What Do Bedrooom Sports... And Blogging Have in Common?

Click to View Show Anyway

That was the theme of the first annual "Bedrooms and Blogging Gala" at a club over on the West Island last week. As one of the guest speakers, my challenge was to entertain a well-lubricated and rowdy crowd... for about fifteen minutes.

Not an easy task on a Friday evening during "Happy Hour." How did I get myself wrangled into a tight spot like that, you ask?

Well, it all started about six months ago...

I was at a comedy club with a group of old friends on a night where they had "open mic." My buddies were hounding me to get up on that stage. Alcohol probably played a role in my decision to put my name on a list. But seriously, I never thought they'd call me, I was so far down on that sheet of paper. I guess the others chickened out.

So there I was, holding a mic in front of a half-dozen friends and a hundred strangers... trying to make them laugh.

I used a technique I'd learned while watching Phil Hanley. He has a style where he does crowd work and basically interviews, pokes fun at and generally allows the audience to play a part in every joke. With a mixed audience of men and women, it wasn't very hard to get the people in that room to start laughing... and never stop.

My buddies were pissing as I picked on a few of them with "near-the-edge" boudoir humour.

Fast-forward six months to last week. I get a call from Steve.

"Paul, it's me. Listen, did you hear? Mike is getting married again. He wants to have his stag at that comedy club and I'm organizing it. Do you feel like doing a routine like you did last time? It'll be a blast."

I was sober as I listened to Steve and considered his request.

"Isn't this the third time for him? Why does he want a stag?"

"He never had a stag for his first two, and thinks it might be the reason things fell apart."

I laughed. "Sure... I'll do it. Fifteen minutes?"

"Sounds perfect, Paul," and Steve hung up.

Unlike that last time — where I did a slightly tipsy routine without any rehearsal — I realized I'd have to be on point with Mike's stag. So I watched Phil Hanly (and several other comedians), wrote a few jokes, and made some notes on what I knew about Mike and his first two "fails." When I began to make myself laugh, I figured I had it nailed... more or less.

Besides, most of my set would be ad-libbing with the audience. How did it go?

I was a hit. My friends roared and clapped supportively. The other hundred people in the audience laughed at how I picked on poor Mike and some of the other audience members who were easy prey.

Much later, after my show, I was still accepting congratulations from random people as they walked by our table. My buddy Steve was especially grateful.

"Thanks Paul. You did a fantastic job. That was a classic. Ever thought of going into stand-up?"

I laughed at the thought. Then, a couple of days ago, I received a voice-mail from someone supposedly from "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." The message sounded sincere. They'd seen my comedy clip and wanted to talk. It was all the more authentic when they left a New York area code.

I haven't called back yet. My gut tells me it was probably Steve... just fucking with me. I guess that's what friends are for.

I'll call tomorrow. You never know: this might be my last blog here. I may be too busy.😶

Do you think... YOU, have a sense of humour?

Have you ever been to a stag or doe party? And how did THAT turn out?🤗

BTW... if you want to see MY routine... itZ in my comments... down below...

Click to View Show Anyway

... this is probably what Mike and his NEW bride will be up to on their wedding night...

Click to View Show Anyway

... time with friends is always fun... here's a group atop the Empire State in 1930 taking a lunch break...