Here I am, roughly 6 months into my journey of doing standup comedy on a regular basis. I’ve always loved standup, and got my first George Carlin tape when I was only 12 years old, it was “What am I doing in New Jersey”. I was young and dumb, and had to listen to it over and over to actually understand all of the jokes, because a lot of them went over my head. This tape made me fall in love with standup, and I carried the desire to perform, for a long time before I actually did it. I can't tell you how grateful I am that my first tape was Carlin, and not some wack comedian from those days...
Since then, I’ve basically been a fly on the wall, studying comedy, comedians, and joke writing. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent watching/listening to specials, and seeing touring comedians at the Blue Room (thanks Chris). I guess my point is that based on the laughs I've received over the past few months, I've been led to believe I'm funny, and that my work is starting to pay off in the form of laughter. Now, this doesn’t mean I don’t have a long way to go when it comes to comedy, but I think I have some pretty decent momentum going right now. I’ve also developed some goals and aspirations in this sphere, and I really thrive on having direction when it comes to anything in my life, really.
I’ve also found that the open mics around the SWMO area are great, and that we have an amazing amount of talented comics performing just underneath the surface. In some ways, I feel like I’ve infiltrated a secret special underground unit of undiscovered talent. For the most part, the art coming out of these folks is original, honest, and hilarious! After being around the scene for a while, I feel like people are missing out on these comics, especially when they perform for free at open mics. At the same time, I don’t necessarily want anyone in these rooms that don’t appreciate these comics, because they are special, and they’ve worked extremely hard to craft their sets. Where are all the cool, cultured folks in this area that enjoy this type of thing? We need you!!
At most mics around here, there will be around 15 comics on the list, and out of those comics, I would say that at least 11 of them are going to be funny. There are always a handful of standouts at every mic, and let’s be honest, who doesn’t enjoy watching a few people crash and burn on stage from a safe distance? At this point, I’d rather sit and watch local comics work out their material live, than watch a fully polished Netflix special. What’s even better is watching a comic who started out being absolutely terrible turn things around, and become someone folks look forward to seeing; I may or may not be one of these comics…
From here, I’m looking forward to where things go! I’ve got about 30 minutes of good material banked, and I’m looking into booking some shows! One of my goals is to put some of these underground comedians in front of you, so you can realize what you’re missing! Having been to Austin, TX, the comedy capital of the world right now, I’ve realized that SWMO is in such a good position to be another significant hub for standup. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the quality of comedians in SWMO per capita is equal or BETTER than the quality of comedians in Austin. This isn’t fluff either, I’ve done the math, and more seasoned comedians I know have echoed the same sentiment. That’s right, if you’re not going to local comedy shows and open mics in SWMO, you are unknowingly robbing yourself of something beautiful, that’s happening right in your backyard.
To wrap things up, thanks to those who continuously show up to spectate! Without you, the comics can't gauge how funny their jokes are, so we need you there whether you're laughing or not! If you haven't been to a comedy open mic in a while, or ever, I’m pretty confident that after reading this, you'll want to come out and support, so I’ve left some links for local open mics below. I've also left a couple of days blank for any venue owner who might want to try a comedy open mic, or a weekend show! A good Wednesday mic is definitely much needed in Springfield right now! That's about all I've got for now, If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading my blog!!
- Chris
Monday - Bugsy's (Springfield) - Hosts: John Spangler and Benjamin Gontor
Tuesday - Bites and Pipes (Joplin) - Host: Russell Henley
Wednesday -
Thursday - Corner Pocket Comedy (Springfield) - Hosts: Levi Light and Layton Flatt
Friday -
Saturday -
Sunday (every other) - Blackthorn Pizza (Joplin) - Host: James Hiser
Blog post written 9/13/2023. Please double check venue information etc., as things may have changed. Thank you!!
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