A Tale Of Two Cities

When I say "cities" I mean "towns" - specifically Stockton and Middlesbrough.  And when I said "a tale" I meant "two gigs".  But Two Gigs In Two Towns doesn't make as good a blog heading, so I'm stealing material from Mr Dickens instead.

My last two gigs couldn't have been more different.  On Friday I played at the Arc in Stockton as part of a Gong Show.  For the uninitiated, this is where a lot of comedians do five minutes material each and try not to get 'gonged off' by the audience before the end.

I got to the Arc about 7.30pm, and was ushered into a very nice green room complete with free drinks and snacks.  One by one the other comedians arrived - 11 gong show contestants in all, plus a support act and the compere.  By the (bad) luck of the draw, I went on last, which meant just before 11pm, giving me plenty of time to tie my stomach into knots with my customary pre-gig nerves.  Fun stuff.

By the time I got on stage, the crowd were well watered and had already gonged several other comedians off.  I went on stage to an audience of around 300 - ten times more than I'm used to playing to - and told my first joke.  A joke that has always gone down well with audiences and comics alike.

Until now.  The joke got me practically booed off stage.  My second joke didn't go down much better, but my third joke had them laughing.  A few more winners and they started applauding.  This was one schizophrenic audience!  They went from one extreme to another over four and a half minutes before I was eventually gonged off.  So close and yet so far.  Still, I did quite well considering it was my fourth-ever gig, and some of of the other acts seemed quite impressed that I would take on such a challenge after relatively little experience.  It was the first time I'd had less than a positive experience on stage, but I think it toughened me up a little bit.

My next gig took place on Tuesday at the Walkabout pub in Middlesbrough, at the Wild Bunch Comedy night.  It couldn't have been more different.  Using just a tiny space in the corner of the upstairs room, myself and the other acts performed to literally a handful of people.  I managed to get myself the first spot (less time for the nerves to kick in) and although quite a few jokes worked (but bizarrely, not the ones that usually do) playing to a room of about eight people still generated more silence than I would have liked.  Pity there wasn't more people, as the room downstairs was packed with people watching football, and I know the promoter works hard to bring live comedy to Middlesbrough at a reasonable price.  Would have been nice if a few more customers had found their way upstairs.

Still, it's all experience (I got my first two reviews at these gigs), and a good introduction to the fickle world of stand-up comedy...