Good point. But, on the show Last Comic Standing, I saw many comics that didn't perform nearly as well as Dr. Spaceman did IMO.

I haven't seen that show in a long time, but I seem to think that the weaker comics sucked because their material sucked. It wasn't an issue of nervousness, not being polished enough, etc. They just didn't have good jokes.

But I definitely agree that Dr. Spacemen did a lot better than most on that show.

Finally watched the set, and I guess this would be my comment as well. Unless you can turn it into a big laugh, don't bother pointing out the crowd. Saying, "One guy clapped at that," once is stretching it, twice is definitely overkill.

I really hated the guy that was shown right before you. Is there a big "coattail" effect, where the comic who goes before you can either elevate or kill your set?

Spaceman - Thought this was really good. Your timing and flow are really impressive.

Nicely done, Spaceman. I enjoyed that, particularly the Sting joke, which was probably because I thought the news items about his tantric sex practice were ridiculous and silly the first time I heard them long ago.

I went to law school with this guy:

http://www.cc.com/comedians/jason-kuller

I don't have any idea where he ranks in the world of standup accomplishment.

Nice work, funny stuff.

Grunching the thread, and you certainly dont need me to tell you, but this was really good. Like "I'm surprised any 2p2er actually produces something of value" good. The E-L-O-N joke was ****ing amazing

I thought it was a great effort for your first time on TV. You seemed a tad nervous visually, but you did well considering. Nice attire, nice tone and delivery and a bit of improv with the crowd too. It's definitely something you can build on. The prison jokes didn't do anything for me. I did laugh a few times, which is not that common for me watching an unknown stand up comic, so congrats. Thanks for sharing.

Oh yeah, I liked the Jersey girl stuff, it was not predictable like most nj jokes are. I did not like the prison jokes either. The 300lb rapo bit, and Sting reference I thought fell flat. Like prison is incongruous with your character so it doesn't really come across as genuine. But overall I think youre delivery is excellent!

Yea I also didn't get the prison joke so hard to say

Yeah, that's understandable. However, when you make it big as a comic and that becomes your new day job, then I'll expect an AMA on this music consultant thing.

Also, I owe you some belated thanks. Your best man toast post had a couple of good pieces of advice that really helped me nail one that I gave not long after your post.

Why is your electric car company's stock tanking so bad?

People have different theories about whether it's good or bad to follow a guy who kills. Some think if the guy before you kills, then the whole crowd is hyped up and you'll do good too. Others think that you'll just look bad in comparison. I think it doesn't matter too much as long as the person before you doesn't bomb completely. That can just suck the energy out of the room and sometimes it's hard to get it back.

It looks like he has had a Comedy Central and HBO special, so that's pretty impressive. I suppose he'd rank among the "headliners who aren't household names."

Glad I could help!

I think you've got me confused with Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai, although electric cars are a small subset of Mazda's product line.

You're not the same as Spaceman Bryce are you?

Anyway congrats. I did standup off an on in the 90s. Never got close to TV. Amateur comedy was just brutal for me as I have a phobia about awkward situations. I'd much rather be on stage bombing than hanging out watching someone else bomb. Alcohol helped but that's not really sustainable. I used to just go outside when someone was really getting killed. But then I looked like an ******* not supporting them.

I know I can write a decent joke. My stage presence was hit or miss. I never really found my character but I feel like I was getting close. I always wonder if I should have stuck with it. But I love what I do now so I think I probably made the right choice.

Interestingly a few years ago I bumped into a bunch of the old comedians I used to do comedy with in KC in the mid 90s. One of them - James Johann - has made a decent living for himself as a redneck comedy type from what I gathered, opened for Jeff Foxworthy. The interesting thing is that's not him at all. He just found a niche that paid. I didn't get the impression he loves it at all. The night I saw him it was sort of an edgy comedy for comedians kind of show. He did a quick few minutes then bolted because he knew his stuff didn't fit at all.

I also did comedy in SF with Steve (or maybe Jeff) Earl and another guy (Mike something) who went to write for the Daily Show when it was still Craig Killborn. I feel like I could have wound up doing something like that - which definitely makes me question quitting comedy a lot more than the prospect of scratching out a living doing standup. They stayed on when the show switched to Stewart. When Stewart looks up at the celling camera and shakes his fist yelling some bad dude's name - there's a good chance that came from one of my jokes that I know those guys liked. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

You ever do comedy? Or anything creative for that matter?

I could hold my own with those guys on a good day. They liked my stuff. And they got hired, and even stuck around.

A friend of mine that I went up to college with in Kirksville Missouri has been a professional writer for a bunch of shows in LA. She's ok, but mostly just persistent.

Another friend of mine is married to a woman who was the head writer for the Ellen DeGeneres show for a while. She made a crapton at that. I've never heard her say or do anything that blew me away.

I don't know the numbers, but I feel like there are a lot more people making a really good living writing for TV shows then there are making a ton of money at stand up. It's more about finding a niche that you click with than being some insane talent.

The same guys who write for Community could never write for the Reba Show like my college friend did. It just doesn't work like that. The sensibilities have to match up. From what I've seen anyway. And if there's any show on earth I click with that would be the Daily Show.

Now the guys who wrote say Aqua Teen Hunger Force - that's some insane talent right there. I can only look upon that in awe.

one of the important life lessons i've learned being on 2+2 since I was 15 is that almost everyone thinks they're special.

you yourself said you never sniffed tv, yet you think there's a likelihood that if you continued with comedy you'd be writing for a successful comedy program that has their pick of the absolute best writers in the world.

while that seems a little sad, i think we can all enjoy the humor that this is occurring in a thread by a guy who, in addition to being considered one of the funniest posters on 2+2 for a very long time (which you most certainly are not) actually was just on tv, though views writing for a living as a dream.

i'm not sure why you would have any objection to posting your jokes in order to prove me wrong.

The reason I asked if you've ever done anything creative, is because it sounds to me like you haven't. It's pretty ludicrous to do something like standup comedy without visualizing making it big or some successful end game. If you don't think you have the potential for something like that, what's the point of even starting?

Is it important to you to poke holes in people's aspirations for some reason? "Dammit you're not special and you need to know it." I've never once in my life slammed somebody who was trying to do something creative, no matter how talentless I may have thought they were.

Supposedly Will Farrell is boring as hell IRL. It's not like I'm sitting here with each post trying to be hilarious.

What I know is The Daily Show hired a couple of comedians from SF who were barely making any money at all at standup comedy in the late 90s. They were one notch above rank amateur. A lot of TV shows hire a lot of young writers like that show any kind of promise at all. The trick is sticking around - which these guys actually did for a while.

Also the Daily Show with Killborn wasn't nearly the juggernaut it is now. I don't think I'm that special. It just never seemed all that hard to me to get a job writing. Maybe things have changed since the mid to late 90s.

I'll be glad to post the joke that I'm talking about. But the problem is a written joke has nothing of the context of being on stage. It's a completely different animal. You need to be a comedian to imagine it. And obviously you're gonna give me zero benefit of the doubt. Basically it's an impossible crowd. Also the joke mentions the A-team so it's a little dated at this point.

But if this thread is really interested I'll be glad to post a bunch of my jokes. All I ask is you try to work with me and imagine a Louis CK-looking guy on stage saying them.

I was going to respond before your edit to your questions but you keep drastically altering your posts (my previous post was quoting you entirely and then you added 4+paragraphs and did the same in your reply) so I'm guessing I hit a nerve, which I really had no intention of doing.

You are right though in that I have no idea what are the actual mechanics behind being hired by a writer for the daily show and it might be much easier than I considered.

Spaceman!

Good set, time for a Eurocentric commenter :P

- it was very NYC-centric: good for the crowd in front of you, but may not travel so well. I have visited a few times and got into the set more than Mrs. Harris. I'd be interested in your thoughts on how you'd open up a set to a more non-NYC crowd: do you have other material or do you conceptualise your work as more 'this is for the home team' and 'this is the traveling set'? there's always a New Jersey to a wherever-you-are dichotomy (Shelbyville?) but it's tougher when you're on the road to slag off the people one town over.

- The Sting thing was great and you'll capture some of the audience on it. I enjoyed it.

- Acknowledging the lone cheers: there's gotta be some tension here, right? So, you want/need to build rapport as a newer act, in smaller venues, with a more hostile crowd (major acts always get their supporters in), so acknowledging those is a clear way of building rapport. As your act consolidates and/or becomes more supported you'll be able to phase that out. Don't let the naysayers just now critique that as I think in terms of social psychology you're going down the right road.

- I liked the Starbucks routine as the 'name on cup' thing is new to the UK in the last 1-2 years. Wouldn't work here though as they ask for spelling (again I like the NYC barista ego thing in your act: NYC don't ask, they assert).

- I enjoyed the end, getting formulae in, v. 2+2. I actually didn't see the punchline coming too, was wondering how you were going to dig your way out!

- whoever said get some mspaints in: that'd be funny but multimedia acts are their own separate nightmare, see some Brit acts like Dave Gorman and Alex Horne to see some examples. Another world of comedy, that, and probably as much hassle to get in on the ground floor.

Anyway, enjoyable. If you were part of a 4-card set at the Edinburgh Fringe I'd have enjoyed it enough to think it worth the cover. Good luck!

Best,
Pete

It might be harder than I considered as well. You probably touched a nerve a little + alcohol + serial post editor (editer?).

My pre-derail post was mostly just trying to give my thoughts on various comedy end games to see if OP had any thoughts along those lines, not brag about my potential as a comedy writer. Maybe we can rewind back to that.

Nice. Grade A.
Its funny to have raunchy jokes coming from someone that looks so innocent. You show confidence and a good delivery and timing. You definitely have a future here imho.
I'd edit some of the material. Maybe somebody more topical like Kanye West or Tiger Woods somehow could replace Sting. Not sure about the 80% joke. Maybe get to the punchline on some jokes quicker.

Hey Elon,

Im really quite happy that you do standup too and that youre getting more opportunities. I had a inclination from the stand up thread, and it makes sense from your posting and it's cool to see that is the case. So respect given on the TV appearance and progressing and all.
To keep it to basically one question hoping you'll given a long response. How does your performance compare to what you see yourself as being capable of? I've found that the ideas and concepts I have would be hysterical if I have the ability to pull them off, but I don't and a lot of what I know would be funny isn't accessible to my inability to express it. So because I cannot do what I want to really do yet standup has been more of an exercise of trying to write quirky jokes and work on getting stage time. Personal context aside, are you doing the material that is most you right now or do you see yourself writing to have a tight act? Do you love every joke you do still or do you wish you could get to a point where you're doing something way more evolved? Any thoughts on that and how that affects your approach would be great to read.

I see a big difference between the material you did and your twitter stuff, perhaps that's just my perception?

Nice set. To echo what so many others have said, you've always made me laugh on the forums so it's no surprise you're legit funny. And I watched with some trepidation as I wanted you to be good. I seem to remember that the last time someone posted a 'here's me doing standup' thread on here they were ****ing terrible.