We kicked things off with a visit to Stand NYC the day after we arrived. The 8pm show boasted Ari Shaffir and Mike Vecchione, plus Oscar Aydin hosting. Kyle Dunnigan was being promoted as the main draw but I was unaware of his work. In the end it turned into a slightly disappointing affair. Kyle had quite the bad show, playing to almost silence at times. And we found a new name to add to the "-2" category in my bumper list of New York comics. That doesn't happen every day. It's an elite group.
The following night we were at The Olive Tree Cafe. As ever, the two main missions were to spot who is at the comics table (Chris Turner, Keith Washington and Derek Gaines) and walk through the showroom (to supposedly go to the bathroom). As I headed downstairs for my peak at the on-stage performer, I realised that Amy Schumer was waiting at the room entrance, about to go on. There was much gesticulating from those around her (including Liz Furiati) that I should stop where I was. I thought about trying to explain that I was comedy-savvy and not about to become hysterical or attempt a selfie with Ms Schumer but opted instead to quietly remain halfway down the stairs as requested. A few seconds later she was brought to the stage to a thunderous reaction and I was frantically ushered (yes yes I know!) through to the bathroom.
Next up was another visit to Monday Night Mob at Standup NY. I've explained before but it's a bit like Free For All at Monkey Barrel, though MB always employ professional hosts - I'm not entirely sure MNM do. You arrive when you want, buy a single (discounted) drink and leave when you've had enough. There was someone decent mid-set when we arrived but aside from that, there wasn't much to write home about.
Tuesday was an early show at Old Man Hustle in Williamsburg. On weekdays they have a 6pm performance where you get your second drink for free. The last time we attempted this show no one else turned up, the gig was cancelled and they comped us our beers. We felt that there was a definite possibility that this might happen again, but on arrival a (small) group were going in in front of us. As they numbered seven, plus us two, surely the show would go on? Indeed it did, a little late, and with a lineup baring no resemblance whatsoever to the published one.
There was one standout success, a guy intriguingly named Danish Maqbool, and a partial success in the form of Ronnie Smith. The show was relatively short but we did get our second drink as promised and the ratio of 1.5 good comics out of five unknowns is nothing to sniff at.
We had pencilled in a visit to a well-known open-mic venue, Black Cat LES, on Wednesday. On arrival we noticed a couple of problems. Firstly, they had very few alcoholic drinks available (it mainly functions as a cafe) and we'd have to choose between red wine, white wine and a punchy IPA. The second, and some would legitimately argue, bigger problem was that I hadn't read the schedule properly and Wednesday night was to be Tarot Night. We made a discreet exit and, given the issue with drinks, probably won't return.
Thursday night was an enticing prospect. Stand NYC were celebrating their 11th birthday. The 8pm show was solid but the 10pm was stacked. Aaron Berg (host), Emma Willmann, Derek Gaines, Ari Shaffir (again), Ian Lara, Vladimir Caamano, Michael Kosta and Brad Williams who I'd never seen. I also hoped there might possibly be a special guest.
We arrived early and spent a drink by the upstairs bar looking out for anyone super-famous who might be involved in our lineup. We briefly said hello to manager Joe but he was busy dotting back and forth. There were a couple of slightly listless performances but overall, it was an excellent show. Ari and Ian were great and Brad was fantastic. I imagine his club sets are few and far between but my goodness, I'd be keen to see him again. It looked like the evening might be over but to my utter delight, Aaron announced that Dave Attell was a special guest! Despite him being regarded by his peers as the best comic in NYC, up until this point I'd never managed to see him.
He ripped into the club and then moved onto the crowd, classifying one pony-tailed swarthy guy as a "land-pirate" while the other comics gazed on, adoringly. After a few minutes he invited Aaron to join him onstage. I have never seen Aaron lost for words but he looked starstruck next to Dave.
Saturday night was our first visit to Sesh Comedy. We've been to Seventh Street Comedy before, a minimalist room on the lower east side that works on a BYOB basis and this was exactly the same idea. There are some "early-bird" tickets listed at half-price so we'd picked a show where this price point was available.
Things didn't start swimmingly. We arrived just after 7:30 for a 7:55 show and were told we couldn't come in (out of the rain) because "we'd have to seat another 30 people". This didn't make any sense and although they claimed they were still "setting up", they were in fact sitting on the chairs chatting. We found a tiny, weird bar and split a drink and returned 15 mins later to find a huge line waiting to go in.
The room is even more minimalist than Seventh Street, but as long as you don't need to visit the bathroom during the 75 min show, it's a pretty reasonable space for standup. The sets were short, maybe 8 mins each, and there was a lot to like, particularly Sam Evans. They were talking about opening another, larger room very close to where they are at the moment. Right enough, I got an email about two weeks later offering cheap tickets for their opening night. That would be three different spaces on the lower east side operating a BYOB model. Maybe that's the way forward?
At some point during four days of pissing NY rain we popped into the Sunflower Arcade Lounge on Thompson St in the Village. I wasn't quite certain what it was. Initially I assumed it was pitching itself as a Barcade clone, but it also seemed to host comedy. Its website blurb is tremendous. "The legendary Sunflower Arcade Lounge, known for comedians such as Chris Rock, Louis CK and Jamie Fox, who have all, at one time or another, walked passed (sic) the front door of the club". So what you're saying is that your proximity to another comedy club means that comedians were, at times, close to your comedy club? Cool.
It is QUITE the place. It's a smoke shop with a basement and when it's not hosting comedy, you're charged $10 per hour to smoke in the basement. The half dozen or so arcade games are then free to play. They let us go down for a nosey. Bass-heavy hip hop tunes blared and through the fug of smoke, we could just about make out the size and shape of the room. Some youths looked up briefly as we entered and then went back to smoking heavily. We retraced our steps back up the stairs and the bloke gave me a "yeah, thought as much" look. Maybe we won't be rushing back.
On Monday we opted to give MNM at Standup NY another chance. The club seem to have got wise to the show's popularity and it was being run with a little more discipline. I pre-empted the greeter's explanation of how the evening would work, assuring them we'd been before. A bloke to my left at the bar chatted briefly to me but it wasn't clear if he was an act, a punter or even management.
Not long into the show I saw him waiting to go on and from this face-on angle he looked more familiar. Right enough, a couple of minutes later they brought TJ Miller to the stage. He was appearing at The Stand later that night so popped into what is basically a glorified open-mic, to try out some new stuff. He whipped through it pretty efficiently, eschewing transitions and just jumping into the next bit as quickly as possible. The night was a lot more successful than the Monday before. We also discovered Ryan Thomas who we spoke to briefly on our way out the venue to dinner.
Tuesday was our final night and I had (free) tickets booked for Freestyle at Bowery Electric, a show I'd been to years before and was keen to revisit. None of the billed acts rang any bells but one was on at The Stand later that night. Girlfriend wisely suggested that I double check the lineup and it was at that point that I realised that there were two "-1" comedians listed, bringing the forecasted "total" for the show to "-2" (when you factor in that unknowns count as zeros). Lineups can change and comedians can improve but "-2" is not a great number to be facing for your final gig of the holiday.
Alternatives were considered. The Stand had a fairly decent 8pm show but you're looking at $50 before drinks and we'd been there twice already. There was something weird called Phat Set Comedy at a venue named GAMA, a place on the lower east side that Google described as a "lounge". I beg your pardon? Ticks were $7 each and boasted Sean Patton and Caitlin Peluffo. It seemed almost too good to be true. We were a little wary of what drinks the "lounge" would offer. Would it be $18 cocktails? Tickets were purchased and our evening plans were rejigged accordingly.
We arrived and were told that it'd be a wee while before things got started in the basement venue. The drinks upstairs were pretty awful so an executive decision was made and we headed to a CVS to buy some cans. On returning we took our seats in the sparsely-filled room in a position that allowed us maximum privacy (for can-opening) but also afforded us the option of a quick escape if things went south.
It wasn't the best show by any means. Girlfriend heard the host/organiser anguish over how many people had cancelled on him. There were a couple of dismal failures and Sean Patton didn't turn up, but on the plus side Espi Rivadeneira was a decent new find and after quite a lot of stalling by the host, Caitlin eventually appeared to close. She was excellent as ever.
Trip Stats
Shows attended - 7
New venues attended - 3 (I'm counting OMH)
Venues entered and promptly left - 2
Expenditure - $81
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