I thought I did well, and then Dave took the stage

I was asked to do a fund raiser for the Center of The Arts in Toronto Tuesday night. The name is lofty, the venue is not. When I walked in, it looked like they had kicked a Liberal Arts student out of his dorm and then set up a sound system.

If I turn down a gig, it is because I can't get there or I already have a show. I figure I can learn something from every show and from every room. I am affraid to turn down a gig, because that could be the time I learn a lesson that can send me to the next level. I learned a big lesson Tuesday night.

I was given a list of the names of the comedians that were scheduled to be on the bill with me that night and one name, Dave Hemstad, stood out. I had heard his name associated with the Halifax Comedy Fest, I saw the name printed in the paper, but I never saw him perform. I knew nothing. I went in fresh. As a fan of comedy, what a treat! As a fellow comedian, what a treat!

I talked to him before his set briefly and could tell he cares about comedy as much as I do, because he was in a bad mood about something. Most good comics are always in a bad mood about something. It is obvious he is a student of comedy, because he can actually do a bang on impression of 2 other well known comedians talking about how to make their jokes better. He listens, he watches, he is a sponge.

Dave told me he often does a character called Billy Joe Taylor or something. Thank god I didn't know that before, because I'm not a big fan of characters in stand up. I'm a purest at heart. Keep your characters in sketches, and commercials. I want to see ideas. This night he went up as himself.

He read the room briliantly. He watched the other comics and the audience from the back of the room before his set. He was relentless. He instantly connected to the room that was largely comprised of actors by spitting venomous jokes about the horseshit pretense often found in the industry. He then went on to jokes about famine, the Hurricaine and the Tsunami. He forced the world, including the audience before him to be accountable. They responded by laughing uncontrollably at their own hypocrisy. This is the kind of comedy I LOVE. The stinging truth, made not only acceptable, but enjoyable, because the comedian is adept at presenting his perspective.

I could tell by talking to Dave before and after the show that he and I share similiar views of the world, but his ability to take it to the stage is at a level above mine. If I can make people laugh at cancer, he can make them laugh at cancer 3 times as hard, 3 times longer and send them home repeating the joke to their friends, at which point they will probably get punched in the face and removed from their e-mail list because they didn't tell it correctly.

What did I learn? Fuck I suck.

What else did I learn? Audiences can laugh longer and louder then I knew was possible. I need to work harder. When it comes to my act, I am not lazy, but I realized if I want to reach the next level, I'm going to have to lose more sleep than I already am.
The best thing to happen to me in the last year was winning a contest. The contest in and of itself was nothing to be overly proud of and in the long run means very little, however, it has led to gigs I never would have been invited to. This fundraiser where I met and watched Dave was one of them.

If I didn't win that contest, I never would have realized how much I suck.

Andrew Evans

Art VS Business and why I love Hamilton

At the risk of sounding pretentious, I will say that I feel stand up is an art form and I am an artist. An artist is at his best when his emotional and mental environment is not dictated, shaped, or controlled by any outside forces.(club owners, bookers, agents,..etc)

Business & Art. It is a symbiotic relationship but it feels more like a war of attrition.
If an artist wants to make a living from his art, he will have to sell it and if a business person wants to make money selling art, he will need a quality product to sell. An artist doesn’t care how many drinks were sold and a club owner doesn’t care about the social relevance of your act, but we should care about each other. We need each other.

An artist’s job, regardless of medium, is to communicate his interpretation of the world around him. If a painting, or photograph is not seen, or a song is not heard, the art lies incomplete. Business gives the artist an audience. Galleries, comedy clubs, television, radio, theatres… etc. If the business fails, there is one less place for the artist to communicate his ideas. Artists need to find a way to understand and appreciate the opportunities given to them by the business community.

The business community needs to find a way to respect and appreciate what the artists are doing. If we weren’t on stage, you couldn’t charge a $15 cover to come into your empty club. The reason you can, is because there is competent entertainment in your room. Club owners and bookers are constantly telling comedians what jokes, clothes or words work best on their stage. It is not the clothes, the jokes or the words that work on your stage, it is the COMEDIANS who told those jokes, used those words or wore those clothes. THEY were good. Squeaky clean comics like Bob Newheart and Jerry Seinfeld would do well in a biker bar, because THEY are good. Even the most liberal person will tell you that rape is an offensive idea, but George Carlin, does a joke about rape that gets big laughs because he is an effective communicator. HE is good. Lesser comics would offend with the same joke. It has little to do with the subject and much to do with the artist.

Bookers will tell you that you have to be clean, instead of telling you to be funny. A competent artist can make even the most offensive ideas accessible. The reason words and ideas will offend, is because there is a lack of artistic merit attached to the idea. Context. It isn’t the word or idea of rape, it is why and how the idea is being used. If a comic or any other artist offends it is because he isn’t communicating to his audience effectively. In regular communication, it is 50 % speaker, 50% listener, with art, the responsibility for effective communication leans much more heavily on the artist or the speaker. (We are making you pay $15 to listen to us remember) If the MAJORITY of the audience is offended by a certain comedian’s performance, it is because he has not done his job. Don’t tell the rest of us that we can’t use the language he used because we will offend them too. The good comics will be funny enough, that the audience can’t be offended. Club owners and bookers need to leave the art to the artists and then make the business decision of who they will hire. I certainly don’t tell a mechanic how to fix my motorcycle, because I don’t have a clue, but if he fucks it up, I will take it somewhere else next time. If I don’t make them laugh, don’t book me. If I offend more people than I amuse, don’t book me. But don’t tell me how to do something you have never done.

Last night at Slainte was a perfect example of how letting an artist control the art results in a better show for everyone.

There are few places I feel as comfortable as I do at Slainte. I arrive in a good mood because I know Shannon Bell and Bill Davern won’t tell me what I can and can’t say. I won’t get the feeling that if I do poorly I won’t be welcome back. I don’t feel like I’m auditioning. Bottom line is these people allow me to be myself. When I am myself, I am at my best. When I am at my best, chances are the audience will enjoy the show more. When the audience enjoys the show more, they are more likely to come back. Everybody wins. The bar makes money, I get an audience and the audience has fun.

Shannon Bell and Bill Davern are the people responsible for putting the show together. They are the reason I do well there. Shannon and Bill are the producers of the show, but both are good comedians as well. They know what it takes to write and perform. They have a genuine respect for comedy and comedians which is apparent as soon as you walk in the room. Shannon gives me a hug, Bill a handshake and a smile. Shannon buys beer and wings for all the comedians on the show. There is a good size audience waiting for us. We are in the back drinking and socializing before and during the show. It leads to a loose, fun feel. You feel like you are just at a party, making your friends laugh in the living room. When you are provided with an environment like that, it becomes much easier.

We need more rooms like Slainte that give you the freedom to develop. We need more people in the comedy community like Shannon and Bill that allow and even encourage artistic growth, by providing such a fertile ground for young talent.

If you can go to a show, go to this one. You will see great comics, you will see bad comics, you will see old, young, men, women, dirty, clean, clever, low brow and everything in between. It’s a great time and there is no cover! If you have ever thought stand up comedy on TV sucks, go to this show. You will even see some of the comics you have seen on TV at this club, being funnier than the way editors, and networks have packaged them for a nation wide broadcast. This is where real comedy lives.

Slainte Irish Pub
33 Bowen St. Hamilton Ontario
905-528-8000

Call and find out when the next show is.