This week, Gregg Gethard performs on a new show in Philadelphia.

Last night was awesome.

It was one of those nights that reminded me why I love performing comedy so much. The guys from Camp Woods, this new sketch group who have burst upon the local comedy scene with the fiery intensity of 100 fireballs, have started up a show at the Starlight Ballroom. For those not in the know, the Starlight Ballroom is a really big local music venue that is usually home to decent sized indie bands touring through the area. Having a show at this place is huge for the Philly comedy scene.

I was lucky enough to be invited to perform at their debut show on Thursday. And I think I did a really good job and took away a lot of things to do in the future wherever I play.

The crowd was about 20 people. It felt smaller than that because of the size of the venue, but this was actually a pretty good turnout for a debuting show the night after Philly went crazy because of the Phillies clinching a World Series berth. They were all young hipster-ish kids; I don’t think anyone was over the age of 25. It’s been a while since I performed at a “real” show in front of a crowd that’s more in tune with my own sensibilities, which I thought would be a great compare/contrast from performing in front of more older, adult suburban audiences.

I went on second. The opening act put on a great set and was terrific. I went on stage carrying my props (which is a weird thing to admit to saying in a public forum) in a big plastic bag like I was a homeless guy who thought he was Santa Clause.

The Starlight has a giant stage and also a wireless microphone. This provided difficult when I did my baby powder bit since there was no mic stand. I somehow managed to pour my baby powder in my hand while holding the microphone against my chest to introduce myself. This was a little hard to do and probably looked incredibly awkward and bizarre on stage. But it was the only thing I could think of. From now on, I’m going to always check to see if there’s a mic stand or not in order to figure out a better way to handle this if it occurs again.

But I loved having a wireless mic and a giant stage. I love to move around a lot, which I definitely did. It also allowed me to go into the crowd, which I absolutely love doing. I have a joke where I compliment the eyes of various audience members. I haven’t done it in a while but I broke it out last night since I could get into the crowd. I’ve done this bit at the one other time I had a wireless mic and it worked really well. But other times, when I have a corded mic, it hasn’t gone over. I think making it really personal and getting physically near audience members when I deliver this really makes it work.

After that, the next thing I remember doing was my BoyzTown (a fictional boy band I belonged to in the late 90s) song. I started this on stage but went back into the crowd. This is because I saw an audience member wearing a fedora-style hat. I did the BoyzTown bit in Philly’s Phunniest Contest over the summer and saw a guy with a similar hat. I took it from him and wore it for a little bit before throwing it back at him. That really got over well. So I always look to see now if an audience member has a hat within distance for me to steal. I took this guy’s hat, wore it for a second and then threw it to the other side of the room towards a garbage can. I was trying to get it into the garbage can but the hat hooked left.

Also during the song, I started to crawl and writhe on the floor like some backup dancer in a Lady Gaga video. This also had a good response and I’m going to keep doing that whenever I do the BoyzTown stuff.

I also did the hypnosis bit once again. I used my “hypnosis sock” which I’m going to keep using from now on, since it’s funny to stick a dirty sock into the face of an audience member. This time, he ordered me to do jumping jacks, which I obediently did. I was kind of kicking myself right after I did the jumping jacks. I did them at normal speed; I think it would be more successful if I did the order with 150% commitment and with some manic energy. Another thing to keep in mind next time I get up on stage. I also used the Altoids afterwards but spit them out. I also did the sign of the cross and pointed to the sky while doing this, which I did impromptu. It’s another thing to I’m going to keep doing in the future.

I ended my set with the slingshot. I had two audience members on stage with me to hold the ends of the slingshot. I then fired my hypnosis sock into the crowd. It barely fell off the stage, which was a great visual gag to end the set.

It was definitely one of the best sets I’ve ever done. However, there were three problems:

1. I completely whiffed on doing the “Before I begin my set…” introduction. I got caught up in the moment and blanked on it. It hit me towards the end of the act that I forgot to do it. If I remembered, it would have really gotten over and tied everything up in a neat little package.
2. I have a hard time remembering the order of my set. I rely on my notes in order to keep doing it. However, I left the stool way behind me so logistically it was hard for me to get to. It was very awkward. And it also led directly to problem three.
3. I forgot about the veteran’s bit. But I saw my American flag on stage and remembered. I held the American flag and said something like, “I love this country, but I hate veterans!” This got a good response and I decided to try out the rest of the joke. However, I completely whiffed on it and botched it. I can’t break this out at a real show until I work it out practicing or at an open mic some more.

Overall, this was a great week of shows for me. Here’s what I got from the week and learned:

1. Even though my stuff is definitely bizarre, I shouldn’t be afraid to try it out in front of an older, more “normal” crowd. It’s worked two times already. People who pay money to go to comedy shows are there to laugh. Playing to that without dumbing down anything I do (not that what I do isn’t dumb already) is something I have to keep doing consistently. Even more mainstream crowds like absurd/bizarre stuff.

2. One of my strengths is to move around on stage. Not too many people in the local scene move around. It helps me stand out and look different if I bring my natural manic tendencies with me on the stage and use that physically. Before every show, if there’s a corded mic, I’m going to test out exactly how far I can go off-stage with it. I’m going to mark the furthest spot I can get to (maybe bring some masking tape and place it on the floor like you’d do in a play) and try and work to that location. I want to keep a frenetic “madman” pace on stage from now on. But, at the same time, I also have to time stuff out properly to give the audience some breathing room.

3. If the microphone and stage limit what I can do physically, I’m going to try and do stuff without a microphone. I have an annoyingly loud natural speaking voice, especially when I’m excited. If the room is small enough, they’ll be able to hear me without any problem. It might also add to the absurdity that I want my act to have. Then again, it might not work at all. So we’ll see.

4. Definitely keep some of the things I discovered this week, especially the crawling dance I did during BoyzTown.

5. Remember my set-list. I’m just going to have to try and memorize it before I get on stage. And, at some point, I’m just going to have to wing it without my notes.

What also made this show fun was how great everyone who performed was. Joey Dougherty (who just graduated high school but has been doing shows for a while now) was a great opener. He did some stuff I haven’t heard from him yet that was absolutely great.

Brendan Kennedy went after me and delivered the best set I’ve ever heard from him. He literally had people crying in the crowd. What really sold it was that he looked like he wasn’t performing at all; he was having a conversation with the crowd, which is what everyone who does his style should strive for. Doogie Horner’s one of the best comics in Philly and is just consistently awesome; at this point, he’s more-or-less a professional and hits every single time.

Headlining was Aaron Hertzog, who hit an absolute grand slam. I think that Aaron’s improved more than anyone in the time I’ve been doing comedy. His stuff is now really tight and delivered very comfortably. I think he’s joined the group of comics that are considered the best in Philly. I’m very proud of him.

This night reminded me of just how much fun it is to perform and why I love doing this so much.

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