A Tough Slot
Some comedy gigs are more difficult than others...
Ask a UK-based comedian about the most awkward shows they've ever done, and the phrase 'a corporate' is likely to crop up somewhere in the top five. Comedy does end up in some odd places, and there are many painful tales of a company's office party going perfectly well until the host tells everyone to stop laughing because the comedian is coming on. And they do.
Or perhaps that's just the wrong comedian in the wrong place at the wrong time. A famous episode of the US sitcom Louis features the eponymous star, Louis CK, getting booked to perform at a casino, which is not an uncommon location for comedy in North America. His stuff bombs horribly as people play slot machines in the background, but then he pops over to the big room and watches the legendary Joan Rivers bring the house down.
Horses for courses, as they say. If you want to recreate that distinctive North American comedy experience in the comfort of your own home here in Britain, buy one of the thousands of Louis CK DVDs that were suddenly dumped in charity shops late last year, then find a suitable website - Canadian casino deals can be found on Bonus.ca - and see how much you can remember about his set afterwards. Interactive entertainment tends to take over.
The lure of both corporate and casino gigs is, of course, a decent payday. Playing to knowledgeable comedy fans in a basement may be more preferable to many acts, on a creative level, but then marriage/kids/massive Edinburgh debts come along and the idea of finally earning some proper money for your skills suddenly sounds very appealing. And learning how to win over a distracted crowd is a skill in itself.
Most career comics will have done that many times anyway, even in regular comedy clubs. The Christmas gig is another category that regularly crops up in 'worst gig' stories: whole audiences made up of office parties who thought it was a good idea when they were arranging it but - having been drinking since lunchtime - really don't want to shut up and listen.
The sight of a stag or hen do - or both - in a crowd will also make most performers' hearts sink, as those groups are all about behaving badly enough to annoy sober people and secure a juicy anecdote ('remember that time we were the worst people in the world and got thrown out of that comedy club...?')
And then there are the pubs-with-TV-football-on, the student unions who won't turn off the music, and audiences who just instantly take against you and talk amongst themselves the moment you hit the stage. Working out how to win over these people is one of the key moments in making it in the comedy business, but then no-one ever really perfects it. Tricky crowds are what it's all about.