Where you left your keys ...Rick's Cafe Americain

It started where one might expect: at the poker table.  But I try to keep poker in its ghetto, so you can read about my time at the table here.

On Thursday I performed at New York Comedy Club.  It was my first time performing in a show where the producer was actually going to watch me.  Buddy Flip, who teaches comedy classes, has taken over the New Talent Showcase (read: bringer show) at NYCC and has instituted some changes.  For the better: he is going to watch and comment on the performance; the comics accumulate points from show to show with achievable targets to get spots in the professional show at NYCC and The Improv.  For the worse: the bringer quota has gone from three to four.  I had to scramble to get my quota, but when I rang the alarm for help, Francis, Rose, Little D and Charlie came through for me.  Then, as an added bonus, some of my law school pals who have left NYC- Julie and Gejaa - happened to be in town and they came with Alexei. Seven guests for the show puts me almost halfway to a spot in the professional show under the new regime.  Thanks everyone!

And then I had a great set.  I was doing some material for the first time and it went incredibly well.  The new jokes rolled off of my tongue and the crowd - small as it was - really got into the set.  It was a great feeling to really have a room.  My friends, not surprisingly, all said good things.  I like hearing positive responses from friends because I know that my friends are the sort to call bullshit on a half-assed performance or an underwritten (or plain old bad) joke. But it was the compliments from the other comics that really made my night.  One of the other performers told me that he really liked the way I wrote.  That meant a lot to me, since I try to choose my words carefully.  I’ve seen so many comics ruin genuinely funny, original concepts by refusing to take the time to really structure a joke to take advantage of their premise.  Buddy also had very good things to say.  He thought the material was good and original (I agree); he told me that I need to tighten up some of the jokes (I agree); he told me that I was a moron because I don’t own a tape recorder so I can listen to my act (I agree).  He also said that I should try to write more about myself and less, I guess it would be called “observational” humor.  I’m not sure I agree with that.  I try to write funny about whatever comes into my head.  Right now I think it would be a mistake to define myself too soon.  I’ll just keep writing as the ideas materialize and let the chips fall where they may.

On Friday night I invited a small group of friends over for dinner and low-stakes poker.  That is also going in the latest Grovel, so I won’t write about it twice.

On Saturday, I went to The U.S. Open.  My brother and I get grounds passes for the middle Saturday every year.  A grounds pass allows you into every court except Center Court at Arthur Ashe Stadium.  Brother of Ugarte and I realized years ago that Labor Day weekend is a great time for the outer courts.  You don’t necessarily see the top ranked players, but you do get to see great matches between top 25 players on the outer courts.  We got to see #22 Dominik Hrbaty beat #15 Paradorn Srichaphan and #5 Tim Henman play a great five-setter against qualifier Michal Tabara. 

Of course, we also had some friends shuttle us in to Arthur Ashe by going in and then having one person bring us their tickets so we could go in.  In Arthur Ashe we saw #27 Mary Pierce knock off reigning Wimbledon champion (and total hotness) Maria Sharapova and #6 Andre Agassi destroy #25 Jiri Novak.  That was a lot of tennis - too much, actually - but the weather was great, and it got us in the right mood for ...

Meatfest.  Brother of Ugarte and I blow the doors off of every Labor Day weekend with a kick-ass BBQ.  The motto of Meatfest is “We don’t fuck around,” and this year stayed true to form.  We had almost 60 people at the apartment and served: Hot dogs and burgers (beef, turkey and Garden); Italian sausage (hot, sweet, fennel, broccoli rabe, cheese&parsley, veal) and chorizo from a pork store in Bensonhurst; fresh kielbasa from a Polish grocer in Park Slope; a roasted pork loin with a great savory rub from Fresh Direct; another marinated pork tenderloin provided by poker buddies Helmut and Sous Chef; chicken (barbecue, lemon-garlic and a spicy Pakistani-style marinade); a three-foot Usinger’s Summer Sausage sent from Milwaukee; a hard salami; gourmet cheese (fresh buffala mozzarella, camembert, garlic and herb goat cheese, and Somerset cheddar); sundry appetizers and grilled vegetables.  For desert, fresh baked baked (by our guests) brownies, chocolate chip cookies, gingerbread and chocolate-banana bread, a German chocolate cake and a fruit platter. Also, good beer and a fully stocked bar.  We even had a celebrity cameo.  The weather, while a bit chilly, did not include rain for the first time in the five-year history of Meatfest.  The day could not have gone better.

I was also buzzing from a message from Boudoir Bar.  A little over a week ago I had an audition at Boudoir Bar.  They have invited me back to be one of the rotating hosts of their Saturday late-night burlesque show, Almost Midnight Burlesque.  Real old-time burlesque!  I am going to perfporm my comedy within a vaudeville-style show where I will serve as the emcee. Boudoir Bar is a hip wine bar on Smith Street in Carrol Gardens.  They also host a regular comedy show on Saturday nights at 9:30 - Brooklyn Brew Ha Ha - that I am not yet seasoned enough to perform in, but it is nice to think that I may get on ahead of schedule because of my connection to the bar.  Boudoir Bar was my first audition and I’m thrilled to have landed it.  My first hosting gig is going to be this coming Saturday.  They are doing a special show on the anniversary of 9/11 to celebrate the continuation of “life, love and liberty” through comedy, music and dance.  It sounds like a great time.

Comedy is going very well, so now might be a good time to get on the mailing list.  Send an email here to sign on.  I try not to pester the members more than once a week.  See you at a club soon, I hope.

I capped the weekend by watching the Yankees beat the Devil Rays 7-4 from a tier box behind home plate.  Brother of Ugarte and I are even going to get tickets to another game out of the deal since the night game was supposed to be an afternoon doubleheader.  The Yankees are offering all fans - whether or not they were able to attend the rescheduled game - tickets to a game later this year.  I figure that the Red Sox series is already sold out, but I’m going to try to see the Twins on the final homestand of the year.  They also gave out free hot dogs and Coke.  I probably shouldn’t have worn shorts, but otherwise it was a great finish to a great week.