Day 38: Fuk Ing Laff Hole 9/19/07

Laff Hole.

Laff Hole is the independent comedy show put together by a group of comics calling themselves the People's Republic of Komedy. Laff Hole is the main indie comic show in Seattle that has created a huge scene for itself since 2005. These guys have gained so much clout that they were able to set up some of the shows for Bumbershoot. Laff Hole is the room everyone wants to play.

Last Friday they asked me to play it.

I said yes.

I set myself the goal of doing it before the end of the year, but it's one of those things where they ask you, you don't sign up. I didn't expect to get asked so soon, but I mo' fucking jumped at the chance.

I got there early to check in and find out when my set was going up. They told me over the phone I'd do 7-10 min but when I got there, there was a booking snafu and told me to do 5 min instead. Sheeeeit, I would've done 1 min. I'm up 3rd.

I plugged this show with my friends because it was such a good opportunity so I knew the deck was stacked in my favor. Nonetheless a lot was riding on this, plus some of my friends haven't seen me before so I wanted them to like it. I put together a solid set (Bumbershoot, Nicole, Toby, Bidet, Cheesecake Factory) and the only thing left to do was have fun and enjoy myself.

It. Was. AWESOME. I killed from front to back. I had that room in the palm of my hand and there was nothing they could do about it. I was in complete control. It felt amazing. I had to walk it off as soon as I was done.

The P.R.O.K guys had really nice things to say about my set. Some of them saw me early on when I was rough and appreciated how far I'd come. Others who didn't know my shit as well were impressed. I got a lot of good feedback and it seems I'm in a good place to do the room again. My friends really enjoyed the set. Life is good. I even made $20 bringing my total comedy earnings to $132.50. I feel like I made a jump in the circles here. Gotta keep working, gotta get better. Long way to the top.

Lesson: People respond to your product, not how nice you are or how long they've known you. Do the work.

Backup lesson: When a set is at stake, own it. Use your good shit and take it seriously.