I'm tired of Michigan and stuff...

I just got back from a five day run in Michigan...I'm exhausted..and I have to get up for work in four hours. Needless to say, I didn't really think this through.

Michigan is cold and it snows a lot and by a lot I mean all day every day. My first show was in Mt Pleasant near the Soaring Eagle Casino. The casino is owned by the Chippewa tribal people and they made up the majority of the crowd. I found them to be fun and somewhat eager to participate in the shows. One native american was particularly vocal and told me his name was Darryl. I found this to be an odd name but I kept calling him Darryl throughout the night and he kept answering to it so maybe he was telling the truth. My set was choppy because I haven't been on stage very much lately and also because Darryl kept initiating conversation with me. Afterwards, we all hung out for a bit and at one point Darryl and his girlfriend started making out right next to me. I haven't seen a good PDA in a while and forgot what it was like...not as awkward as I remembered but still very embarrassing.

The next day I drove to Rockford, MI to do a one nighter at the Crazy Horse Saloon. It wasn't as "crazy" as I anticipated and that actually made me quite happy. This was probably my favorite show of the week. I met some cool people who sat in the front row and were very engaged in the show. My favorite audience member of the week was at this show as well. Her name is China; she is a photographer, she sat in the front row and laughed at everything...she is awesome. After the show I went back to my room and finished reading Steve Martin's "born standing up." I have never been a big Steve Martin fan but I really liked the book and thought it was well written and pretty much spot on with some of his insights into the world of stand up.

The next day, I drove to Battle Creek, MI to perform at Gary Field's Comedy Club. The club is actually a small theatre that seats about 250 people. Gary emcees the shows and is an amazing club owner. He greets everyone and takes the time to talk to his customers, the comedians, and his staff. He is a class act and I really enjoyed meeting and talking with him. He should be the mayor of Battle Creek...just saying. This is a really great club and although the attendance was a little down because of the snow and the economy, I still really enjoyed my week there. I did not enjoy the hotel I stayed at though. The room itself was fine; it had a microwave, fridge, and whirlpool but it was easily the smelliest hotel room I've ever been in. I complained about it but then when I stopped by the headliner's room I realized his room was equally smelly. I'm not sure who was creating the stench but apparently he or she made their rounds to each room. Speaking of the headliner; Kevin McPeek is a veteran stand up comic and a good guy. He works clean, which I admire, and he is funny. I enjoyed working with him.

This weekend was a good experience as most trips on the road are. I know one thing for sure; I'm not really cut out to be a road comic. I guess I've known this for a little while but I try to book these kinds of shows because I feel like I need to do them to grow as a comic. Honestly, I'm not sure how many more I'll do though. I don't travel well; I don't like the lifestyle, I don't like not having a routine, and most of all I don't like being away from my wife. I love doing stand up but being on the road is not really for me. I don't mind driving a few hours to do a weekend of shows; to me thats not really travel but spending days on the road is grueling. I'm just glad to be able to sleep in my own home, in my own bed, with my own wife. That came out wrong.....you know what I mean though.....