Andrew J. Lederer

saw josie long again last night at liam mceneaney's show at lolita bar. part of the reason i went was i realized i might not have given her adequate instructions on getting to the subway from blue ribbon in park slope, where my friend and i had left her and her fiance the previous night. so, i wanted to make sure she was alright.

but also, i noticed after leaving them that a prepaid phone pricing booklet in my back pocket had been pushing the back of my shirt up in a way that made me look fatter and generally worse up front. so, i wanted her and matt to see me looking better. (i still didn't look good, just better.)

matt wasn't there - he was at leo allen's "broin' out" and would be meeting her later. but she was there and did great, demonstrating how the british scene, though, superficially similar to the ny alternative scene -- backs of bars/pubs, etc. -- is a professional scene in ways -- "premium blend" or not -- the "art for friends' sake" ny scene just can't be.

i saw one act whose work i'd been avoiding 'cause he's supposed to be so good that his comic goodness may be unprecedented. (i'm exaggerating his rep but i guess, in a way, that's what the praise sounds like to me.) he was very good but i could handle it.

that's how it almost always is. despite my fears and their reps, few are so good that they tread in comic territory i don't already understand.

one act there i'd recently seen at a "workout" show for wannabes and she was head and shoulders above the others; i was impressed. here, the same act was thighs and buttocks below the rest and i was unimpressed. (funny about context, huh?)

one girl had a ventriloquist's dummy and used radio comic joe penner's (not anymore so) famous 1930s radio catchphrase, "Wanna buy a duck?" her, i liked.

the show was a mixed bag but it was supposed to be, i think and, all in all, i had an enjoyable time, especially since a significant number of highly regarded people who were new to me turned out to be barely competent. (having been marginalized, i'm not gonna pretend i don't take pleasure in the weakness of people who are in league with those who marginalized me.)

after the show, i had a lengthy comedy theory conversation with a nice girl who'd been one of the performers at the delancey st. mcdonald's, which was selling bacon double cheeseburgers for a dollar seventy-five.

note to self: stay out in the world and keep your head held high.