I return from my first gig in the US – at Mottley’s comedy club. Before the gig I’m worried there may be some language issues and check a few terms with fellow comedians. Turns out that ‘dogging’ isn’t a word out here (if you’re a US reader of this blog, please don’t put this into Google). I use this semantic differential in my act, explaining the meaning and inferring that a chap in the front row simply calls this ‘Tuesday night’.

It’s Mottley’s ‘new comics’ night (which in America I guess I am) so it’s a big bill of short sets. This suits me fine. Not sure I feel like doing a 30 to my first US audience. There’s every possibility my sense of humour might be as welcome as cancer here in Massachusetts. 

The club is friendly, small, well run. It’s a quiet night and the audience reaches barely 20. I’ve just missed the Boston Comedy Festival and post labour day it’s hard for the venue to pull in a full house, especially mid-week. I’m happy about this. It’s a safe gig, but with enough punters to generate a good vibe. The compere does a good job of making a virtue of the low numbers and the acts are generally good. I go down well and the assembled mirth makers are quick to say ‘well done’, which is nice, given I’m essentially alone in the city. I’m beginning to see stand-up as simply a way to make my evenings less solitary. I think working in a ‘Red Sox’ (the local baseball team) gag was worth it. I arrange to meet one of the acts on Sunday at Harvard’s Comedy Studio. I’ve already e-mailed the promoter there who thinks he may have a spot for me that night, and my new friend promises to advocate for me too. The Comedy Studio has a reputation for ‘smart’ comedy in Boston, so I’m eager to get some stage time there if I can…