On our last NYC visit we spunked quite a lot of money on comedy. This time we spent almost nothing. And did we have just as much fun? No, no we didn't. It was quite a torrid time actually, but there were some definite high points.
I normally shy away from weekend comedy but as our nine day trip covered two weekends, a little flexibility might be required. The Monday Night Mob guys (who used to be at Standup NY but stopped due to its imminent closure) also have a Sunday show at one of the New York Comedy Club venues. I messaged the organisers via Eventbrite to try to find out if there were drink minimums or, ideally, specials (like the SUNY show used to have). As no response was forthcoming I ditched the plan and resolved to do better the following evening.
I'd considered trekking out to the Tiny Cupboard in Bushwick as I hadn't been there for a while. However, I discovered that you could view the planned lineup when you go to book a ticket and the situation did not look promising. Paperweight Comedy was an alternative - a weird, free show in a building in the middle of McCarron Park in Williamsburg with a single drink minimum. As it was convenient for the L train (that would take me back to Union Square and Frantic at The Stand) the decision was made.
I turned up at the advertised start time (I'm very, very slowly coming to realise that this is rarely the smart thing to do), bought a drink and chanced upon a producer getting the room ready. He then helpfully told me that drink specials were available. The show kicked off with a small but engaged audience. The standard of comics really wasn't bad but when I contacted them the next day to get a list of the names, I once again got nothing back. The host decided to do 20 mins before the final act, which disrupted the rhythm slightly and when the last performer did come on, he was arguably the poorest. I didn't want to be late for Frantic so slipped out as quietly as I could and headed for the Bedford Street L station.
Frantic's published lineup didn't really excite but it never seems to be terribly accurate, so you pays your money (no money at all actually) and you takes your chances. I arrived almost exactly at 10pm, got a drink upstairs and headed for the showroom. Halfway down I met Joe Harary on the stairs. We shook hands and he casually motioned towards the room and said that (a name I didn't catch) would seat me. I walked the last few steps and before the greeter could speak, I said that Joe had said that I could seat myself and strode confidently towards where I wanted to sit on the back row. Not absolutely what Joe had said, but I think, deep down, that's what he meant.
Aaron opened in a whirlwind of offence. As usual the front row bore the brunt of it. I shouldn't laugh at him as much as I do. Derek Drescher was up first. It must be difficult to follow Aaron's energy and it wasn't a particularly inspiring set. Next was an unlisted TJ Miller. He's obviously working up material for a tour. The last time I saw him was, coincidentally, at Monday Night Mob. I was able to watch him a bit more closely this time. He's charismatic and he engages you very quickly in each bit. Then you realise he's moved on to the next topic and that previous material had almost nothing to it. It's like a magic trick.
As both Aaron and TJ had been on for a fair while, by the time the next act was due my pint was done. I swithered between staying and going. When they announced Dean Delray as next up, I made for the exit, holding the ludicrously-heavy front door open for a rapidly-departing TJ.
During the day on Tuesday we happened to wander past The Old Man Hustle bar. There are no signs of it reopening or even turning into something else. That night we paid a visit to The Olive Tree Cafe for food and some comedian-spotting, not necessarily in that order. Podcast pals Sam Morril and Mark Normand were both at the comics table, along with Jim Norton and another couple I couldn't identify. Mark went downstairs for a spot at the Cellar and we spotted Sam via the screens at the FBPC Bar. Mark was still on stage when I made my way through the venue to the bathroom. He was doing his Ice bit which I've heard about four times now and absolutely despair of.
We'd noticed that a show called Classy Trashy upstairs at The Stand on Thursday was scheduled to have Judah Friedlander appear. Although the rest of the lineup wasn't that inspiring, there aren't that many chances to see Judah these days. He's quite concerned about Covid and keeps a low profile. When he does appear he's heavily masked. We had pencilled in buying tickets for that until Ambush Comedy sent out the lineup for their weekly Wednesday night (free) show in Williamsburg. Judah was on that too. The decision was made to attend Ambush and if for some reason he didn't appear, Classy Trashy could be a fallback.
In order to keep track of the literally hundreds of comedians I see in New York, I document them all with a mark ranging from minus two up to two. There are a very small number of minus twos but this Ambush show had two of the bastards. This has never happened before. One of them we hadn't seen for a while so maybe they'll have improved? We hoped.
Last time we attended Ambush we turned up at the quoted "doors" time and perversely almost didn't get a seat. They used to give out a free beer to the first 24 in attendance but I'm not sure if that had anything to do with how busy it was. This time we were one of the first there so secured our preferred seats (by the bar - closest to the exit). I asked Lucas, one of the show producers (see pic below), if there were still free beers. He chuckled and said something to the effect that they were a thing of the past on account of Josh (Johnson - another producer) being on The Daily Show. I misunderstood slightly and said that I thought he'd been at TDS for a while. Lucas clarified that he'd been a writer for a while but was now front-of-camera talent. He then looked panicked and added quickly that perhaps he wasn't meant to reveal that.
The room filled up to a decent level but when Lucas kicked off hosting duties there was still no sign of The World Champion (JF). The evening progressed, it has to be said, not terribly successfully. On the bright side, Josh turned up and did a set and the minus two had indeed improved and has now been upgraded to a minus one in my bumper list of NYC comics. Of moderate interest was Mae Planert, who is married to Mark Normand. Her relationship with him was the focus of her set. Amusingly she suggested that we (the audience) probably wouldn't have heard of him. I resisted the desire to quietly call out "Comedy!". Towards the end of the show we spotted a masked figure making his way in. To our delight Judah came on to close, focusing on his "presidential campaign" and attempting to engage with a shy crowd.
After the show was over we went over to say hello. I've written before about how he seems to know who we are and apparently enjoys chatting about comedy in general and specifically NYC comedy rooms. After a minute or two he finished talking to the person standing in front of us and I got ready to thank him for the show and nervously ask about his health (as he'd been in hospital recently). "YOU GUYS!" he exclaimed (to our utter, utter delight). "I can't believe I didn't see you. We need to get a picture!". This was the weirdest part. We've got pictures with you before. Both of us use it for at least one online profile. Is the picture for you?
We talked for a couple of minutes, both of us trying hard to suppress our fan boy/girl tendencies. Things reached a peak of excitement when he suggested that he was going to call in to another room at a nearby ten pin bowling place ("I KNOW THIS PLACE! IT'S THE GUTTER" I just about managed to avoid squealing) and did we want to come along? We did our best to appear a cool blend of interested but nonchalant, whilst very nearly wetting ourselves. We did have the tiny issue of having planned to get food after the show but the prospect of walking down the street, chatting to our new best friend was way more appealing!
There then followed quite a long period of him packing up his equipment and getting quizzed by other comedians about all sorts of stuff while we waited around awkwardly. Eventually, concerned that we were going to look like a couple of weird, stalkery hangers-on, we decided that we'd breezily suggest that we were going to head off. We broached the topic and he said that he was instead maybe going to go to an open-mic at Pete's Candy Store, a nice little spot with a charismatic performance space that will feature in this write-up later on. Noticing how close the group of comedians were sticking to him and fearing that we might end up in a hugely-uncomfortable conversation with one whose set we had particularly hated, we opted for a "less is more" approach and made our excuses.
I told David from Monkey Barrel this story and he immediately observed "you didn't want to share him!". There is possibly an element of truth in that.
On Thursday I was flying solo. There was a free show called LAf DAnce SAloon (their capitalisation) in the back space of a bar called Basik in (again) Williamsburg. The lineup was decent and included Emily Walsh who I'd seen do an hour at 2023's Fringe. It was a pleasant enough way to spend an evening. The host, Jill Weiner, was new to me but she was affable, Dylan Palladino earned a pass mark and Emily was solid. There was an overly-enthusiastic audience member who, despite being sober, drew a bit too much focus in the small room. He wasn't malicious, he just needed shooshing. I'm now on the show's mailing list and would consider going back.
Dangerfield's was a comedy club on the upper east side of Manhattan, co-owned by Rodney Dangerfield. It operated for 50 years and eventually closed in 2020. It re-opened in 2024 rebranded as Rodney's. The "Mob" guys have an early show there on Fridays which seemed like the ideal, low-cost, way to go and have a look. The drink specials at Monday Night Mob had been $5 beer and $6 wine, which is hard to find fault with. Rodney's was offering $8 terrible beer or $8 wine. Not quite as much of a bargain. Regardless, we got some wine, said hello to comic and Mob honcho Kevin Hurley and found some seats that we liked and the person doing the seating did not. Was it another failure Steve? Yes, it could probably be described as that. It was nice to see a new room but it's not a terrific space for standup, the beer is unappealing and the location is not one that we spend much time near.
Girlfriend was off to a terrible matinee on Saturday so I trawled through Eventbrite, looking for something that would fit the time-slot. There was an open-mic called Loose Lips at Pete's Candy Store (as mentioned earlier in the Judah section). I turned up just after it started and found it to be absolutely rammed. It chugged along nicely - everyone seemed pleasant and it was well-run and friendly. It's a pretty light criticism but if had to be, I mean HAD TO BE either 1% more woke or 1% less, it could probably be 1% less. However I'd happily go back.
Trip Stats
Shows attended - 6
Shows in Williamsburg - 4
New venues - 2
Expenditure - $5
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