Para Hills Comedy Night
Image courtesy of funny_adelaide on Instagram
The words "Free Entry" stood out on the poster, and the Para Hills Community Club was relatively close to where I live and a few friends were going to be on stage too so I decided to make the trek.
The trip wasn't that far from from me, but it was still far enough that I chose to get their by bus.
Two bus stops after the journey started, the bus needed to stop to let someone off. A young man who was waiting at the bus stop, clearly intoxicated, decided he wanted to wait on the bus. The bus driver removed him physically from the bus twice.
The drunk guy fell over and said "If you've broken my bong, you'll have to pay for it!" before running off. My first thought was that it would be funny if he was drunk enough to actually report a broken bong to the police.
After that the bus ride was thankfully uneventful and I found my way into the the community club itself.
I saw that there were a few tables clear in an otherwise full dining area in front of the stage and saw my friends chatting in the small area to the side of the stage.
I didn't want to disturb them before the show started, so I ordered a meal and returned to the my self selected table.
I'd decided to order a half chicken schnitzel with veggies and prawn sauce and a drink.
The meal was pretty good, but I realised later that I'd been charged for a full schnitzel and not a half one but because I'd also paid for a drink, didn't do the maths and didn't collect the reciept, I have to wear the loss. It pays to pay attention and be assertive.
The young lady who took my order, also forgot to get me the drink, so when my meal was served by another young lady, who I thought was the one who'd initially served me, I mentioned it.
She went back to the bar and whispered something to the original lady who gestured and mouthed the word "Shit!" silently, before coming out with my drink and an apology.
I could read her lips and body language from 20 metres away.
It gave me a laugh though; I understood the stress of working in a busy environment.
The Comedy
Before long though it was time for the comedy to start. The host / MC for the night was Jono Makai, and the crowd was, on average, in their mid to late 50's.
He did a pretty good job, considering there was a loud, drunk heckler at the front of the audience. Pubs are very different atmosphere than comedy clubs, usually because the crowd is spread out but also because there are usually more people.
There were a few comedians on stage but not on the poster, including Henry Wilson who I first met at a Steem meetup a few years ago. He's funniest when he bombs, paradoxically, as his jokes aren't for everyone. But he responds well to the audience.
Gerry Masi is a veteran comedian with over 20 and one of my comedic teachers, was great as always. After telling several jokes, he walked into the crowd and started serenading a woman sitting at a table.
This was his lead in to his now infamous, and hilarious Toilet song, which can be heard here: Gerry Masi's Toilet Song
Paul The Black, a comedian from Africa started around the same time I did and is a good friend. He included a few jokes that I hadn't heard, which the audience didn't quite get but I thought he should keep in the act and hone more.
Fabio Migliacco recently completed the comedy workshop with me last month, and he's getting regular gigs. His surname isn't on the poster because know one can remember how to spell it, let alone pronounce it! He did great.
He even got the respect of the drunken heckler mentioned earlier.
Jacob Jackman riffs off of everything that has gone on stage already, and clearly has had a lot of stage time.
It would take me years to do what he does.
Jon Brooks was the feature act, and can often be found at the Rhino Room. His set went for 34 minutes because apparently he cut it in half out of resepct for other comedians.
He had the audience enthralled the whole time.
The lighting wasn't the best and the above photo was the only one salvagable of the night, but I got fist bumps and handshakes from everyone, and I was even allowed to sit in the comedians section.
Gerry Masi gave me a few tips regarding projecting my voice, something I need to work on. We discussed other comedians, and agreed that I am "almost there", I just need to come out of my shell more and that will come with practice and stage time.
Thank you for reading.
Shaidon
Shaidon's Seal Of Approval