Nearing the end

After the weird show in Burlington we headed South and ended up in Fairfield. Connecticut was our 47th state visited, yet the 1st that made us begin to realize that this 50-state odyssey would soon conclude.

Our trip began on January 7th and it was now August 19th.  Except for the rare weekend flight home for weddings or important events, we’d been on the road for that entire time. After the show we planned to drive home and sleep in our own beds for the first time in 7 months. It was a mix of emotions that was tough to describe articulately.

Crusty barnacle

In fact, everything was pretty weird about that night. The show was in a seaside town and the bar felt like a dive for salty old sailors. Despite the aesthetic, the first people we saw were a family with young children. We couldn’t wait to see their reactions when the “fucks” and “cunts” began flying out of comedians mouths.

Even the guy sitting next to us at the bar was strange.  We had sat down to grab a beer before the show started, and this guy was muttering to himself and spinning his phone atop a moist coaster. Just then, his phone began to ring. He delicately lifted the phone, saw who was calling, and loudly shouted ‘FUCK’. But when he answered the call, he couldn’t have spoke more sweetly.

It made us realize that phone calls, with all their pleasantries and information exchange, do very little to convey what people actually think about you. If you wanted to know people's true feelings, you’d have to see 5 seconds before they answer your call or 5 seconds after they hang up. We all have someone in our contacts to whom we speak pleasantly, but react the following way.

Roasted

The show was a weird one, too. The local comics were putting on a roast of a comic who was heading back to college in Michigan. Obviously, we didn’t know the guy. So you’ve got a bunch of people making hyperspecific in-jokes, and us - trying to look like we get what’s going on.

The room was split. One half looked like high school kids who got lost on a field trip and the other half looked like parents. It was a strange room to figure out. Adding another layer to the odd atmosphere was most in attendance had never been to a regular comedy show before, let alone a comedy show with a roast-heavy theme. It made for a strange energy.

If you weren’t doing roast jokes, you had to battle to keep the audience engaged. Some guys opened with killer roasts and then switched to regular material, and it did not end well for them. In keeping with the nautical theme of the bar, the sets felt like sailing on rough seas. It felt like every comedian had to pilot their vessel against an unending string of rogue waves.

It made for a great challenge, though!

Showtime

The crowd was rough for some, but the more experienced comics adapted well. One guy we met had been doing comedy for more than ten years and this was his first mic back after a 2 year hiatus. It was definitely not a warm return that you’d want, but he made it work.

At one point during his set, he made a suicide joke that didn’t get the response he thought it would. After the set, he asked “do you think that joke was too far?” Firstly, we are the worst to ask about that. We think most jokes aren’t far enough. But secondly, because he had been out of the game for a few years, it was just interesting to watch him recalibrate and rework jokes to catch up with modern trends. We respected this guy's adaptability.

As for our sets, we had to go out and win the audience. We did that by acknowledging that we didn’t know the roastee because we were from out of town. Instead we roasted things about the town and random people in the audience (for example, making fun of the high school kids for trying to look old enough to get into the bar).

Once we established that everyone was on blast if they opened their mouths, they were much more willing to listen to regular material/jokes. It turned out to be a really fun show.

Thank you, next!

With our 47th state crossed off the list, we made our way back home to rest in our own homes for a change. Next up on the chopping block was New Jersey.