Farlmeister's Comedy Box

02-10-2009

Opening night of a comedy club is always going to be a risky gig to perform at. For everyone involved. For the acts and for the people running the club itself.

Last night was the opening night for Farlmeister's Comedy Box (that name has more meanings to it than we care to admit) and it was hands down the best opening night I have been at in a while.

It runs on Thursday nights (or at least will for the next few weeks to see if it all works well) in the top floor function room/bar of Slattery's Pub in Rathmines and is a great night's craic.

Last night's event was just really well organised and setup perfectly I think. It was the typical layout of a few acts, a break, some final acts and an MC that brought the acts on stage. But this club had the smallest number of acts I have seen at a club yet.

Five.

It had only five comedians on for the night, which I thought was a little odd at first but works amazingly well as it happens.

The show kicked off at a little before ten and ran for about two hours including the break. But it didn't feel rushed. There was none of the usual comedy stuff I have seen during my time on stage. You didn't feel like you had to get your material out fast because you didn't want to eat into the next person's time. There was no flashing lights or somebody getting your attention to let you know you were running out of time. It was much more relaxed, with the first act being on for about twenty minutes and the second on for a bit over ten minutes.

Just goes to show, you don't need to have eight or nine guys on on a night. If you can get five you have hit the magic number. It allows for folks to forget the material and buzz off the crowd while they try to remember it, without slowing down the night as a whole.

I definitely found this change in lineup to be a huge help with my set. Knowing that I could go for twenty minutes without causing hassle made me slow down my speech, let the laughs die away a lot more before continuing, even try a little ad lib between jokes to stretch the material a tiny bit.

I was the second last act of the night and was really happy with the response that I got from the crowd. I am my own worst critic, but feedback from other folks that were at the show ranged from "Brilliant" to "Best set yet", so I think it is safe to say that I was "good" on the night.

Or at least "alright".

I didn't "suck".

Then again the amount of laughs I got is a good indication of how things went. I am a bit miffed that I forgot to bring along a camera to record the gig, but there is always next time.

The MC even said that whenever I want another slot to just send along a text. His way of saying thanks for helping out on the opening night. This offer was made to all the five guys on last night, which is a nice touch if you ask me. Shows that the comedy community really does enjoy helping each other out.

If ever you are in Rathmines on a Thursday night with nothing to do, check out this club. Definitely worth the five quid in.

Blue_jester


Tags: comedy


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