Sunday Bloody Sunday

Sunday Bloody Sunday                               1657

Friday, September 9, 2005-12:14 P.M.

Last night's show at the Geneva Comedy Playhouse was interesting, to say the least.  I worked with Joe Mulligan, a headliner out of NYC who I never saw before; actually, I never even heard of him before!  He's a really nice guy, and extremely talented.  His online profile led me to understand that he was a guitar comic, and I enjoy that stuff, so I looked forward to our show.

After gassing up at BJ's wholesale club (cheapest gas in town...$3.23 a gallon), I headed off to Geneva, about 55 miles east of Rochester.  When I arrived at the Playhouse, Chris, the manager, told us that we only had two reservations.  With walk-ins, our total house was SIX!

Now the last time I played in front of six people was in West Palm Beach last June, and that was the show where I drank 11 shots of whiskey and went all ker-plooey on stage.  Last night, I passed on the alcohol and just did my show...or a variation thereof.

I sat on a chair, and talked to the group, two tables of three who were all seated right up to the stage.  There was Rachel and her brother Jay, and Jay's girlfriend Courtney.  At the other table, there was Quinn and another guy and a girl, and unfortunately, their names escape me.  I talked to them on a person-to-person basis, and again, snuck my material in to regular conversation so they didn't really feel like they were being "played" to, just talked to by a funny guy.  It was interesting.  This whole summer has been a kind of comedy exploration for me, and it feels good to get back to the roots of why I ever got on stage in the first place.  I think that will be the difference for me in making it in this business, along with getting in front of the right people, which I really need to start doing and not so much worrying about just making money week to week.

Joe did his set from a seated position as well, and did guitar improv stuff...he would get personal information from the folks in the audience and then compose funny songs about them in a style suggest by the audience.  He never seemed at a loss for what the next line would be, which means he's either the fastest man alive, or he's done this act so much that no one could possibly stump him.  At first, no one could suggest a style of music, so I yelled out "Irish protest song," and damn if he didn't nail it, complete with the Dublin accent...I felt like I was at a U2 concert, only if U2 were two comedians trapped in a small town on a Thursday night.

On the way home, I had some errands to run, including picking up some "items" for the wife.  Pamela, as all women do, has "her" product that she uses, and recently, it's become hard to find.  On a gig in Syracuse about six months ago, I wandered into a Wegman's and found that they carried the "item" she favors, and I bought out the shelf.  The plan last night was because I was already about 55 miles east, perhaps I would find a Wegmans that carried the brand she likes.  I was unable to find a Wegmans until I got back to Rochester, and after hunting through two of the suburban stores as well as a 24-hour CVS, I headed to the Wegmans just down the street from El Casa Ghetto (our house in the ghetto), and lo and behold, they carry them again!  I had two coupons, so that made the experience all the sweeter, not only did I not have to come home empty-handed (unthinkable) or with a substitute product (are you kidding me?), I actually found the right stuff and was able to save three bucks.  I'm a superhero!  I'm Pad Man!  I can hear the theme music now....na na na na na na na na na na na na PAD MAN!  BIFF!  POW!  SQUISH!

Alright, that was unnecessary.  I apologize.  O.K., hopefully tomorrow I'll have nice news to report about how the club was packed tonight...stay tuned, same Pad time, same Pad channel.

Ralph Tetta

Rochester, NY

p.s.  I always title these journal entries with a classic rock song name...I work really hard to match them up, I write the entry then try to think of a song that fits what I just wrote about.  Today's wrote itself pretty quickly, and I hope you appreciate it.

Irish protest music, indeed.......