The Road Begins (Kinda) #TDGCT

THE DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMEN COMEDY TOUR

#TDGCT

The Road Begins (Kinda)

Sunday Sept 20, 2015.  This is the first official road day of the tour.  I clarify official because due to the distance and location of our first two tour stops, it was decided that we would just do Sunday’s show and return home before leaving Monday for the remainder of the tour.

Joplin MO, just about 2 hrs from home.  We are slated to per
form at J&B’s Piano Bar.  It will be the first time any of us have done comedy at this location.  Just down the street is the Gaslight, where Billy has produced shows in the past.  Don’t let the name Piano Bar fool you, this place has a great stage, with very professional lighting and sound.  The stage is large, but comfortable.  And while I’m not sure Cian Baker has ever been there, I would swear I saw one of his headshot stickers on a pipe just off stage.

Since we were so close to home, we took our own opening acts for this night.  Boy did we pick the right ones.  Uncle Gary is new to the Tulsa comedy scene, but has apparently been at it over in Colorado for a while, and it shows.  Evan Hughes is the wild man of the bunch (picture Beaker the Muppet with NO FEAR.)  I got to spend
the travel time in the vehicle with both of them, and time flew.  Both are very quick witted and we were just rolling joke after joke off each other the entire way.

Since we were going to switch up the order of The Distinguished Gentlemen each night, we played Rock, Paper, Scissors.  I won because I threw Spock.  They claimed we were not playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock.. so we played again, and I still won.  We all had good sets that night, and I closed out the show.

The audience was small but energetic, a theme that would run through much of the tour.  When I say Evan is fearless, I mean it.  I call him the one man street team.  Before the show he went out talking to people on the street trying to draw them in.  Even went over to a general store and got an audience member over to the door, only to have to tell t
he guy there was a cover charge.  When asked, he said “well that just makes it a tougher sale.”  But the audience member paid and came in.

Got to see some Joplin friends, including a young lady I met when she first started doing comedy in Tulsa, Ms. Jessica Anne.  The audience was quite good to us and we got to sell some DVDs and even sign one or two.

We learned a few things from that room, mistakes we will try not to repeat on the road. But all in all a decent start for the tour, and we slept in our own beds… for the last time in a week.

250 miles down, 2750 to go.  Good night Joplin, next stop Fayetteville AR.

 

Info on digital download still to come.

CR