I rarely go and see standup comedy. I put this down to when first in the UK I worked one Edinburgh Festival at the Golden Balloon, then the largest comedy club in the festival. I did door and stage and so saw the same performers doing their act night after night. Like eating too much chocolate I ended up overdosing on standup comedy.
But I do like to watch Chris Rock, Richard Pryor and some other US standups on dvd or youtube - Robin Williams death reminded me how brilliant he was at standup. So when I heard that Reginald D Hunter was touring - and I liked his TV series about the South - I decided to buy a ticket. £28 - I've paid more for certain gigs but that is still a lot of money for me for a night's entertainment.
I arrived to find no support standup, no DJ or band or anything. Just two sets of Reggie. Both about forty minutes long. It started right on 8 so we were out of there well before 10. An early night. I never knew Reggie existed before the TV series - I had not heard of his controversy at the FA awards or such. I really don't pay attention to the standup scene beyond being aware the really popular comics play the O2 in Greenwich - 18000 seats! But I knew he was from Georgia and came to the UK as an actor and morphed into standup. His show is largely anecdotal ie he does not tell jokes with punchlines. I thought he would really be on one about the church massacre and Confederate flag in South Carolina but he made little mention of it. He did talk about race and was often witty but he mostly spoke on his relationships with women. He was observant, interesting, but not often that funny. It was like listening to a guy you've just met in a bar or on a plane - you pay attention, nod along, agree at times, but it's not brilliant, just interesting, And sometimes a bit nasty. Actually, the best line of the night was one when speaking with a female friend who tells him she's been raped but didn't call the police but she never worried that he would do such and he replies "I didn't know you wouldn't call the police!" Oohh! Thing is, the whole build up to this line was serious - this woman telling him about what had happened to her. To end it like that is, I guess, done for shock. But it was also disappointing as he told other stories that were not made to make us laugh but to reflect on human foibles. It seems he got the gag out and then forgot about the woman and her tale.
Anyway, I quite enjoyed the evening but thought it was worth about £8. I mean, you pay to see a band and there are several musicians, a PA, a sound engineer, roadies, tour manager, support band etc. Theatre you get actors, set designers, director etc. Football - well, you know what. But a standup comedian - one mic, one light setting. And £28 was not expensive compared with bigger name comedians. What a racket! How do they justify this? And why do the public pay it? Is it the TV thing? We see some witty guy on TV so go off and pay silly money to see them chat on stage? I know, I just did.
Kids, if you want to enter the entertainment industry and make money forget being an actor or musician, work on your jokes. Or. more accurately, your ability to tell stories about your experiences (and add the occasional punchline).