May 1, 2013

I just bombed

Went to the Sac Punchline tonight, and bombed. Sparse crowd, not really together. I hate to blame them, so I always try to find a way to blame myself instead. The whole thing just felt wrong to me, and instead of pausing to evaluate which is what I would have liked to do after thinking about it, I just kept going. This is what I would have liked to have said:

“Hmm… I don’t want you guys to take this the wrong way, but I feel really uncomfortable being in front of you guys right now. I mean lets be honest, I’m probably not the kind of person you guys would hang out with in real life, nor are most of you likely the kind of people I would hang out with. Yet, here we are in this situation together. And I’m supposed to be funny despite these differences. How can we make this work?”

Now, some people are naturally gifted in these situations and have an ability to make just about anyone feel comfortable with them, and then that helps them be more comfortable with other people. I think I have that a lot of times, but certainly not tonight. So I’m left wondering, is that a requirement? Does it mean I should quit if I can’t meet that? I think my little speech up there might have had an interesting and possibly fun effect, but if a booker saw me do it, would they be okay with it?