It’s also your chance to help earn my undying gratitude and devotion, because:

• The audience does the voting! Everyone who comes can vote for their three favorite comics, so my fate is directly in your hands.

• I’m using the weekend to record my ten minute demo video, and a friendly audience would be a huge help.

There are nine comics competing that weekend, and several of them are comedy powerhouses who’ve been doing stand-up for many years. I have no delusions about my chances to win my weekend — I have no chance — but a strong score against seasoned competition could really give my comedy career a boost. I would really love to come in the top five. I think this is achievable, with a little help from my friends.

The future of Giggles is very uncertain.
Don’t miss this chance to go!

I’ve been writing this blog for nearly a year now, and in all that time I have mentioned a few of my upcoming shows, but never begged for a crowd. Well, my Internet friends, I am now begging. There are four shows to choose from at 8pm and 10pm on both Friday, April 2nd and Saturday, April 3rd. Please choose one of those four shows, and come help me make my last weekend at my home club a memorable one!

1. Specifically, May 1st, 2010, after the Finals Round of the Laugh-Off.

My friend and fellow comedian Jay Hollingsworth, a.k.a. Big Irish Jay, is in a comedy competition in which the winner goes to Ireland. Jay is just about the nicest guy you could possibly meet, incredibly supportive of his fellow comedians and always with a kind word for everyone. Please check out his video, and be sure to click the “3 pints” on the scale to the right:

Watch & Vote: Big Irish Jay

If you really enjoyed the video, feel free to visit and vote again tomorrow, too. Hell, even if you didn’t enjoy it, let’s keep clicking away for Jay. It’s not like we’re paying for his trip ourselves, right? Sometimes in this life it’s nice for good things to happen to good people. Let’s send Jay to the motherland!

Comedy… at Hooters? Really? Yes.

I’ll admit it: I was a little bit skeptical that a Hooters Casino would work as a comedy venue, especially since it’s a free show. Wouldn’t the potential audience be distracted by the slot machines, the table games, and — let us not forget — the boobies?

My skepticism turned out to be unfounded. The Hooters Casino in South Park is a great place for comedy. Andrew does a phenomenal job as the host, and he books incredibly high quality professionals; last night’s show included the very funny Brian Boshes, Rodger Lizaola, and Brian Moote. I definitely recommend checking it out.

Oh yeah: there are Hooter girls, too.

Superstar on the rise

A final word about Mr. Andrew J. Rivers, esquire. Andrew and I goof around a lot, with a lot of name-calling back and forth; I expect that to continue, and wouldn’t have it any other way. But before I resume pumping up his Google pagerank as Seattle’s gayest comedian, I want to briefly note for the record that he is kicking some serious ass on the Seattle comedy scene. He’s accomplished a lot, and the fact is that he’s done it with integrity despite the occasional slings and arrows of the profession. I’m proud to call him my friend.

Andrew, I hope you become a huge star and let me ride your coattails. I’ll tell people I knew you back in the day, up in Seattle, before you became a national headliner banging Tiger-esque amounts of celebrity veej.