To continue about my experiences of the vacation. I decided on Thursday to go down to Astor Place for a haircut and then to visit Tannen's Magic. I got my hair cut first because I wanted to get it out of the way. I found that my
guy I went to in the past was still there after the past year. I waited for him to finish with his customer and showed him a past picture of my best haircut. He tried to replicated it but at least its better than my hair in the state it was.
After my haircut, I wanted to visit the Barnes and Noble next to Astor Place Hair but it was no longer. I walked around the block to make sure I wasn't going nuts. Sure enough, after asking friends about it, it is gone. The one on 23rd Street is also gone.
I took the train to Union Square and as I was climbing the stairs, ready to start walking down 14th Street, I hear "tommEE!" It was Calin, I believe I was with him in Shannon's workshop if not Christina's. I caught with him during a break so I didn't keep on blabbing. He said we would see each other at the marathon most likely.
After I left Calin, I searched around for headphones at Circuit City and Best Buy. You wouldn't believe how limited headphone selections are nowadays. I ended buying a pair at the Best Buy on 23rd and 8th. I don't like them and it feels I over paid for them.
Thursday night I ended up meeting up with Alaina and Max at Wogie's Bar down near their apartment. It was great catch up with them. I didn't know so much has happened while I was away. Fucking Futti Di Mare closed as well as Blue Moon, these were some of our favorite restaurants. We drank some at Wogies and then we headed to a brewery that Rachael is working at. We didn't stay. I walked with them home and then I ran up to the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater to watch "I've Got Next". Its a show where two teams get 5 minutes to perform and winning team keeps the stage for the next battle.
When I got to the theater, a bunch of people saw me like Chuck Darble and Brian Berrebbi as well as Rachael Mason. Everyone seemed to welcome me back to New York. I miss the bind I have with the UCB people in NYC. The show was awesome and the winning team was Eric Scott with a stool with a wig. It was histerical and it was a shame because Starband, made of David Bluvband and someone else, could have won the night with their multiple wins.
When the show was over, I headed down to Pete McManus to drink with some UCB people. There were a ton of people at the bar, comedians, improv people and famous comedians. It was a great gathering and again seeing more people who remembered me was fun.
Friday I woke up with a hangover and decided to stop by Fanstama Magic over on 33rd and 7th. An old friend Magic Balay is working there. He is someone I haven't seen for over 10 years. I waited around the store while he demo'ed some tricks to a 10 or 12 year old. It took forever but I guess that how you continue the legacy of Magic. When I finally got to chat with Magic, he was more of a salesman instead of conversationalist. He did show me one thing I wanted to buy but it was $60 more than I found it online. I decided to pick up a Genii magazine and split.
I headed to the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater to pick up my weekend pass for the Del Close Marathon. I did bump into Ben Whitehouse and I said hi, he actually saw me first, it was nice. I didn't see his sister but he said she was fine. I got a black wristband and then saw some people in line. I told everyone I was going to skip the press conference and take a nap. I didn't return until 11:30pm to catch Glaser and Walsh. They ended up doing Apples and Oranges and deciding who's crowd was better. I caught Rondo's set after that and they had a great group organic opening.
I went to backstage to grab a drink and see if I could find my friends. I got to the back and the line was so long to get drinks. I was behind Doug Benson who was talking about gas prices or the government. I didn't listen. Rachael, like in earlier years, was bartending. I kept it easy and just got a beer from the tap. I waited like 30 minutes for a free beer. I paid for PBRs in the front to avoid the wait after that.
At 2:00 AM I got to see Wicked Fuckin' Queeyah and I love Jackie Clark with her Boston dialect and accent. Then came Cracked Out. They were ok, they freestyled instead of performing some song they put out before. I then went looking for friends and I bumped into plenty. I did see Sean Hart outside and he suggested I perform with the UCBW Wrestlers in the UCBW: Kicking Ass and Taking Suggestions". I told him I didn't feel up to performing but I would play it by ear.
4 AM I caught the 1986 Mets' Extravaganza. Funny characters before a bunch of the audience was born. I caught No Posers at 4:15 AM with Jason Mantzoukas playing Drums, Seth Morris on Vocals and Brian Huskey on guitar. It was great.
After that was To Catch a Predator: Improv Edition. Paul Scheer was playing Chris but the highlight (per se) was Andy Rocco bearing his junk. I saw Working Girls after that and they were good but I believe last year they had a full half hour instead of 15 minutes. Ben Schwartz the star of Worst Heckle Ever. This was where Gil and Adam along with select others heckled Ben for a full 25 minutes. Last show of the night was UCBW: Kicking Ass and Taking Suggestions. I was thinking about performing but I just didn't feel up to it. I feel bad because Sonny D was waiting to see me in it. It was good, I just wished there were more performers. There seemed to be only 10 performers when last year it was like 35 performers or more.
I didn't start again until Sat 6:00 pm when I got to the theater I saw Alex. I hung out in line with him and we talked about UCB, Internet and I shot a video for him. We waited in line to get in for Improvised Shakespeare. When we got inside, seating was pretty much non-existent. I finally got a seat and I have to say, Improvised Shakespeare was the best show I saw. It was a great form and well executed and funny as hell. They received an enthusiastic standing ovation. I Eat Pandas followed and was awesome as well, I was a real appreciation for them and I wish there was more musical improv. I had not seen Mother in a long time, about a year so it was a treat to see Mother: The Soundtrack. After that, the forms changed a little with MISTER DIPLOMAT and Just Pallin Around. It felt more liek short form and it fell a little short with me. I left and at 10:30 pm I went to see The Handymen (Merrit and Meeks)at Hudson Guild. I love the Handymen and they have great rhythm. They were tasked to fix a broken heart, whether it was Johnny's or the patients, I don't know.
At 12:00 am I caught America's Best Comic - The Finals! at UCBT and with Matt Besser as the Pope and lots of comics it was good but very hot and crowded in the theater. I watched some of "Hey, Uncle Gary!" but it was hard because of the heat. I did notice that Casey Wilson wasn't performing, I didn't know why. I headed to Urban Stages at 2:45 am to see Chekh-prov!, Christina Gausas was supposed to be performing but she didn't show. I found out later she was auditioning all week and was too out of it to show which was understandable. At 3:15 am I headed back down to see FabriceFabrice-athon at UCBT with Nick Kroll and it was hysterical. 3:45 am was one of my favorites when I am drunk, Drunken Sonic Assault: Ten Year Retrospective. This year the Matt Walsh, Seth Morris, Shannon O'neil, Horatio Sanz, Matt Besser and others performed the song "Fame" acoustically. It was funny, they would bring audience members on the stage and force them to sing. Walken Walks In followed and there was some good and some real bad Walken imitations. 4:15 am had JFK Jr. and The Plane Crash All-Stars and was funny with characters but the improv was a little slow at this time in the morning. Cosbyprov was awesome! Everyone Get In Here! was great also, so many group games within 15 minutes and funny as well, or maybe it was the beer. ROAST followed with Justin Pernell as the roast master and they roasted Hannah Montana. Dirtiest Improv in NYC gave Andy Rocco another chance to show his junk and he also made a change purse out of it. Last shows were Robot TV which was good. Some great improv with Eric Scott, Neil Casey, Billy Merrit and others executed a great form. Last was Crazy Hundreds which was funny but the performers got tired to quickly, I am sure it was hard but I wish it didn't run out of steam.
Sunday another late start because I was tired from the night before. At 5:30 pm Imaginary Friends and it was good but I was waiting for Rogue Elephant. I saw Silvja before it, which was nice. Rogue Elephant drew a great crowd and was fantastic. After them at 6:30 pm was Monkeydick. One word, Awesome! Then it was Five Dudes which looked injury based. With no Zack Woods, they used an ironing board in place of him which Chris, Charlie and Bobby all beat up and got beated up by it.
Sunday night I cruised by McManus a couple time but didn't bump into anyone.
All over it was a great trip. No, an awesome trip. I can't imagine a better vacation for me. I do wish I had more time to spend with friends. I miss Alaina and Max a bunch. I didn't get to hang with my boy Jawnee Conroy. I didn't get to see Christina Gausas or Vicki Ferrentinos. I didn't spend enough time with Curtis Gwinn and Neil Casey. It was great seeing everyone else and I hope to be back home soon.
