Open mic 2

Venue: The Hamilton Hotel,
Date: 16 September, 2010

The Hamilton was the first Brisbane open mic I ever visited, even though I didn't perform there until tonight. In a word, the venue is problematic. The stage is erected right next to the betting parlour, and close to the TVs. If you're at the Hamilton, you're either performing or you're not there for comedy.
The problem is that you're stuck with an unwilling audience, so they're not really going to laugh at much. The upside is that going into it, you can expect that people aren't going to laugh at things. That takes the pressure off.

This night went much better. I had the little list of jokes I wanted to do all written out. I told them to the audience. They made noises back at me. The process continued for a bit too long.
If there's one thing I've learned from all my previous open mics (in the days before starting this project) its that the setup should be fairly minimal. You don't want too many words between starting the joke and the place where people are supposed to laugh. Knowing this, I'm tightening my set, getting back to something much cleaner.
Interesting footnote: Kitty's is dead. They're not using that venue anymore. The Hamilton will be dead soon too. This leaves me trying to get in at the Newmarket and wherever else they find rooms.