May open mics post-mortem
My busiest month so far with 7 gigs, but it was also a very mixed bag in terms of performances. I had a couple of truly excruciating nights on stage that have completely knocked my confidence. But I need to try and recognise the negativity bias because I also had some really fun ones too.
1st May – White Bear Comedy (27th Gig)
I was a bit nervous about this gig as I hadn’t done very well the last time I was here. Last time I put it down to confidence and not knowing my lines, and I felt perhaps the more student based crowd weren’t into some old geezer telling dad jokes. But it went absolutely brilliantly!
As I was coming off the stage I heard one of the rowdy young lads at the front turn to his mate and say “I really liked him”.
3rd May – Old Town Comedy Club (28th Gig)
I actually just went along to this gig to watch but they had a drop-out and the MC Sam Michael offered me a spot. I decided to do it as I was still on a high from Bristol. It went… OK.
On the night I wasn’t very happy with my performance as I forgot a whole bunch of jokes, but I did get a few laughs. And considering the gigs that were about to come this was a massive success!
15th May – G&B Comedy (29th Gig)
I decided to do a completely different 5 than my usual set because I was doing a few nights at G&B during May and I didn’t want my material to get stale. Plus, I’m worried I’m only funny if I do my main set.
I didn’t do very well, I forgot my lines, I was visibly nervous, it was a bit of a train wreck.
Laura Gomez the headliner was brilliant! Here’s the write-up.
17th May – Instant Laughs (30th Gig)
I’m not even sure I can bring myself to write about this night. The venue is a café in Wimbledon with a very friendly manager and the MC Marvin is brilliant and super welcoming.
The crowd was small that night, but they were warm and friendly, and they gave a great reaction to some of the more Pro. acts.
But… They were very quiet during my act. Places where I would normally get laughs I was met with silence. I’m guessing it was a confidence/delivery problem on my part again. And as each joke failed my confidence death spiralled until I found myself go completely blank in front of a room full of people who felt sorry for me. I decided to cut it short but the MC and crowd encouraged me to come back on in the second half and finish my set.
I went back up after the break and managed to complete my set. I did get a few laughs but only at some of the one off jokes that were funny despite my delivery!
On the train home I pulled out of a gig in Wooten Bassett in front of 120 people because I just couldn’t have that happen again! And the entire next day I spent doubting everything.
25th May – G&B at the Albany (31st Gig)
I was a bit nervous about this one after my recent bad performances. And although I forgot my place a few times, overall it went pretty well. The new Skeletor and Patreon pocket money bits got laughs.
I did make a stupid mistake. The audience didn’t laugh at a new joke and I blurted out “I thought that was funny” It was a genuine surprise reaction to getting nothing. It wasn’t meant as a criticism of the audience, and I don’t think it came across like that, but it could have done. The joke has been cut. The write-up.
29th May – White Bear Comedy (32nd Gig)
My second time here this month, and it went really well. I did a solid 7 minutes, the crowd were lovely, and I only forgot a few small things which I was able to recover from quite quickly.
31st May – We are Funny Project (33rd Gig)
I did my usual set and it went really well, the muscle memory is getting there now for the Mario Kart bit. I even ad-libbed a line about reading my notes because I didn’t want the audience to miss any of my bangers! Which I thought might be too cocky but it worked.
Plus, there was a tiny dog in the audience 🐶