Monday nights are full of potential. With a week of open mics ahead I want to get off to a good start. I arrived early after the gym and put down my name on the list. Number 7 seemed like a fine spot!
I went home to make a pork enchilada and then walked back to Thank You Miami (TYM) in Little Havana to work out my set.
Back in the bar I saw a few familiar faces. Art asked me about my Marlin’s cap which had a funny story attached to it. Maybe material for a future bit! I saw Justice sitting with a friend at a table on the lower level and sat with him to write my setlist.
As I said, I wanted tonight to go well. Not just because I always do but especially so tonight. Last week was rough. Rough spots, rough crowds, rough drafts… I needed to prove to myself that I could still put down a solid five minute set.
I would start with a classic: “Unvaxxinated” and work in my newest favorite “Taxed & Vaxxed.” From here I wrote a topical joke about the Miami Dolphins game the night before that segued into my Joe Biden Bit. If I had any extra time I would bring in “Latinas” for a surefire closer.
I also penned a bit about looking for apartments while waiting for the show to start. Justice, his friend, and I played a few games of Uno and I won all three!
The booked show was pretty good I really enjoyed an energetic prop comedy set by Antonio who was on the road. He had bubble guns, shiny jackets, and his own speaker to lay down beats for his freestyle raps and eccentric entrance and exit.
I was familiar with all of the other comedians but seeing Nico do ten minutes instead of his regular five was nice. I had seen him working out the first five minutes of his set the Friday before and could tell he had some classics worked in that made his performance one of the best of the evening.
The open mic began at about 11:30. One drawback of TYM is how late the open mic starts. Even with an early spot on the list (which is difficult to get) the crowd thins out by the time I go up. Deep on the list you’re lucky to have even two or three people left in the audience.
I focused on watching as many performances as I could on this particular night. I feel that in the past I have been distracted on my phone, lounging around outside, or leaving early but I wanted to see comedy as much as perform it this particular Monday in order to get back into the groove.
Notable sets from the open mic were Adrien who I met on Friday. He worked out a new set and chatted with me after. I was the very next comedian up though so our chat was short lived but I paid homage to his shoplifting bit by incorporating him into my shoplifting joke from “Taxed and Vaxxed.”
A couple spots after me was Justice who did one of his best performances I had seen. He slowed down a bit and measured his punchlines. He seemed less nervous with his friend in the audience. I also enjoy the support of my friends outside of comedy as well as my peers within it.
I stayed to the end which rounded out with Geronimo and his friend Matteo. Geronimo suffered from not having notes but I think it was a nice low-stakes attempt by him to perform without aids in front of a crowd of three.
Joe Bob the host was great as always. He introduced me to the mic as a first time performer for the third time but I like that. I don’t know if he forgot me, he’s big-timing me, or he’s lowering expectations but for that last reason I think it is a great thing for a host to do: get the crowd on the comic’s side. The first host says about every comic: “you’re going to love this next performer,” which I really think puts the audience on defense. They’re thinking: Oh yeah? Also the fact that they are going to love each performer even when there are some duds in the lineup is just dishonest or at least not authentic. I always appreciate a show with Joe Bob at the helm for his tempering of expectations, light roasting, and quick wit that moves us through the list seamlessly.
The highlight of the night was after my set a staff member, Raul, approached me about coming on his Monday night show sometime. This sounds like an awesome opportunity and I plan on reaching out to him today.
Here was my set (sorry for terrible audio I will better consider my phone location next time filming at TYM):
Great set! Love the shoplifting joke & joe biden material 🤣😂
9/11 Party…“It’s hard to Never Forget when you’re drinking tequila”