Heyy - not sure if anyone cares - After nine years in Helsinki I moved to San Francisco. I got a job with my company in Sunnyvale, going to rock the CalTrain every day, and bomb at open mics in the evening.
Really looking forward to getting to know the comedy community here. Can't wait to meet ASTers at shows.
Cool! Keep us updated on where you're doing your thing.
Also, don't trust Joe Gorman, Drew Harmon, or any other 'comedians' around town. They're all horrible people.
Hey, check me out. I'm a ghost.
Yeah I think I'll spend the first couple weeks adjusting to the move, proving to my new colleagues that I'm a "workaholic", and sneaking down to open mics just to watch. All that Finland-related material I've been writing for the past three years is just gonna KILL here.
scamboogah, drieux, or any of you guys going to any specific shows this week around town? Anyone plan on seeing Jeselnik at the Punchline this week?
Hi Phil,
There are a ton of South Bay open mics too. Rooster T. Feathers in Sunnyvale just had Jeselnik about a month ago. They do a showcase on Wednesday nights.
See you around town, I guess.
Hey, Phil and everybody. I haven't met Phil yet, although I spent December working a glamorous seasonal retail job and didn't get much of a chance to go out. But I'm back into the flow of things and was wondering what open mics you guys have been utilizing and what rooms you think are the best right now.
Being in San Francisco, I've been hitting Rockit Room on a weekly basis. If you can get on the list early, it's great - lots of newbie comics bringing their friends, so there's an audience. But the room can go on for hours and if you're up later, expect nothing but other tired comics. And host/organizer Danny Dechi is a great guy, love the dude.
I did Dirty Trix last week after doing a set at the Ladies Room (not a lady, but I AM pretty) and thusly got on the list around #23. I didn't go up until Midnight, and it was exhausting. Lots of filth for the sake of filth, shouting into the mic and some old lady threw a beer at Chris Schiappacasse. Actually, that was pretty great. But there was a small audience for the duration of the evening, something I was pretty amazed at.
I also made the trek out to Bunjo's in Dublin/Pleasanton on Friday. If you're coming from SF or the South Bay, it's a haul in the midst of Friday rush hour traffic, but I was pleasantly surprised at the crowd, as the room was pretty full. The thing I like about Bunjo's is that it offers an audience that you won't find in most other rooms in the Bay Area, i.e. older, slightly more conservative and not as keen on up-to-the-minute pop culture references. If you can get them to laugh, chances are the material is gonna work anywhere.
Where else are you guys performing?
Hey, you're supposed to be the expert on this stuff! I almost sent you a pm yesterday on this very subject.
It looks like Tommy T's is no longer on Mondays. Does anyone have another suggestion for a beginner on Monday? Also, I was thinking about showing up at Milk's on Tuesday since I tried to sign up for the Rockit Room too late. Has anyone done that open mic?
There are three south bay mics tonight. Phillz coffee, the Clarion and The Brit. Philz and the clarion are mixed music and comedy (Gross, right?) You might have to book the Brit, but there will probably be no shows.Originally Posted by Arnold Pomegranate
http://www.sfstandup.com/stagetime/
Me, an expert?!? Only at bombing, n'yuk n'yuk!
Actually, I spent most of last year lucky enough to be doing (mostly) pre-booked shows, and although I hope to be returning to that shortly I've got some space on the calendar and a stack of new material I want to work out, so I've been back at the mics. It really is a whole new world from the one I started in a few years back, although I now find the youngsters are calling me things like "professional," "experienced" and "an expert." I am none of those things, of course.
Last week I hit 50 Mason on Tuesday night, but signups happen around 6:30pm and there's only an hour for the open mic before the booked showcase, so get there early or don't bother. I'm also not so sure I should reveal this, but going to the Brainwash on Wednesday night for Ladies' Night has meant getting 5-7 minutes of stage time for as long as I can remember, because not enough ladies show up. Also, I've been friends with both Kristee and Melanie (the previous and current host) which I'm sure helps, but it's a lot less stressful and insane than Thursday nights. I love Tony and what he does for the comedy scene, but it's hard to wait four hours for three minutes. I encourage every newbie to do the Thursday night B-wash, but it has a lot more to do with socializing and making friends and watching and learning than anything else.
Has anybody heard anything about the new Tommy T's in SF (at the AMC on Van Ness, site of the former Holly's Comedy Club) doing an open mic yet?
Tommy T's showcase is just getting off the ground, but I believe a couple of guys have gotten guest sets there by showing up and being connected. I think they've only done two or three shows so far.
That's what it's looked like to me as well. My concern is that they do seem to be focusing on a certain kind of performer and audience, what a lame newspaper writer would describe as "urban" but is probably better described as black/hip-hop-esque with a lot of swagger and attitude. I can't really blame them; it's a market that is underserved and allows them to carve out a certain niche in the comedy community.
However, as somebody who doesn't spend $400 a week on sneakers and wear a gigantic shiny watch and spend the first five minutes of my set going, "hey, how y'all doin'? You ladies, how you doin', you ready to party? Awww, yeah, we gonna party up in here" and shit like that, I'm guessing I'm not their brand of comic. It's the same reason I've felt I've never had much luck out at the Tommy T's in Pleasanton.
Yeah, I feel similarly.
It is a market that is under served, but San Francisco is whiter than Celine Dion tickets! I really hope they make it though.
It would be nice to have another club in town that allows people more stage time, but if the current agreement is anything like what Holly's operated under, then there are a million things that could stop the club from functioning that have nothing to do with comedy whatsoever. I was lucky enough to have a good relationship with Holly when that place was freshly opened and hosted a couple of weekends, and while there were plenty of things she (admittedly) could have done better upon opening, her fate was sealed thanks to things outside of her control and that I'm not at liberty to talk about here. I think their target audience would probably turn out more were the club located elsewhere, but that's kind of a difficult spot regardless. Their apparent business model means not having to deal with a clash with the Punchline/Cobb's, and therefore comics shouldn't have to deal with a You're-With-Us-Or-Against-Us choice, something that did come up at Holly's, but really only after Holly made the decision to shit-talk Molly and the PL in the SF Weekly. That one she brought upon herself.
A few friends have done guest sets at the new Tommy T's, and I've sent them a note to see how they went about doing that. Another friend - who has PL and Cobb's credits - dropped by and asked for a guest set in the future, and were told they'd have to bring 20 people. That may have been a brush-off or a kneejerk reaction or just a plain asshole move because my friend is a white hipster-ish dude and they automatically decided they wouldn't fit their plans, but that's how it was. I'll let you guys know if I hear anything about how to crack that nut. I live literally five blocks away so it would be nice to be able to stop in occasionally and get a set.
Anybody going to Rockit tonight? I managed to get on the list at #4, thank god. Last week I was there 'til Midnight.
I've heard some good things about the Pizza Depot in Sunnyvale. Run by Pete Munoz, but Jeff Ochoa will be handling this one tonight until Pete gets there.
9:15 Start time. (I won't be there though)
Looks like Al Clethen is running a showcase at Tommy T's showcase. Wednesday nights, and it looks like some of them are being taped. Sounds kind of scammy though. How rare is it to get taped at a showcase?
I don't know Al; is he a comic, club employee, booker, etc.?
It seems as though there was always a chance of being taped at the Tommy T.'s open mic in Pleasanton as well, and the story went that occasionally that video would be watched by Rooftop Comedy and the clips might be used to highlight YOU and YOUR COMEDY, which is how Chris Schiappacasse has a page on there and, after he himself clicked "play" a bazillion times, has a ton of views, although each and every video is him in front of the Tommy T.'s purple backdrop, and as we all know he's been banned from just about everywhere now anyway.
With any luck they'll start up an open signup system or lottery to start rotating people in there, or they'll just develop a stable of 10-15 regulars who do the same jokes week after week in the hope that this week will be the week when everybody will get it and laugh. Which seems to be the dream of about 90% of open mikers, but god bless us, each and every one.
As for being taped, I guess I'm in the "meh" camp. If it means a greater chance of being seen by somebody who might actually pay you, I'm all for it, but I doubt anybody who isn't already at the club for the night is going to pull up a 2.5 hour video of open mic comedy and dig into it. They'll just ask whoever runs it if anybody had a good set and go from there. If the plot is to steal jokes, well, there's video proof that you did it first and it would take a pretty scumbaggy a-hole to knowingly videotape and then use them, but anything is possible. And if somebody is having to steal from open mikers, they're probably not exactly soaring to the heights anyway. More than likely the camera sits mostly unused but somebody involved really, REALLY likes the idea of having a camera so maybe they can put flatscreens up in the bathroom so people can still see the show while they're pooping out their nachos and $9 Budweisers, or that somebody is going to tape their comedy special using a stationary camera in the back at a club in an entertainment complex. Who knows? I suppose if it's an issue for a comic personally you could always request that they not tape you, although they may just laugh in your face. Their club, their rules.
Has anybody seen a show there yet? I see Eddie Money (of "Two Tickets to Paradise" fame) is performing there in the near future, which I'm guessing they aren't intending to be a comedy show but will most likely be hilarious.
Al is a road comic. I think he's performed at Throckmorton a few times, so he's no slouch.
Yes -- this is possible. They might just use it for video follow-up on the staff's report regarding the open mic.
This may be a little closer to the truth... for example, the Comedy Studio in Boston tapes all their shows with the aim of giving a copy to the comic in case he/she wants to review it. Alternately, in case it can be used as an audition tape. Remember, audition tapes pretty much have to be a single straight-on shot, so if the club has a stationary camera installed, it's perfect for that. (I had to make one yesterday at the Improv, and I had to bring guys in with cameras, who set up in the back of the room, pretty much where a stationary camera would be if there was one. It was a real hassle.)or that somebody is going to tape their comedy special using a stationary camera in the back at a club in an entertainment complex.
The rest of what you were saying sounds really paranoid. If someone was going to steal your jokes, they wouldn't go through the trouble of openly saying they were going to tape you. They'd just steal your jokes. Also, nobody is going to steal your jokes, because that doesn't happen in the real world.
Erik Charles Nielsen is a moderately funny fellow... right?
Erik, I think you're misinterpreting what I said a bit - I highly doubt anybody is going to take the time and trouble to install a video system to steal jokes, and if somebody at a professional level is resorting to stealing jokes from open mikers then things must be rough. I've performed at a few clubs that have video cameras installed with the notion that you may or may not be taped, and it's never been an issue for me. If I ever manage to squeak above the level I'm at now, then I may have concerns, but if it's an open mic then I don't really care.
And as you said, nobody involved in comedy is a scumbag who would steal jokes anyway. We picked a great business filled with well-adjusted, honest people.
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