Takin' Care Of Business

Takin' Care Of Business

Saturday, February 19, 2005- 9:34 A.M.

 

Last night was a great show at Danny Liberto's  comedy room in Dunkirk, NY, a place by the name of Borello's Little Italy.  The timbre of the room was immediately noticeable by the number of bunches of fake plastic grapes festooned about the room, as well as movie posters the likes of the Godfather, Goodfellas, The Sopranos, Scarface, et al....in other words, thank you mama, I'm home!

The room was packed....paid attendance was 160, and I think the room was only supposed to hold 99.  It was elbow-to-elbow, and the crowd had a fantastic time.  Phil Sherman opened the show, and unfortunately, the small stage didn't allow Philly to uncork his usual magic with all of his music and dancing bits....the stage was REALLY small.  He did a fine job, though, and after I pulled that old show business trick of starting the applause breaks in the back of the room (you clap, and then everyone in front of you hears the clap, and they start clapping), the audience then took it upon themselves to lighten up and give Phill the love.

I went up afterwards, and gave the crowd a little of what I sensed they wanted...Italian humor.  I didn't ham it up too much, and then got to my normal set...the rule is, get them to like you right up front, and then you can take them anywhere.  I had a lot of fun, and had lots of nice compliments afterward, so I guess I did a good job.

The star of the night was without a doubt, Nick Siracuse.  Nick hails from Fredonia, NY, which is just a hop, skip, and a little car ride in the trunk from Dunkirk.  Needless to say, everyone in the room knew him as Dom, short for Dominic which is Nick's real name, and I feel like a gavone because I've been calling him Nicholas for the 12 years I've known him.  Everyone in the room either went to high school with him, or was on his bowling team, or babysat his two kids.  As you could imagine, he destroyed the room, and I'm not saying this to illustrate any point; Nick destroys the room wherever he goes, he's got bags of material, conjures punchlines on the spot, and his wit has been recognized by no less than Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien, who he writes for regularly.  Nick didn't need the help of being in his own backyard, but it certainly didn't hurt him.

After a quick stop home at the Rochester Comix Café  to say hello to the troops, including Buffalo's own Matt Bergman who is serving as the host and mc this week, I said hello to old friends Mike Glosek, Mark Ippolito, Jake Clawson, Jessica Rusinko, Matt Forsythe and Porter Matthews.  A shot of  Jim Beam Black (strictly for medicinal purposes), and then off to pick up a little late-night repast for myself and the lovely wife.  Phil carpooled with me, and then managed to get into his car and head back to Wayne County, not realizing that he had left his coat in my car, which gave me a good reason to sit around the bar for a little while and shoot the breeze.  All in all, a wonderful evening.  Tonight, it's off to Williamsport, PA, the home of the Little League World Series and a show with the very funny Joe Cumbo at the Radisson hotel, in the employ of Danny Liberto and the Comedy Company.  I'm very much looking forward to the evening, and an opportunity to really pull out the ha-ha's in the headliner spot.  A very public thank you to Danny for giving me the chance, as well as putting money in my pocket.

In other news, by jockeying the phones and contacting booking agents this week, I'm happy to say that I only have 13 weeks left to 2005 that remain unbooked.  If your local comedy outlet isn't on the schedule, ask for me by name!  I'll go there, wherever you are.  My entire 2005 schedule is published on my AOL homepage, so take a gander and see where I'll be.  Check it out at Ralph Tetta Touring Schedule.

Today, count your blessings.  It's much more satisfactory to look at the doughnut than the hole.

 

Ralph Tetta

Rochester, NY