It had been 22 months since we were last in NYC so our first visit was really just about feeling our way back into living in the city. Entertainment spaces, including bars, restaurants and comedy clubs, all adhere to the same set of COVID guidelines - namely displaying your vax status (plus ID) on entry. Once you're inside, there's no requirement to wear a mask.
We started, as we so often do, with Frantic at The Stand NYC, their late-ish free show on a Monday. Aaron Berg, the original host, was listed, alongside the bafflingly ever-present Kerryn Feehan. As increasingly seems to be the case at The Stand there were drinks issues, with my first beer choice being unavailable and no wine being served.
Kerryn led us out and produced an even more listless performance than usual. The crowd seemed particularly uninterested in cutting her the generous amounts of slack that she requires. Irishman Colum Tyrrell, who I'd seen at The Stand's old Sunday afternoon open mic back in the day and also hosting a bill show at The Fringe a few years ago, was modestly successful, as was Emma Willmann who had impressed me the last time I saw her. New to me were Dan LaMorte and Josh Johnson (both OK) and Oscar Aydin who I actively enjoyed.
By this point it was getting late, we were tired and there was precious little sign of Aaron or the advertised Damien Lemon. We were swithering on leaving and then a shockingly bad act came to the stage (I missed her name) and that made our decision for us.
Tuesday night was a much more promising proposition, to the extent that my girlfriend moved her booking for a terrible play to ensure she could attend. It was a $14 show at the best of the three Comedy Cellar venues, the Fat Black Pussy Cat. The big hitters were Todd Barry, Sean Patton and Sam Morril and there was also no known poison on the bill. Sam in particular is hard to catch in NYC as he is gigging across the country every weekend.
Prior to the show we booked into the adjoining Olive Tree Cafe for dinner. Regardless of the time of day there is normally at least one comic sitting in a booth scribbling away at notes and sure enough, a nervous looking Phil Hanley was there, counting down the minutes to the first of two recordings* that evening of his new special. As with his peers like Sam Morril and Mark Normand, Phil is (I believe) recording it for Youtube streaming. As he stood up to leave I wished him good luck.
* Aziz Ansari, who Phil used to support, would end up attending the filming.
The FBPC has been remodelled slightly but the capacity looks about the same. Oddly they've also converted the back of the bar to include seated tables and a small stage. I'm not sure how that works as a performance space if the bar is still serving walk-in customers (I assume they don't) but it was irrelevant for our show as we were in the usual space. Update on this - the original room is described as The Lounge and the new area The Bar. We got seated without issue - in the past I've had some difficulties (see a previous blog post for extensive whining on my part).
The host was new to me and won't be forgotten in a hurry. I would venture that there's never any doubt whether Mehran Khaghani is or isn't in a room. Todd, Sam and Sean were all excellent, especially Sean. Sam's high-collared black jacket made him look even more like a cartoon vampire than usual. I particularly enjoyed Todd gently remonstrating with the audience when a punchline didn't land, insisting that as he knew more about comedy than we did, we were wrong not to laugh.
Matthew Broussard was fine, Jordan Jensen and Sergio Chicon were unremarkable and then with a ripple of excitement they announced that Ramy Youssef was making a surprise appearance. I had never seen Ramy when he was a club comic but he wasn't especially well-rated. Now he's transitioned to TV (with yet another "fictionalised version of himself" format on Hulu) and has short-cutted his way to a degree of standup fame. His material was very much early musings on topics. He did get a few laughs, I expect because he's semi-famous now. Had the same material been delivered by an unknown it would have been met with silence.
I went to Ambush Comedy at Two Boots in Williamsburg a few years ago. Perhaps I lucked in or was in an unusually good mood that night but subsequent visits have always disappointed. It's a free show that even gives out a complimentary beer so it's a bit mean to be too harsh on it. Wednesday's show was again devoid of poison and had Josh Johnson listed (who had been at Frantic on Monday) and was due to be headlined by Monroe Martin who I hadn't seen in ages so it seemed like a good opportunity to revisit.
The night was, regrettably, quite a tough one. Host Chris Reiter, Brittany Cardwell, Casey James Salengo and Ophira Eisenberg all disappointed to varying, occasionally horrific, degrees. Josh Johnson didn't turn up so the only glimmer of light in the body of the show was Maddie Wiener, though Monroe did close and boy was the difference in ability noticeable.
As well as the free beer (a can of Miller Lite) they do a draw for a slice of pizza at the end of the evening. The bloke sitting beside us who had nursed his one can all night and spent most of the show looking at his phone was the deserving winner of the slice.
Girlfriend had booked her terrible play (Medicine at St Ann's Warehouse) for Thursday which meant I was unsupervised and could choose something selfish to see. I am a sucker for passion projects in comedy and The Tiny Cupboard in the arse end of Brooklyn's Bushwick very much ticks that box. It's nowhere even remotely near the rest of the NYC comedy scene, has been set up with very little money and clearly doesn't have any commercial ambitions. There used to be a place in Queens with a similar vibe that I only made it to once before it disappeared.
They were a bit cagey about what shows were on that night (an email to them went unanswered) but it eventually transpired that two shows would be happening in their main room. I couldn't even work out how many rooms they had, though their appealing-sounding rooftop shows are suspended due to safety concerns! I booked a ticket for $10 plus tax but that did include a free beer. Nearer show time I saw them advertising half price tickets, still with the free beer, which would virtually make the show free.
After dinner near the terrible play I started the subway trek out to TTC. Rather than dick about with connecting subways I got off early and walked the last section. The area could be described as colourful or vibrant (I've resisted the urge to put quotation marks round those words) but it didn't actually feel unsafe. I arrived early and someone (a comic or owner maybe?) was nice enough to usher me in to the end of the previous show. I took a seat as discreetly as possible and watched the headliner, plus the two hosts saying their thanks and goodbyes.
After a brief turnaround and me showing my ticket and claiming the free beer and slice of pizza (also included in the price) things kicked off with a new host. The room is akin to an improvised Fringe venue and was, let's be generous and say, lightly populated. Three girls who'd been there for the early show returned and continued chatting not nearly quietly enough for my liking so I switched seats. Even though the acts were now delivering to the opposite side of the room from where I was seated, I was much happier.
It wasn't a hugely successful night in terms of standard of comedy but I enjoyed the experience. When I realised that the headliner was going to be the same as the previous show I made my exit. I was barely out the building and could hearing someone bellowing "FUCK!!!" over and over again. Reaching the corner I saw a guy violently flailing around, by himself, screaming repeatedly. He was roughly heading towards the subway I had planned to get but had now lost interest in. An old black guy with a zimmer frame standing beside a store silently made a "he's crazy" motion to me as we both eyed shouty-boy closely. At that point SB turned abruptly round and moved worryingly towards me. There was a car between us and I decided that I would shamelessly make sure it remained between us. He then about-turned and jinked into traffic and, amidst the sound of blaring horns, navigated his way through a crossroads and off out of sight. Like I said, vibrant.
Four nights of comedy (in a row) will certainly do for my first visit in nearly two years. I'll be back towards the end of December if the world doesn't collapse again.
Trip Stats
Shows Entered - 4
Expenditure - $24
Free Beers Received - 2
Free Beers Drunk - 1
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