It is a strong looking audience tonight and the buzz builds quickly. There is a noticeable energy coming from the comics. It isn't quite a nervous energy, though that is a part of it. The nerves are combined with anticipation and it is very palpable. You can see how it is affecting the audience, which is always a great thing to see and experience. As the lights go down, the audience noise drops to a low hum and the energy spikes..
And the voice of Eric Trundy comes on over the speakers welcoming our host for the show, Steve Lesser. As the stage lights come up the energy ramps up to an almost physical presence. A particular bit of comedy happens that is a usual occurrence when Steve and Eric are at the helm together. Eric's rather playful, yet understated banter with Steve serves to kind of shape and focus the energy in the room. Add to that Steve's kind of every guy charm and sometime whiplash sharp asides and stray thoughts unleashed, and there is a sense of the audience buckling themselves in for what has the feel of a wild and spectacular ride. Even though this is mostly the housekeeping section of the show, there is not one bit of energy lost. As a matter of fact, the energy ramps up again as the first comic of the night is introduced.
The comic who has the chance to set the bar for the night, as well as the remaining comics, is a new to me comic, Joel Rieves! An amazing thing happens; we are presented with a smooth, if more than a little nerdy style and energy. It may be tempting to think that this would have killed or at least dampened the energy in the room. That would be a very wrong assumption. Using a disarming personality and delivery, Joel managed to not only keep the energy up, but he refocused it to his advantage within the span of one joke setup. By the moment he had finished his first bit, Rieves had command of the sandbox and he built a tight structure and the crowd followed him willingly from start to finish of the tour. Joel was able to set the bar in many ways. What followed was a showcase of the smooth and nerdy with eye opening, mindblowing counterpoints. This may have been the first time I have caught him on stage, but I am already anticipating catching him many more times in the future.
While Steve meshes well with pretty much any type of comedy, he tends to shine in the presence of nerdy comedy. Tonight is no different. He is able to build upon the comedy of the various sets without overpowering them. In many cases, in a sentence or a thought, he is able to kind of tie the various sets together, sometimes intentionally. Tonight it was not intentional as there was no real way to know that each of the comics will contribute to a stream of smart and, yeah, nerdy vein that runs through all of the routines. Very familiar throughout, yet very unique in each part.
Case in point: the second comic of the night, Warren Bryan sets up a hilarious call back situation that runs through the next few routines. Where Joel brought smooth delivery and personality into play in winning over the crowd, Warren is all energy and hyper charisma. He sets up a follow the leader scenario that the crowd jumps onto with abandon. With his use of almost clockwork timing and letting his Harry Potter nerd flag fly, it is a sheer joy trying to keep up with his energy. The laughter and energy burst is as much a tribute to his enthusiasm as it is to his writing and performing ability.
At this point, you would think that the ride was over as Steve take the mic again for the transition between comics, but as it says in ads all the time, "But wait! There's more!" Steve, in a burst of almost childlike joy makes a simple comment/joke about "Spoilers!" of the HP books in Warren's routine which gets a huge laugh and you can see in the looks of the crowd that it made the crowd even more appreciative of what they just witnessed.
(hey, hey you... wait, there's more)
The next comic in the lineup, Kenyon Adamcik, is introduced and in the process of welcome an setup, Kenyon hits the crowd with another HP 'spoiler' and with no chance to recover we are off and running again. Kenyon's style is a nice mix of the two prior comics and it serves him well. The call back was just an ad libbed cherry on a well made sundae. When I say that Kenyon has a very calculated delivery style, do make the mistake of thinking that means that he loses anything as he jumps into the energy of the room. Using a slightly self deprecating undertone, it can be easy to underestimate just how sharp he is. You find yourself out of breath and perhaps eyes watered from laughing and you are not quite sure how you got there. You can't help but like Kenyon as much as his comedy. The pace is slowed, but the energy has not abated one bit.
Steve takes the mic. The transition is made and our next comic, Mad Jaeckle, hits the stage. In Mad, we have another laid back delivery style. Her material and style is a bizarre mix of understated and aggressive. What makes it work is her undeniable charisma and outright likeability on the mic. A few times during her routine she gives a smile or a little laugh that makes it seem that is something she knows that you don't and after a while there is an urge to find out what it is. It is intriguing and there is definitely a desire to be drawn in. It is a refreshing moment in the high energy show.
The next comic up is Jason Zaremba. His placement in the lineup is almost perfect. Like Mad, Jason has a deliberate style. When it comes to energy management though, his style is geared more to manipulating the energy by leading the audience down a path that only he knows for sure from start to finish. There is a sneakiness and a slyness to his style that at once makes the audience wonder where they are going AND makes them want to get there. As has been the case so far in the competition, the writing is as sharp as the delivery. As Jason gives way to the Steve and the next comic, I am left with a sense of satisfaction at the journey Jason just led us all through.
With the next comic, Mark McPartland, the energy is once again ramping up and now is being sent out in waves that are almost as hypnotic as it is breathtaking. Each punchline is delivered like a laser guided missile each time hitting the mark. To say that Mark is sharp and precise is an understatement, but I am at a loss for appropriate words to describe how he does what he does and the effect he has on the audience. As he wraps up his set, the only word that I can utter is "Wow!"
The pace gets slowed down again as Mark is replaced at the mic by Crystalle Ramey, our next comic. Crystalle is fairly new to comedy but that didn't seem to slow her down any. One word that comes to mind as she goes through her set is 'southern'. And I am talking about all of the best essences of that word. There is an almost sultry quality to her delivery. She, whether consciously or not, is able to use her voice to powerful and almost distracting effect. Especially at the start of her set when you aren't really sure what she is setting up. With a developing writing and performing style, it is easy to see her growing into a devastatingly effective stage persona that is a play on the Southern femme fatale as mixed with the gentile Southern every woman.
We are down to our last three comics in what turns out to be a helter skelter rollercoaster ride to the end,
Next up, Jeremy Alder. Not only is he very adept at playing the audience, he has a built-in surprise that kind of throws the audience, or maybe it was just me, for a loop. This comic who one would guess at first glance to be a regular college student is actually older than he looks. Not only is he a father, but he is a father a few times over. Quite a few times I kind of forget that and each time he hit with a joke/bit that was most definitely a firm reminder. Between the surprise factor and one of the smoothest deliveries I have seen so far, he is a veritable architect. He builds his his set precisely an deliberately, but he reveals it section by section and each with a play on expectations or a a near perfect build up and pay off.
Sometimes a comedy show is like a battle where it seems that each comic is fighting for their spot, for their portion of the audience. Tonight's show was more like a relay. Each comic giving their best to not only shine themselves, but to make the whole lineup look good. There have been small missteps, but no outright fumbles or falls. As is appropriate the final exchanges of the night were indeed to the most precise and effective. Keep in mind that the lineups are made by a randomizing program. It makes shows like tonight even/ more amazing.
Next we come to the exchange to the next to last comic of the night, Artsy! Between the end of Jeremy's set, Steve's setup and intro and the beginning of Artsy's set, one could almost believe that it was planned out and polished up. Artsy started out with a smile and a quick set up and from there on, the audience was his. Charming and charismatic, Artsy commanded attention in a way that came across as perfectly natural. Each bit of his set was a master class on winning over and keeping the audience on your side. Even with average writing, I have no doubts about the effect he would have on a crowd. His writing is far above and beyond average. On top of that, his delivery style altered slightly with each bit. On the mic and in he spotlight, Artsy is a combination of surgeon, traffic cop, late night DJ and that one friend that is almost disgustingly perfect but you can't bring up a single negative thing to say about them when it comes right down to it...
From Artsy, we move on to a comic that I had the pleasure of being on stage with in last year's competition, but due to personal circumstances, I never got to do a write up on him, Carl Martindale. What I remember from last year was an incredibly charismatic comic who was willing to go over the top in acting out bits (and had very good instincts on when to do so). I was amazed. Well, I am not sure how to say this... *deep sigh* but he did it again. While there were no act out, what was present was very obvious proof that he has been honing his talent and putting in the work to put and keep him in rarefied air. The charisma was very much present this time, but it was more automatic than last year. He didn't need to work so hard at it, and I am glad he came to that understanding as well. Where there was a touch of frenetic energy to his set last year, there was no need for it this time. He was smoother this year also. He is a force to be reckoned with on the local circuit now, and I see a lot of good things in his future.
After Carl finished, the lights came up and Steve called the comics back up so the audience could make sure they had the names on the ballot matched up to the comics. As ballots were collected from the comics and the audience, Steve prepared to do his set as winners were decided. There are two things that I really like that Steve does when he hosts. In this case, he kind of matches his material to a theme that runs through a show. Whether it is planned as the show went along or just a happy coincidence, his set fit in almost perfectly to the rest of the show. There also was a bit of banter with Eric Trundy and with Jennie Stencel that was a very nice bonus.
Okay, it is now time to find who will be advancing on from this show.
Moving on to the Wild Card Round by comic vote:
JASON ZAREMBA
Moving on to the 2nd Round by audience vote:
KENYON ADAMCIK
ARTSY
MARK MCPARTLAND
JEREMY ALDER
AND AS ALWAYS, A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE COMICS ON TONIGHT'S SHOW:
JOEL RIEVES
WARREN BRYAN
MAD JAECKLE
CRYSTALLE RAMEY
CARL MARTINDALE
IF YOU GET A CHANCE, PLEASE COME OUT AND SUPPORT THESE AND ALL OF OUR LOCAL COMICS!
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