[transmission from... Tyler Sonnichsen]


Hey, I'm in the teeth of working on the video for Georgetown's Cabaret Band's show at the State Theater on Thursday, so I can't write a whole lot now. The show was/is unbelievable this year, as expected. I can't put into words the talent in this collective of GTown students and the enthusiasm and fun they put into the show. The good news is that they're doing the show again THIS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND at the Rock n' Roll Hotel at 1365 H St. NE in DC. Tickets are $10 and it goes to benefit DC public schools, so come out and have one of the greatest times you'll ever have at a show, period.

To any of my friends from whom I may have fallen a bit off the radar recently, I'm sorry. To make it up a little bit, here is a video that pretty much summarizes everything I've been up to recently. Enjoy.

In my unintentional quest to discredit myself from my own damn website, I'm posting another friend's web posting here. But, this is a special occasion. Jimmy Meritt has long been one of the most respected comics on the DC scene, and it's been a blast performing with him and learning the ropes from him. Last week, Jimmy posted this blog in response to a column that appeared on BigHeadDC, and it was so spot-on I decided to repost it here. Apparently, today, BigHead's going to put up a refutation of Jimmy's blog. So, now it's on. Fun, fun. - TWS

[transmission from... Jimmy Meritt]

Hey hey-

The D.C. Blogger site "Big Head DC" has started a new weekly column on stand-up comedy in the D.C. scene. Normally, this would be something I would be excited about- obviously, anything good for live local stand-up comedy is good for me.

However, I keep noticing a bias in stand-up comedy articles/advertisements in general, and that'll be the subject of my venting today. (I've been in quite the mood this week!) Check out the link to their article RIGHT HERE. I'll still be here when you get back.

All done? Good. Overall, I like the article- the comedians they chose to write about are all fantastic, and definatly deserve write-up. I like that there's a forumn for plugging local talent, and getting people intrested. There's nothing I'd like more then to see comedians be able to attract a fanbase, like local bands are able too, and this article is a good start.

Here's the quotes that stick in my craw:

"Yeah, I know: some comedians on the local scene are just plain awful–so awful that within seconds of hearing their first joke you wanna gut them and wear their entrails around your neck like a scarf."

Is this a true statement? Well, of course it is. Lets face it, there are some pretty rough comedians out there, but they are open mics, and it's a place to learn. If we didn't pay to see them, it's not our place to call them terrible- who knows how many times they've been onstage?

But disregarding that part (I know I've talked more then my share of trash) is it really necesary for that to be the second sentance in the article? I'm sure there were people reading that article that have no idea there's an active local comedy scene (on further inspection, the comments below prove me right on that point). So, the first impression this article wants to give to an open minded reader is that lots and lots of local comedians are terrible.

I really love all of the comedians mentioned in the article, and I agree that they're amazing. However, the fact that these comics are terrific does not mean that, by default, every other comedian is terrible. Yes, the cream is rising to the top, but the rest of the coffee is pretty good too.

There's another comment towards the end of the article reaming most local comedy as well. There's a ton of things that makes that frustrating to me.

Almost every time I've been on a road show, I've made it a point to show up at an open mic in the area. I can say unequivically that Washington D.C. is probably the best town to come and watch an open mic. There are a huge variety of styles, subject matters, and character acts being explored. The ratio of innovative comics to hacks is unbelivable. Many of the comedians listed in the article were involved in the Poonanza last night- at the same time, a comedy showcase was happening at Laughing Lizard. Two hours of comedy were filled quite easily, and the crowd was certainly laughing throughout. At the same time, two comedy shows were going on, and there's enough of a talent pool to make them both amazing.

What makes it especially dissapointing is, I feel like every time I read an article about stand-up comedy, there's a jab like that hidden in there someplace. If someone is going to be talked up, the reviewer almost has to apologize for liking a comedian, since the readers are supposed to assume he's bad. (I remember reading recently a review of Demetri Martins stand-up special. The begining of it talked about how "In the comedy club scene, where almost every comedian is talking about how black and white people dance, and the diffrences between men and women, one comic dares to stand out! Demitri Martin is great, but it's certainly not true that everyone else is terrible)

I would really, really like it if stand-up comedy reviewers didn't feel the need to apologize and justify liking stand-up comedy. It's a valid art form. The article about Rory would have been just as strong without the comments belittling other comedians. In fact, if the intent of the article is to get people excited about stand-up comedy, it would have been a hundred times more effective without it.

Assuming I know nothing about local stand-up, if I read an article saying "Hey, Rory is really great, especially compared to how terrible a lot of other people are", I'd be on the fence about checking out a show blindly. However, if the article said "Hey, Rory is rising to the top of a fiercly competitive, intresting comedy scene" it not only makes Rory look better for excelling, it would get me more excited about going into an open mic, and seeing what else is out there.

I hope whoever is writing that article (E.L. Wisty is a pen name I'm sure, since that's also the name of a character that comedian Peter Cook used to play in sketches) is in the future willing to be excited about stand-up comedy, rather then begrudgingly accepting that some people are good at it.