Category: Performance Critiques

In DC again and hosting for two  or three people.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62w4B5CiKb8

1m39s I’m being low energy even for my usual persona

2m16s My tonality was all off on the “paid to drive a NASCAR”

4m16s I’m finding that a three to four second pause after “that takes tits” helps the joke get bigger laughs as it’s unexpected

4m51s I’m not really sorry

5m39s There was no reason to stop the flow of my joke to crack the “they beat me line” especially when it wasn’t a major punch line

7m14s Tighten this to “girl from the circus” no need for the “used to be”

8m12s The line “some people don’t realize there’s some photos you shouldn’t put there” should sound a little more pissed off

8m29s Change the Halloween outfit line to something funny

9m04s Going to a basement sounds shadier than jumping into an orgy, my element of surprise was ruined

Part 2

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-MRTAEoFTE

1m16s Look higher and to the back when I’m doing my act out

1m50s Pretty good intro to introduce someone after you say their name, makes it funny in an anticlimactic sort of way

Part 3

I decided to do a few jokes between comics for no good reason

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVKZ6fJfWFs

0m31s And here’s my punishment: This is the first time I’ve forgotten a whole joke on stage

0m44s I love the “rewind time” feature and how nobody ever minds

0m53s Wow, this joke isn’t working out

1m01s At least I’m not panicking

1m08s And the save worked, a forgiving crowd of three

1m50s True story

Overall: I got to work through a longer set but it’s hard to judge most jokes when it’s a crowd of three people. Either way, I got to experience blanking on a joke while being in the middle of it, but I reacted fairly well.

This is me back in NYC and MCing for a crowd of 10 to 12 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx-V6uwn-08

0m54s I need to work on my responses for what people do for work 

1m51s That worked much better the first time I said it… 

2m55s I’m asking too many questions without making funny statements 

3m30s I should change this line to “before I know it, I’m on a date with a girl from the circus” 

5m41s No reason to pause after the word “protesting” 

6m47s I had to repeat it because he didn’t hear me

Overall: I really need to improve my crowd work so that I have good responses for when people answer my questions. Besides the crowd work thing, this was an okay set as it’s really hard to destroy a room as a host.

This is me back in DC and hosting. Crowd of 6 people. 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKV73FDdDN4

1m07s Much better crowd work then the last time I hosted (May 9) 

1m50s It seems to work better when I talk to two different groups then do some jokes, instead of only one group of people 

2m15s Wrong tone for “that is sexist” 

3m22s One thousand at a time is more like it 

5m50s True study, it was in a book on body language I read 

6m18s I think they laughed because they don’t look like your typical pot smoker 

7m37s It’s not a good sign for her career prospects if she only got the joke after I explained how bad the economy is 

9m05s I can’t decide if this is too much talking / setup or if it’s actually good when it’s a small crowd 

9m37s The couple turned and looked at each other. I should’ve pursued it further 

Part 2

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLcsgr-8QoE 

0m35s The wording could be a little tighter 

1m25s They liked it until the last punch line, not sure why it didn’t work this time. This would’ve been a good spot for “if someone doesn’t laugh, I just assume they’re death” 

3m24s I could’ve paused a little longer 

3m45s I should’ve said “DC” instead of “New York” because of the location of the club 

Part 3

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaupy5YkqSk 

I did a few more jokes in between some comics 

0m25s I’m riffing on the previous comics joke about fancy wine 

0m50s I finally got people to move closer to the stage 

2m22s I should strum an air guitar for a second 

2m44s Punch line isn’t at the end of this joke 

Overall: I did a decent job of hosting and was able to do fifteen minutes up front without looking at my notes

This is me at the feedback mic.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih6ohA3E-ac

0m18s Boring joke, first and last time I tried this 

1m04s I need the “she’d totally date you” to come before “fuck the kid with the guitar” 

1m35s I won’t be telling this joke again 

2m10s I should try “don’t brag about your crimes to girls” as the premise for this joke 

2m48s This is an old joke that I tried to rewrite, it didn’t work 

2m55s I like the pregnant one liner 

3m25s This part still needs work, but there are more punch lines here 

Overall: I tried out 3 minutes of new or rewritten jokes. The pregnant joke is good as is, crime for dummies has potential, and the kid with a guitar needs to be tried again. The other three new jokes are being put out to pasture. 1 out of 6 (possibly 2 out of 6) isn’t bad.

This is the second show of the night, and I hosted it. There were around 10 people there.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhr2UoucpoE

0m18s I find that getting them to clap twice builds a more compliance 

0m50s No idea what she said, but I should’ve done a joke about it 

2m05s I’m trying to do one bit of crowd work and then a joke instead of a couple parts of crowd work followed by a couple of jokes 

3m07s Worst crowd work ever “So Cal, so cool” 

3m31s Stumbling over words 

6m31s I love it when my last three punch lines get zero laughs 

Overall: I did a terrible job with crowd work and none of the jokes hit either. I was too affected by my perception of the previous set that night (which in retrospect was amazing compared to this one). I need to work on getting more of a relief pitcher’s mentality where I forget the set as soon as I get off stage instead of letting it linger in my head. I can do this no problem when it’s the next day, but doing it for the same night needs work.