Category: Performance Critiques

Second show of the night, this is the 10:30

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-gbo9NjFXU 

0m19s Trying this new opening line a couple times, but it’s not having the results I’d like 

1m53s No need to say “I’m a terrible person” before the joke 

2m47s Not sure if I should’ve forced their answer or tried to coerce something for a little longer 

3m20s I missed doing the finger snap and point for “that’s your first date” 

3m29s This line is repetitive and not needed, but at least I didn’t completely forget about the finger snap and point 

4m40s I do appreciate a funny audience, even if they put me at a loss for words because I’m laughing 

5m14s No reason to explain it 

5m52s I should say “I’ll tell you” before “that’s demasculating” 

6m37s The closing was weaker than I would’ve liked 

Overall: Decent set but nothing special, I’m just getting my reps in and figuring out the order and details of some jokes. The audience member enquiring about the orgy was pretty funny though.

I wound up doing three shows this night, here’s the 8:30 show

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1sfYZ2e1Mk

0m11s I told the MC to say I was a terrible person. Telling the crowd they won’t like me was a bit much 

0m35s I tried a new opening line, not a huge fan

4m25s “Tibet” should be the last word, not “sign” 

5m01s I like explaining the joke and getting a laugh when I explain it

Overall: This was a decent set but I’m not sure there’s any benefit to being introduced in a special way anymore

This is the 10:30 show for the same night as the last post. I was the last of 15 comics to go and went on around 12:30. A usual stand up audience has an 80 to 90 minute attention span and then they start to hate everyone and wanting to leave. I came in super high energy to try to keep them interested.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24x-_Mtel8I 

1m37s I don’t think the “I’m a terrible person” is working 

1m51s I really did enjoy that response, never heard of a Jewish dog before 

1m59s Great comeback by me, I forgot all about it until re-watching it 

2m42s No reason to look down and away 

3m57s Note to self: Don’t do smart economy jokes after midnight 

5m14s I tried introducing the snuggle slut joke in a different way, not sure if it makes a difference 

6m45s And the call back worked on my second try! 

Overall: I’m really happy that I had a respectable set given the circumstances of being last and 2 hours into the show. It was even better that my call back worked, and the audience laughed at each of the last three lines

Another weekend back in NYC

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuWfFPXU5wU 

0m10s I didn’t let the drama build for long enough before talking 

0m32s I’ve been playing with my persona by stating that I’m horrible up front to prevent the “awwws” in a few places, I’m not sure if it’s working or worth it…

1m11s I seem to be talking really fast, I’m not sure why

2m07s I finally got someone to laugh and buy into the set, sometimes you just gotta power through…

2m28s Let’s rewind time for 10 seconds…

3m52s I needed to pause an extra second before telling the audience try to think up something on their own which will usually be wrong 

5m19s This was my first try at ending a set with a call back to a previous joke. It didn’t hit as well as I would’ve liked but I plan to keep working on this as most pros use this formula throughout their sets

Overall: I was talking too fast for most of the set and only got decent laughs when I slowed down. This should’ve been obvious to me right now, but sometimes I’m thinking about other performance related issues when I’m on stage and not about my speed. Also, I used a callback to end my set for the first time.

This is back in DC for a crowd of 8

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

0m22s Funny cause it’s true, I was observing her before my set 

0m43s I think I was the third or fourth comic up and there hadn’t been much crowd work to date 

0m57s I like how they said where they’re from instead of if they’re retired 

2m12s This woman was pretty funny, and she wound up telling a few well known jokes later in the night 

2m28s A comic before me didn’t do so well and appealed for mercy laughter by saying “it’s my birthday” so I had to make fun of him a little 

2m56s I’m starting to learn to bail out of a joke when the audience interrupts and go with the flow 

3m34s And then I tried to bring it back and failed 

4m09s Funny cause it’s true 

4m21s Seriously, what the hell is a moth ball? 

4m57s I love and hate when the “my career is going places” joke works… I love the laughter, hate the truth…

5m37s I called back to a previous piece of crowd work, pretty proud of myself in retrospect 

7m06s The downside of writing this critique 25 days later is that I’m not sure why I didn’t finish this joke with the myspace line 

Conclusion: This crowd was disruptive with my jokes but having a lot of fun, so I just went with it and tried to get laughs where I could.