Saturday, September 23, 2006

Ty Barnett

So, after a 3:30 a.m. wake up call to smoke test one of my applications/servers, with another 5:00 a.m. (or so) wake up call on schedule to smoke test a new cluster installation, I still managed to go to see Ty Barnett at the Acme comedy club with Pooteewheet on Friday. I have to say that the prospect of beer, on top of allergies and a serious lack of sleep, threatened to fully knock me out, but I managed to drink a Sierra Nevada and Anchor and still stay awake. Normally, I'd drink two Sieraa Nevadas, but I forgot how horrible the taps are at Acme - nasty. Stick to bottles.

So...Ty Barnett? He was the runner up in this year's Last Comic Standing. He was my personal favorite because his material always seemed to be somewhat new, and last night wasn't a disappointment. There was some material from Last Comic Standing, but just a ton of new stuff, and in person he doesn't stick to the FCC-friendly language he uses on television. Pooteewheet was very amused at his use of the phrase "coinpurse", as the prostitutes (sort of ex-s, but with a high level of relapse) she used to counsel always used that phrase. But his material wasn't just about sex - he was all over the map and talked politics, kids, race, money, the works. Very funny and he powered through an increasingly obvious loss of voice as the set went on. After the show, he even hit the entry way for pictures with fans (Pooteewheet and I are not that sort of fan of anyone except each other) - nice guy.

There were actually four comedians. The host, who had a whole riff on Ken Barlow getting a stiffy every time a snow storm came into town (so they'd only shoot him above the waist); a guest comedian named Mr. Mookie, who was funny, but a bit strange; and a female comedian who had sort of this funnier Rosanne Barr take on things (i.e. I don't like mothers who respond to their kids grunting for cookies by saying, "Use your words, now honey." Just once, I wish the kid would respond, "All right, I want a fucking cookie.") Mr. Mookie came out to sit next to Pooteewheet and me after his set so he could watch Ty Barnett and was obviously enjoying himself on every joke except the religion-related ones (everyone's got their not-funny zones - Pooteewheet and I once walked out on a comedian at Acme. He heckled her on the way out, and me as I paid the bill so I could get out. He actually looked like he felt bad that his set was upsetting someone, but once you're committed up there, you better just go with it I suppose). Strangely, he kept watching Pooteewheet and I to see if we were laughing at certain jokes. Not sure what that was about. Maybe he was just surprised at what white suburbanites would find funny from a black commedian.

Speaking of Pooteewheet and white guy, suburban behavior, I almost forget to tell her about my pathetic-ness, so I should take some time to point it out (transparency in your relationship is very important so you know when it's ok to laugh at each other). On Friday I found myself straightening up (i.e. basically sucking in my stomach w/o the actual sucking in) twice in response to being examined by strange women. Once at work by the semi-goth chick with the high shoes and once at Jake's by a Korean woman with sunbleached (or a facsimile) hair. The automatic reaction to straighten up frightens me - it could at least wait until after my fourtieth birthday to kick in, particuarly as they were probably just noticing an open fly, unhooked button, or thing hanging from my nose (or that after so little sleep, I looked like a stoner). After all, it's not like I'm going to go buy a muscle car or convertible, start wearing gold chains and rings, and talk loudly on my cell phone about all the important things I'm doing - I'm just not that guy. My mid-life crisis will probably just involve a shift from a development path to a management path, too many bottles of scotch and a hybrid bike that indicates I've given up on the idea of offroading as a young man's hobby. Straightening up, for the purposes of those goals, is just wasted energy.

2 comments:

LissyJo said...

What made you walk out?

Scooter said...

You'll have to ask Pooteewheet. I don't always tell her stories, just my own...maybe yours, if they're embarrassing enough.