Mic 19 Monday in the News
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Venues: One Star Bar
Host: Bill Squire and Jimmy Killius
Shows: Fight for Your Right
Set Times: 3
The thing about comedy is you don't know what works. You have to find your line and your voice. I don't know anything about dating apps, but I feel like it's a similar thought process. I know who I am and I know what I'm looking for — but packaging yourself to land a match? Tough. Comedy is basically a dating app where everyone's a tough swipe.
This week I decided to try some current event material. This is tough. You never know what "current" is to the crowd. The good news about the current climate? It's hard to hide from the crazy. There's just too much of it.
The other thing about current events — people have opinions. Strong ones. And the internet didn't just give them a platform, it gave their inside voice a megaphone.
Here's some of the set:
I work at a marketing firm and we have a daily standup to talk about campaigns we love — and I have to be honest, I'm fangirling over Iran.
The Supreme Leader is giving such main character energy. Calling Trump "island boy." Lego memes with him in bed with tiny little Lego girls. Gold.
They've got brand consistency and message discipline. They are literally rocketing off real-time content constantly. And the emotional storytelling — they name their bombs after martyrs.
That's the Supreme Leader's throughline: I'm here to remind you of the mess you left when you went away to war. That's confident ex-girlfriend energy. That's channeling Alanis Morissette.
Donnie and Pete are like: The Supreme Leader is in hiding, he is decimated. Then the Supreme Leader posts a selfie walking through the streets, living his best life.
Hashtag: Supreme Vibes. No Epstein ties.
Some of it landed really well. Some of it I didn't deliver well — and I think it's because it's not a funny subject. I might be able to write some of these jokes, but I'm not sure I can tell them. Even on a roll I get caught up thinking about how terrible it all is and I am not sure I should make light of it.
The Epstein hashtag is funny, but is it the thing that gets screenshotted out of context? I'm going to rework the set into a tight one minute and see if it plays better. Stay tuned.
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