A Personal Milestone...

.:My First Ever “Pro” Set:.

So there I was, attending Spicy Fingers for the first time in about three months. Ever since I found myself busy with showing up on the Disenchanted Kingdom on a regular basis, going to Spicy Fingers on a Monday night seemed to be problematic for me, as it would get in the way of being in the DK the very next day.

Still, as I planned to attend a wake with my open mic friends after the show, I decided to drop in and check things out. Next thing I knew, Pat approached me and asked if I was ready to do a set. I stood there, dumbstruck, but I did manage to utter a very flabbergasted “yes.”

There were seven comedians that night: myself, Nace Cruz (it was also his first set, although he knew in advance that it would be), Derf Hebrado, Victor Anastacio, Raffy Taruc, Marlon Olivan, and Alex Calleja. Yep, not only was it my first ever set in Spicy Fingers, I also opened the bloody thing. You have to understand, opening for a standup comedy night is arguably the most thankless part of the lineup. You had to condition them to laugh by the time the next comedians came up, and most first-timers usually don’t go to the venue prepared to laugh. They usually go there practically daring the comedians to make them laugh.

As a side note, Raffy was unbelievably pointed with his jokes last night. There was a moment there where I just froze, looked at him, and said, “Too soon! Too soon!” And I don’t offend easily. Heh.

So I went up there, and did my abbreviated but meaty three-minute set. I didn’t get a feel for the audience whether or not they were ready for university jokes, so I stuck to magic (but no actual magic tricks), radio, the Weakest Link, and censorship. I actually got to record the first minute of my set, but unfortunately, my video didn’t hold out. It’s fine, though. Not bad for my fourth set of the year, despite an extra-challenging crowd to work with.

Thanks to the Comedy Cartel for the opportunity. You guys are made of win, as always!