It is almost go time and the lights and music are lowered and the unmistakable voice comes over the sound system, welcoming everyone and introducing the host for this show, Jennie Stencel!
Jennie seems to have a little more manic energy than usual and has people laughing loudly through the housekeeping stuff. She has done her job very well, as the energy in the room is very high.
Jennie ended her opening at a perfect time for the first comic. The energy is still rising as Ryan Bender takes the stage. Ryan jumps right into his material and the crowd bites on his first punchline. Both comic and crowd ease into a nice rhythm, laid back but not sedate by any means. The thing I like most is that he combines a heavy dose of self-deprecating humor with some really sharp pop culture references; and by the crowd's reactions, they seem to enjoy it as well. As he wraps up, to a good amount of applause, it is clear he has set the bar pretty high for the following performers.
Next up, we have Brian Herberger! At the very beginning, it seemed that Brian had a touch of the nerves, but shrugged it off quickly and settled into a nice pace. He combines simple likability with excellent writing into a very good set. He keeps the energy up and sets the table nicely for our next comic, Peter Coccaro!
Peter jumps right into his material pretty much baiting the audience to follow him in the story he is about to tell. More a purveyor of funny stories rather than a simple set up comic, His charm and pacing keeps the audience with him right up until the end when he had to rush a little before time ran out. Even with that, he kept the energy up nicely.
Following Peter is Vishal Krishnasami! Here we get a good example of one type of smooth. Vishal's set flows so well, one bit into the next and into the next and so on. He hits a rhythm that is almost hypnotic. The laughter never suffers though. The energy is almost through the roof halfway through his set, but he never lets up for a second. Add to this his natural charisma and you get a set that leaves everyone out of breath and slightly hurting from laughing so much.
Following that up and tasked to keep the energy high and flowing in the room is Daniel Richardson! Daniel steps up to the challenge nicely, jumping right into his set. The pace is quick, but it seemed that the audience is quieting down. Daniel is having none of that and using a series of smart setups and punches that kind of dares the audience to catch what he hitting them with and he is able to finish his set on a very note.
Next up is one of the hottest comics on the local scene, Mark Brady! Mark makes winning over a crowd look easy. Flashing a slightly impish looking smile and setting a pace that gives the impression of personal conversation. And just when you think he has the audience well in hand, Mark breaks out some new material based upon the fact he is soon going to be a father and the energy ramped up even further. Through all of this it is easy to overlook just how good a writer he is and how stages himself during his set. It was an incredible set, simply put.
Next up is Sarah Oleson! Sarah has a cool, precise delivery style that should serve her well as she grows and evolves as a comic. For the most part, her writing was spot on. There were a couple of spots where her charisma and attitude made a couple of rough spots go over with the crowd. I was impressed.
Coming up next is Rajesh Kumar! Here we will talk about the other version of smooth. It is more of an 'everything in its place' type of smooth. Pacing and asides are used to help carry the audience through the comic's set, making it seem both long and over too soon at the same time, Rajesh has charisma and charm at a level that is astounding. He makes a self-deprecating joke and the audience roots for him, He makes a risque joke and the audience just about goes bonkers. There is a slyness to Rajesh that comes through in the smile he flashes and the way his eyes light up each time he delivers a solid punchline. Of course, that means the smile and twinkle are present a lot because there is not a single misstep.
It is time for things to take a turn for the absurd and weird, brought to us by Aaron Cobb! Aaron is a high energy, aggressive comic that is excellent at taking a simple obvious set up and turn it on its head. Quite a few times, the audience thought they were a bit ahead of the routine, and Aaron sweeps back in with a pay off that is about 90 degrees off of their expectations.
Following Aaron, our next to the last comic, Katie Hale, takes the stage. Katie is a bright, brassy comic and has a delivery that brings that out even more. The crowd was into her set and kind of rooting for her in it. I believe she will have a bright future on the local scene.
Our last comic is one who is well known on the comedy scene, Sam Mazany. Sam's routine is built upon a combination of self-deprecation and a touch of the absurd. His demeanor and body language sells his material as much as his words do. You really can see the schlep he is making fun off, but don't sell his personality short though. Here is a comic that has a good deal of charm even if he tries to make the audience believe otherwise.
The lights come up as the comics are brought up once more and ballots are filled out. Seems that the voting is taking a bit longer than usual, so I looked forward even more to the results. Jennie once again takes the stage for her set while votes are being counted and has the audience rolling. Steve comes in to deliver the results for Jennie to announce.
GOING ON TO THE WILD CARD ROUND BY COMIC VOTE:
THERE IS A TIE
AARON COBB
RYAN BENDER
GOING STRAIGHT THROUGH TO THE 2ND ROUND BY AUDIENCE VOTE:
SAM MAZANY
RAJESH KUMAR
VISHAL KRISHNASAMI
MARK BRADY
CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND A HUGE, WHOLEHEARTED THANK YOU TO ALL THE COMICS WHO HELPED MAKE THIS SUCH A GREAT SHOW:
CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND A HUGE, WHOLEHEARTED THANK YOU TO ALL THE COMICS WHO HELPED MAKE THIS SUCH A GREAT SHOW:
BRYAN HERBERGER
PETER COCCARO
DANIEL RICHARDSON
SARAH OLESON
KATIE HALE
ANYTIME YOU GET A CHANCE TO SEE ANY OF THESE COMICS, OR ANY OF THE COMICS PERFORMING IN THE COMPETITION, PLEASE DO! SUPPORTING THE LOCAL COMEDY SCENE, LOCAL COMICS AND FINE LOCAL COMEDY VENUES SUCH AS THE IDIOT BOX IS A WIN-WIN SITUATION!
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT THUS FAR!
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