My second gig of the week, at a venue I'd not done before, and I think I'm beginning to get back on form. Hurrah for rehearsal!

After Monday's experience, I was determined to up my standards somewhat, so I trimmed my set back as much as I could, and ran through it ad infinitum on Wednesday afternoon (with a handy day off work), until I didn't really have to think that much about what was coming next. Which, to be fair, I should always be able to do with a set before I take it out in public.

This was my first visit to the Comedy Bin gig at the Anam Bar in Islington, and it was something of an interesting venue. The downstairs bar is long and narrow, with a bar at one end and the "stage" area at the other end surrounded by seating, so you had to swing around wildly to make eye contact with the whole audience. Very much a room designed for dancing rather than comedy. That said, it was a lovely crowd to perform to. The room was pretty full, and the sparse seating left most people crowded at the back towards the bar, which seemed to concentrate the laughter somewhat, making for good reactions when you got one, and conspicuous silence when you didn't. Luckily, my extra preparation brought the latter to a minimum, and I had a great time!

Granted, nerves took away a little of the prep work, and I had a few short blanks. But I don't think they messed up the flow enough to really be obvious. Still, I can get more out of it! I also found myself moving my attention around the room a lot, perhaps too much. A few lines were split between people, which could confuse them a little. I don't think there's anything wrong with delivering a punch line to a different person than the feed line (with my current "intense" delivery, it seems to enhance the effect), but delivering half a line to each person is definitely a bad idea. Something to focus on for my next gig.

Despite my careful rehearsal, I couldn't resist throwing in a gag about the venue itself on opening (about the name of the street). It wasn't brilliantly delivered, but went down well enough. I think I can allow myself a cheeky new one liner in now and then, but really need to limit myself to at most one per gig for safety's sake (unless doing new material is the goal for the night).

I'm going to stick with the set list I used on this one for the next few gigs. There didn't seem to be any gags that died, and the timing's about right. Now I just need to wring every ounce of funny out of it that I can. Wish me luck!