The Comedy Store - Open Mic Set

I did a thread a couple of weeks back when I won that Frog n'Bucket open mic night, but my clip wouldn't upload because of some formatting voodoo...

...Anyway, a few days later I won the comedy store's one and managed to upload the clip, if anyone's intrested in open mic level comedy, here's the link; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqHuAhpseFI

*I got heckled non-stop the second I took
to the stage because the crowd were very brutal
and 'actually' booed and screamed off the other 36
acts, the mc Mick Ferry said they were one of the more
bloodthirsty lot he'd seen in 6 years.. anyway, they liked
my jokes -- my searing, biting, hilariously succint social
satire -- and so I managed to win the cash prize and the open
spot on a pro bill*

*ps - that guy who heckled me for no reason, later
got glassed outside the strip-club on Deansgate.
Such is life.*

*pps - if anyone has critique/tips for improving my
comedy, it's very appreciated.*

Thanks x

Really good stuff. You dealt with the heckler well and won over the audience quickly, despite the first punchline not landing quite so well as it did in other clips you've posted.

Thank you for clicking the link Garry,
yeah, that nimrod truly stepped on my first punchline. The comedy store has a deep ampitheater set-up and you can barely hear/see the crowd.

The heckler was the act up next after me and got gonged off ten seconds into his first crass Madeline McCann 'shocking' line. Prick.

I enjoyed it. You had some good jokes in it, maybe you could slow down a teeny weeny bit. Other than that though it's a thumbs up from me. Your material is very good.

Good work JD

Quote: Nigel Kelly @ March 5 2012, 8:42 AM GMT

I enjoyed it. You had some good jokes in it, maybe you could slow down a teeny weeny bit. Other than that though it's a thumbs up from me. Your material is very good.

View original

You can see why he was rushing through though, it was a show he could be chucked off at any second in an audience that had booed off the majority of comedians on before him.

That was absolutely top stuff. I salute you for having the balls to go up on a stage like that, and I take my hat off for a great set. Well done! I could never have the guts to do what you do.

Thanks for sitting through the same jokes for a 3rd time A to the J to the G to the O

Cheers Mr Kelly, I did rush, and yeah, the 'gong' nature of it all means one stumble or one line gets a so-so response and you're off. Not ideal but definitely sharpens you up, in theory.

Hey Evan, thanks mate, it's not guts though, at amateur open-mic level, it's just about turning your point of view into something relatively amusing and meaning, and standing by, every single word you say in your act. (i think)

You should give it a go if you have any inclination/secret want, to try it, it's basically the same as writing screenplay dialogue and reciting your work yourself in public with an immediacy of response the writersroom don't/won't give you.

I've talked to jobbing comedians who say they churn out dated jokebook wordplay like it's deadline paperwork, because they have kids to feed or a holiday home that needs a pool clean etc and it's 'just' a job, no personal expression, no adrenelin, just work. - But, whilst you're still brand new and without a clue as to how to play the game or do it properly, or without a desire/financial need to beg for corporate 'keep it clean/keep it snappy' gigs, you're free to do as you please, stay true to yourself and then hope someone else likes it

Really good, you look at home up there, notably more confident and it's obvious the audience sense this and are really enjoying it...well done JD.

Thanks Missy,
Is fhearr fheuchainn na bhith san duil!

Very confident performance - and well done on cutting back on the swearing!

Main criticism would be that the dad stuff feels a bit more like therapy than comedy; toning it down and channelling the anger more might make it more universal and easier to relate to. Most people have issues with their parents, but not perhaps to the same extent.

Well done JD, getting through the Comedy Store King Gong is the hardest thing on the Open Mic circuit. There is much you can learn from this, aside from developing the skills you quite clearly currently have. It seems at the moment you haven;t yet found your voice (your stage persona and direction) which of course only comes with doing gigs. All I can suggest is keep writing and performing - Woody Allen would write twenty minutes of material for a five minute set and then cut it all down, and for me it has been the most useful piece of advice. Well done mate, looking forward to seeing your next video.

Thanks for watching my clip Timbo, that dad stuff walks a fine line between comedy and aimless vitriol. To be honest the bit bores me now. Everything I write, watch or read bores me. I'm trying now to lighten up and do bits that coast on stuff everyone likes so that my act isn't "here's a list of people I dislike". And yep, less swearing sounds a lot better than random cursewords that serve not one purpose.

Thank you for the comment Monkey, these five minute sets can be torture to try and cram so much into a tiny slot, in a proper set length it takes a few minutes to even warm up and say Hi, in these type of evenings you literally, get up out of your chair when your name is announced, climb on stage, attempt to vibe with the crowd and deliver bits and get your point across and deliver punchlines, all in 300 seconds, and then return to your seat and sit and watch comedy reduced to a competitive sport that makes a spectacle out of stand-up, because audiences are treated like morons who need an "x-factor/judgement" style edge to the night.

Then because you cut and paste bits from longer sets, the whole thing becomes an uneven mish-mash of topics. Anyway.

Its great seeing you develop Jack. You are indeed going from strenth to strenth. I don't have any criticism as such (I think you are on the right path) but I would like to hear you use your accent a wee bit more in your act. Maybe its because I have not lived in England for over a decade but I do like your accent and some of the words you use. Maybe work on this to find your voice more? I certainly don't think it will hinder your set if you try to embrace your sound/background to comic effect.

Hmmm, I am tired and not thinking straight.....I hope you get where I am coming from (?).

Cheers Bob!
I think I may have to try and curb my accent though, in time, when I post clips online there's two arty/comedy message boards I only ever post on. Here, then there's another one related to comedy which has over 500 people reading any one topic at any given time, and literally 100's of thousands of members, anyway..

That YouTube clip I posted got 420 hits in 2 hours when I put it up and then I got about 250 emails and pms, from people (mostly american, canadian) saying good things, but the thing of my accent kept coming up. The one negative comment I got was: "The only thing about your comedy that made me laugh is the fact we both speak the same language and I didn't understand a f'cking word you said!"