The [best] part is I'm going to have to get right back up there tonight."

Do you forget you were invited to be part of that show?

There are always at LEAST 500 variables why an audience is going to love/yawn a performance. How many of those variables do you get to control? One. YOU. I love that you keep mixing up your set - new jokes, new order, new emphasis. It's all an experiement, yes?

Ha, think of us as subjects, pawns, and breathe easier. Keep experimenting on us.

And ultimately, you KNOW the people who love you and what you do, and that's what counts.

Mark Feigenson said...

You wanna know what's not funny? The fact that my link on your site has gone from one of the first few, to one of the last.

I thought of you today, Jon-- I saw a Time Warner van in my hood, only the first "e" was actually missing... don't you have a comic friend named Tim Warner?

Hey, I thought it was funny.

Jon Clarke said...

It's alphabetical, mark. You're still in the top 2/3rds.

And maybe if you posetd more, you'd get more attention. :p

Anonymous said...

Barry Bonds doesn't hit a homerun every time he gets up to bat Jon.

You'll get em next time...

Mark Feigenson said...

Jon, did you really say "top 2/3rds"? THAT'S funny. Just make sure I stay within the top 15/16ths, okay? :)