A couple of gigs in short succession this week, Wednesday night at Desperately Seeking Stagetime and Thursday at Rub My Face In It. Two excellent nights in two swish venues (now there's an adjective I've never used before), and two great gigs to report on.

It'd been months since I last went along to DSS, so having my Wednesdays free again, I was eager to pop along at the earliest opportunity - as I had kept telling Anthony and Phil nearly every time I've seen them of late. The night is a drop-in, without pre-booked spots: the first ten or so people to come along get 5 minutes, then the rest get 3. Its an interesting, if different format, and usually makes for a really fun, quick-fire night. The 5s go pretty quick, so I prepared a quick 3 minutes from my phrasebook routine, including a new opener that I wanted to try out.

I got along just in time to put my name down for the 18th spot, and settled in to watch the show beforehand. The quality of acts was really high, which I think was probably due to the need to arrive early. The organised people who'd get there in good time are likely also the kind of people who work hard at their sets (and probably do more than 2 gigs a week *cough*). Not only that, but the audience were really warm and attentive, despite being primarily made up of performers. People say a lot about getting less reaction performing to other acts, but on drop-in nights like this one, I think there's a sense of cameraderie that leaves everyone willing everyone else to do well.

When my spot came up (Phil, the compere, handily having reminded me during the preceding act), I ploughed into my material as quickly as I could, 3 minutes having seemed like an instant while practicing. As a result, I ended up rushing my delivery somewhat, and, even worse, stepping on some laughs. In the end, I managed to get through most of what I had planned, but the timing klaxon went off a few gags before the end. But no matter, the closing material was tried and tested (still, always room for improvement). The positive outcome was, I knew the opening bit worked. If I can just take my time a little in future, I can probably squeeze a bit more out of it. And with more time, slowing down shouldn't be too difficult.

 

My second gig of the week was at Rub My Face In It at the Moustache Bar (an eccentric basement bar with walls covered in moustachioed versions of popular posters). I have to hand it to Liam and Johnny, they've got a really good night going, and managed to attract a sizeable audience.

I'd considered doing Ian from HR for this one, and had my costume and clipboard hidden away in my bag. However, given the previous night, I was tempted to try out my phrasebook set again. A quick consultation with Nelson and we agreed I should probably go with newer stuff while its fresh in my mind. After the spot I did, I rekon it was definitely the right choice.

I returned some of the gags I'd cut out for DSS, and took my time a lot more, pausing for laughs if there was even a hint of one coming. This worked really well in places, with some of my "afterthoughts" building up the energy in the room step by step, until the laughs were loud enough that I couldn't help but grin. Granted, not all my material went down that well, but I've got plans to improve upon some of the weaker jokes - my recent changes to Ian from HR's material got me into the swing of that.

Watching the video back, the set was definitley too long, so there's room to cut out plenty of the weakest gags. I also ended with my Battleship closer, which is something of a banker, but can take far too long. I should probably concentrate on improving the ending of the phrasebook story so it has a closer in its own right, rather than going totally off topic as a "final thought".

 

All in all, two great gigs (DSS and RMFII are nights I'd certainly go back to, and recommend) and lots of useful ideas for improvement. I'm taking next week off to do a little writing, rehearsal, and perhaps catch up on some sleep. Bit of luck I won't get too rusty in the meantime.