Valentine's Day weekend, a time for love. Right? Saturday night, there was a lot of love in the air at the Carolina Theatre. After a false start due to weather, the second time turned out to be the charm. A large crowd, 5 great comics competing, Eric Trundy hosting AND doing a set, and sets by the First Couple of Triad Comedy (nay, perhaps even the whole state); mix that all together and you have an event that was pretty damn close to perfection. Though at the beginning of the evening, there was a little bit of worry. While there was talking going on in the crowd, it seemed a bit reserved for this type of event. As the theater filled, there still seemed to be little energy in the air (well, other than the nervous energy coming from the participants of the show, for a variety of reasons). As I watched people come in, one thing that I noticed that makes me proud to be a part of the Greensboro, etc comedy scene, was the large number of comics. If you want to know what is so special about the comedy scene, this sums it up nicely. Seeing so many people who had taken the stage coming out to support the ones who made it through. Watching the interactions before and after the show, one might assume that there is a strong bond beyond just what comes from being fellow comics and competitors. In this case, that assumption would be correct.
Okay, let's get this recap of the show going, shall we?
Sitting in the audience waiting on the show to start, as I mentioned above, the crowd seemed a bit more reserved for a show of this type, with so much on the line. More than one of the comics who came out for the show mentioned this as well. It was easy to see that there was some concern about this, but the finalists I talked to before the show seemed to use this to build their energy; wanting to give it their all to win over the audience. It seemed like quite a challenge, but one they would be up to facing. Of course, there was an ace in the hole, Eric Trundy as host!
Eric came out and pretty much won over the audience within a few simple sentences and a couple of comments about his powder blue thrift store suit. Most people would think that sitting through the sponsor list, rules for the competition, and the like would put a damper on any energy built up so far. You could not be more wrong. Interjecting asides along the way, Eric actually ramped up the energy from the audience as he went along. While he was explaining why people shouldn't be talking during the show, several members of the audience yelled and made comments. Eric responded to each with a combination of charm and snark. With each insult and bits of explanation of past instances where someone tried to interrupt the proceedings, he got more laughter and energy going from the crowd. It would seem that it would suck to follow this, but not to worry. First up, Steve Lesser to open the actual show.
And open it he did! With his usual understated delivery style and slightly wonky wit, not only did he not drop the energy level, he built upon it. Seeming way too at ease on stage than one would expect in such an atmosphere, Steve moved through a smooth as silk set; along the way hitting on notes that the audience could identify with. From going to the gym to a first time visit to a trampoline park, it was very easy to imagine myself in those situations. Another cool thing about Steve's sets is that he will drop some subtle and/or intellectual bits in the middle of things, and the audience pounced on each one and responded enthusiastically. The audience at this point was more than warmed up and ready to give the contestants a lot of love.
Picking up where Steve left off, Eric came back out and pretty much cemented his rapport with the audience. Then he introduced, the first of the finalists to take the stage, Troy Dougie Harris!
And he was off and running from the get go. Troy, a personal trainer when he isn't doing comedy, took over the stage even as he started his set. Grinning like a kid in a candy store, the level of energy he was putting out just swept the audience along in its wake. Troy had a lot of support in the audience and the way they responded to him and, in turn, the way he responded to them, was almost magical. His jokes about the joys for him in personal training walked a line between being "in" jokes for his co-workers and being enough to hook the general audience. And he walked that line with amazing finesse. Bouncing from his job to things like "needing to get to the bathroom in a hurry while shopping", had everyone rolling . I could see some people nodding their head in agreement with his take on the situation, and I knew he was connecting perfectly with the crowd. As he talked about being a father and shopping with his child, the crowd laughed louder and I could see more people acknowledging how close to home and relatable his comedy was for them. Troy left the stage to an incredible response, leaving a lot of energy for the next comic to play off of. In what would be a theme of the evening, Troy outdid any other performance I have seen of his before.
Not one to let the chance pass by, Jay Stadler is introduced and takes the stage. There is a slight pause where Jay smiles, takes a breath and then drops into his routine. Bringing a different type of energy than Troy's, Jay was just as effective in sweeping up the audience in his wake. Jay's warning to the audience. 'I talk fast, so try to keep up!", was enough to get the laughter started. And Jay hardly gave the audience a chance to catch its collective breath (meant in a completely complimentary way). Even having seen Jay perform on several occasions and knowing how good a comic he is, I was amazed! He surpassed every other performance of his I have seen. Yes, he covered a lot of material, but even as he did indeed talk fast, his pacing was impeccable! Often hitting the right high points perfectly, he kept the audience's attention and they rewarded him with huge amounts of laughter and applause. Also, in something of a slight departure from a lot of his material, Jay got a little more personal than he usually does by talking about his current relationship. While I know Jay and knew it was a bit of a change, the crowd responded to it as if they knew him as well and their responses went up a step. He won over the audience and had them rooting for him, as a comic AND as himself. As he left the stage, he was followed by the raucous appreciation of the audience.
Here, Eric took the stage again to do a couple of reminders and to announce an intermission. During the intermission, I stood up and looked around. The smiles were numerous and I heard quite a few people either repeating lines from the earlier routines or just talking about how good the show had been so far. The energy level did not drop one bit. In fact, it felt like the energy level increased due to expectations of the routines to come.
As intermission ended, Eric again took the stage. He made a comment that, while he wasn't sure this was the biggest audience (though it was probably), it was the best crowd he has seen for a UCC Finals. The crowd response to this was deafening.
Next up, Eric announces that, before we get back to the finalists, there is another comic coming to the stage... Jennie Stencil!. Jennie came out to a large round of applause (and a few wolf whistles). Before I get into her set, I have to say that, before the show, I ran into her in the lobby and asked how she was was. Her response was that she was "okay" but had no idea what she was going to do for her set. Normally, one would expect a disaster in such a case. However, having heard the same thing from Jennie before several performances, I was not worried one bit. And she quickly showed that my faith was warranted. While her routine mainly focused on riffing off of her marriage and kids, she delivered a hilarious, yet non-family-friendly, set, And I mean that in the best possible way. Playing on 'naughty' twists of very relatable themes, Jennie wowed the crowd. Seeing quite a few people with a 'Really?" look on their faces made the performance even funnier to me. She set the tone nicely for the next comic to takes the stage - Zo Myers!
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Following the higher energy comedy from Troy, Jay and Jennie, Zo flipped the script on the crowd by hitting on all cylinders with a more laid back, measured set. A lot of times, that could be a recipe for disaster, but Zo, as he so often does, was able to grab the audience and keep the energy level flying high. Keeping a good pace and hitting laugh lines so precisely, Zo worked off of the audience's responses, using pauses and natural laugh breaks to add his twists to mundane things. From talking about being a stripper (copper, that is) to a bit about the old game, "Guess Who?", Zo easily led the audience on the paths he wanted them to take; only to pull the rug out from under their expectations, all to the audience's delight. It was easy to buy into Zo's confident and measured demeanor, and that made twists even more effective. As always, it was a tremendously funny set for Zo.
The next comic to take the stage was Dusty Cagle. Having seen Dusty the first time he ever took the stage in a stand up class at the Idiot Box and seeing his progress in the roughly year and a half (!!!), I was especially looking forward to his performance. Earlier, Dusty had expressed some concerns, but from the moment he stepped out on the stage, it was clear his concerns were unfounded. Dusty has an almost frenetic delivery style. It is easy to get caught up by it and end up winded as he finishes his set. Saturday, he showed a level of control and an ability to play off of the audience reactions that was not only remarkable to see from a comic with his amount of experience, but exhilarating to experience. His turns in the earlier rounds were at such a high level that it was kind of a daunting idea that he could outdo them. He not only outdid them, he left them in the dust (no pun intended). Using facial expressions, almost perfect pacing, and a big dose of self-deprecating humor, Dusty had the crowd eating out of his hands by the end of his set. Getting a sustained applause break, Dusty seemed to draw energy from it and finished his set with even more energy. The crowd responded wonderfully, trying to give back to him as much energy as he had shown in his set.
One comic left to go, and each of the preceding comics stepping up their game to a higher level, it would be easy to overwhelm a comic. Luckily, the final comic of the night was, or at least seemed, unfazed by it. As she took the stage, Melissa Douty's smile was almost as sparkling as the top she wore. I am pretty sure she won over the audience before she even said one word. Combining an upbeat delivery with a down home, decidedly Southern demeanor, it is almost impossible not to be trapped by her charm and comic ability. Hitting on things like "I can't believe it's not butter", carpooling with her lunch, getting her eyebrow done, and working at Red Lobster, it was almost like sitting down for iced tea and a nice chat with your best friend. As with Troy, she had a large group of supporters and, again, like Troy, seeing her feed off of that energy and then stepping it up and pretty much controlling the whole audience's energy was, for lack of a good enough superlative, incredible. Like Dusty, seeing the joy she radiated as the set went along was something that I would have hated to miss. As happened pretty much all evening for me, there came a point where I kind of forgot this was a competition and I just sat back and reveled in the experience of seeing such talent on stage. Even with the level of responses all evening, it was pretty easy to see that Melissa was someone special. From getting multiple applause breaks, to the length of said breaks, and the level of noise as she ended her set, it was clear that Melissa had not only won over the crowd, but she had made an indelible mark on not only the UCC, but the local comedy scene in general.
At this point, the judges were all called together to go over their rankings and to figure out who finished in what spot. Eric Trundy again took the mic, but this time not as a host, but as the closer for the show (kind of flowery, but sounds better than "time filler until the judges finish"). Having done an excellent job hosting, the crowd was pretty jazzed to hear Eric perform and he didn't disappoint. Throwing out jibes to people in the audience intermittently as he did his set just won the crowd over even more. In the midst of talking about things like his experiences in comedy, winning the UCC and touching on family stuff, Eric went into some surreal territory talking about such things as mushrooms before taking an airplane flight. It really didn't matter what he did, the audience was into everything he said. Even though the announcement of the judges' decision was still to come, Eric's set was the perfect ending to an almost perfect show.
The only thing left at this point is to announce the results, I guess. I want to preface that by restating something that Steve Lesser says, this is the moment I love and hate the most. It is great to congratulate the winner, but it sucks that some great talent falls a bit short. No matter what happens, all of the finalists kicked ass. All of them went above and beyond their usual high level and gave the audience an evening that will be remembered and talked about for a long time to come.
With no further ado, it is time to give the results:
Tied for 4th place: Troy Dougie Harris and Zo Myers
3rd place: Dusty Cagle
2nd place: Jay Stadler
and the winner of the Ultimate Comic title:
1st place: Melissa Douty**
Congratulations to you all! It was an honor watching you perform and sharing the stage with you and all the other local comedians in the competition!
** making UCC history, Melissa Douty is the first female comic to make the finals, and (obviously), to take the title**