I opened for Doug Stanhope!

I just had an interesting night. I got off work and, like usual, had some time to kill before I needed to be at the Bourbon Street Hotel to set up for my standup show. Usually, I spend that time reading, or more specifically, sleeping with a book (don't worry--it's always consensual). But tonight, I remembered that Doug Stanhope (http://www.dougstanhope.com) was performing over at Tommy Rockers. Some of my friends were going to be there, so I figured I'd stop by for awhile even though I'd have to leave before Doug went up.

I walked in the place, found my friends, and talked blah blah blah. Meanwhile, I see Doug just standing around by the bar talking to people here and there. I think to myself that I should take advantage and at least say hi, but I knew I needed more than that to say. So I decided to ask him for some comedian advice.

I went over, introduced myself, and told him I've been doing standup around town for almost two years and almost immediately he asks, "Do you want to do some time tonight?" Apparently, time is for the taking at Tommy Rockers, even when Stanhope's in town. I said sure and then I asked his opinion on whether I needed to move out of Vegas to make the next step (Doug started in Vegas doing open mics). He told me to never take advice from anyone. Hmmm...I wondered...should I take *that* advice? He asked me if I wanted something to drink. I said no thanks and he gave me a quizzical look. For some weird reason, I felt like I owed him an explanation: "Well, I used to be a Christian and now I'm an atheist, but I still don't smoke or drink. That's my little quirk." Even though he's a blatant atheist, I'm sure he thinks I'm a complete idiot. My social ineptness made for a few more minutes of uncomfortable conversation---from his vantage point, I'm sure---and then it was time to go onstage.

And it went great. I did all my classics like "Wedding," "Clean Talk," "Satan," "Roller Coasters," and so on. I guess I did 7 minutes or so. After I got off stage Doug came up and said, "Man, that was great! You need to get the hell out of Vegas!" Aaaand...scene! As they say in the improv world.

Of course I felt fantastic and then I went to the Bourbon Street and it didn't matter that there were only 10 people in the audience. In fact, near the end of the show, 3 members of the Second City mainstage show here in Vegas came in just in time to see me do my Bill Walton impression (oh yeah, such a crowd pleaser). If I had known I would be performing in front of so many talented people tonight I would have dressed up, dammit!

As for Stanhope's advice about moving out of Vegas---I've been thinking about it more and more lately. The standup scene here isn't that great at all and I can definitely see how moving elsewhere would be beneficial. LA would be my first choice since I'm from SoCal (although Stanhope said it isn't any better there). But I do wonder what job I'd get and how I could afford to live alone. I hate living with people. Hate it. Passionately. In fact, I'm worried if I'll be able to stand to live with the girl of my dreams. If I ever meet the bitch, that is. Har har.

It comes down to my comfort zone, really. I am reeeaaaallyyy comfortable and I'm not much for change. But, I can do it when it needs to be done. So, I guess we'll see.