Vancouver Comedyfest - Post #1

An Evening At The Vogue ...

October 2nd, 2009

Although one of my goals for 2009 was to be part of the festival, I pretty much resigned myself to being a spectator. I think I was lucky to get on. A little over a month ago at the Sin Bin, I had a shit set in front of a festival scout. Thank God most of the other acts that night had difficulty with that crowd. Afterwards, I approached the scout and made the suggestions, “if the festival is going to have a show for comics who do well in clubs, but suck in bars – I would be a good fit for that show.” He smiled and suggested I send him a clip of what I can do.

I went home that night and sent him a link to my best set ever at Yuks (thank you D-Lo). He replied he liked the clip and asked me for some dates as to when he can see me again. I then went about procuring time at Yuks and Lafflines, so I can get a decent club setting for the scout to see me again. Thank you Rob! Thank you James! I got spots at both clubs.

The scout saw me do a solid 5.30min set at Yuks on a Thursday. I squeezed in three applause breaks in that five and half minute spot. Unfortunately, after the show the scout gave me the news that I would not be part of the show. He said he liked the set, and he offered some tremendous advice, but the decision was no to this year’s festival. He ended up saying that if he can find me a spot for me, he will get me one, but don’t get my hopes up.

Fast forward a week and a half to 3.30pm on Friday, September 18th. I get an email from the scout saying that he has a spot for me at 8pm that night but I had to respond asap. After a quick back and forth of emails, I was in the festival and I was going to perform at THE VOGUE THEATRE!!!! Are you fucking kidding me??? THE VOGUE!!! Needless to say, I was very excited to be part of the show.

Although the capacity for that theatre is about 1,100, I estimate that the crowd I performed for was about 400-500 people deep because I was the first comic up. Another aspect of the show I was excited about was performing in front of a predominantly East Indian crowd. I can now say with pride that my Apna jokes are Apna Approved! Boo-Ya!

I admit, I had some nerves going into the first joke which didn’t get the attention of the crowd to be honest. However, the second one got them on board and they supported most of the set. I hit the tiniest of snags during the Tunnel piece when I overheard a guy say, “talk about sex again.” Besides that, I thought I did well.

Set List, 9min
Kamikaze
This
Box Set
Flip Commitment
Brown Swimming
Porn
The Rabbit
Tunnel of Love
Juice

I wasn’t able to time it because my watch battery died that night and I think it would look horrible if I brought my berry onstage to use the voice recorder. So the time I have recorded is from the stage manager who said I did a perfect 9min.

Although I’m incredibly grateful to the decision makers of the Comedyfest to have included me in the list of performers, I am even more thankful for the opportunity when I see a strong list of names who were nowhere to be found in the shows. There was a jaw dropping list of local comics that I look up and learn from that were not asked to perform. It is not a place to say who should or should not be there, I’m just thankful that I got a first-hand taste of the festival. And I sure the hope the work that’s in front of me will be good enough to get me another invite to perform.

Am I Getting Spoiled?

October 1st, 2009


In a matter of eight days, I have exited the stage angry. Angry to the point, I was cursing certain members of the audience under my breath. Last week at Kino, my set was interrupted by an idiot who was showing off for his friends and it completely took away the focus from the stage. Last night at the Great Bear Pub, some guy shouted out a part of the joke that I was doing and I pretty much told him to fuck off. In both instance, I still believe the individuals are guilty of being bad audience members. However, in both cases, I had to talk myself down from doing something stupid like confronting them after the show. Yeah! That stupid!

Lately, I have had a great run of luck in regards to getting booked at Laffs and Yuks on a fairly regular basis. And not only am I being booked in these prime spots, I am getting great responses from the audience each time I’m up. It was on one of these nights which garnered me a spot on this year’s Comedyfest. Is the anger that I’ve displayed this past week one of first signs of entitlement? Am I starting to get the attitude that “I’m Dennis FUCKING Litonjua and they’re going to love me?” Am I starting to become a prick?

Before the Comedyfest, I was in the midst of trying to take a short break from comedy because I was exhausted. To be honest, I’m still in that head space where I need a break just to get my wits about me because life is going so fast for me at the moment. I am big believer in taking one step back before taking two steps forward. I think my lack of energy and the amount of stress is part of the reason why I’ve been getting angry lately. So, some time off will help me get better control of my emotions.

Another thing that I’m sure will keep me humble is going out to the non-club shows and working on other material. In the last couple weeks, I have organized the material that I want to revise and edit into four subjects – Work, Driving, Youth and Religion. Granted, they’re not ALL ENTIRELY NEW, but they have newer elements and are in the process of heavy revisions. That said, the first two, Work and Driving, are both coming along nicely. Unfortunately, the other two are proving to be a little more difficult. I believe getting back to the basics of developing material into a polished bit will be the ball busting experience that I am looking for to keep me from becoming a prick.



Dennis L.

Cleator - Aug.21.09

CLEATOR - New Joke Sputtering


On Tuesday, August 18th I once again tried my hand at working a joke that’s been brewing in my head for the last couple years. The joke is a true story of my visit to a doctor. So many things were so weird that it necessitated its own bit.

On my first attempt to share this joke, it was very, very clunky. It had no flow and it didn’t help that I missed some points to the joke. So after a start that elicited some laughter, the bit quickly descended into a long awkward bit. I’ve done some major revisions on the joke before trying it out again on Tuesday. And although I received a more positive response from the older members of the crowd, I still had some issues.

Here is a list of the issues with Cleator –
- Younger members of the crowd can’t relate to the topic
- Topic is fricken gross
- I had trouble memorizing the joke
- Some of the tags are very subtle

Even though I have a short list of issues with this joke, I still have a lot of faith in it. I think with some time and further revisions, I KNOW I can make this joke work.


Dennis L.

YUKS - 10 vs. 10

YUKS – 10min vs 10min
August 3, 2009

On June 10, 2009, I had my best set ever at Yuks. It was part of an ethnic show where I did a SOLID 10min set. Last week, I did my first paid set at Yuks by doing the 10min spot on Tuesdays. Although I felt good about my set, it came nowhere near the first 10min spot I did which will count (for now) my best set EVER.

In preparing for the 2nd set, I made a mental note to WAIT for the laughter to die down before proceeding with the next joke. I think I made the mistake of waiting too long this time around. I have to get a better feel for the timing of the situation. I have to learn to find that spot where the crowd’s laughter is BEGINNING to die down to tell the next joke. But I also need to be very careful as to not wait too long so I don’t kill the momentum. The two experiences have illustrated this important detail for me.


June 10, 2009
Kamikaze
This
Box Set
Flip Commitment
Indian Swimming
Brown Medal
The Rabbit
Tunnel of Love
Juice


July 28, 2009
Kamikaze
This
Box Set
Flip Commitment
Indian Swimming
Porn
The Rabbit
Tunnel of Love
Juice


As you can see there isn’t much difference between the two set lists with the exception of the replacing Brown Medal with Porn. As for the pieces bits themselves, there was one minor change worthy of note in The Rabbit. Beyond that, no changes were made.



Dennis L.

Canada Day Update (07.01.09)

Canada Day Update
July 1st, 2009


Considering that my last post had nothing to do with comedy, I have sooooooo much to share in regards to my thoughts about how my “career” is going in comedy. It’s been three months since my last post about comedy, and that post was more of a personal update rather than a comedy update. So, here is a quick rundown of what’s happened in the first half of 2009!

Big Name Out of Towners!
I have had the pleasure of working with …
Gabriel Rutledge – Winner of Seattle Comedy Competition 2004. Gabriel was part of FNC.3.
Brad Upton – 20yr veteran and international headliner. I did 15min with him on a weekend spot.
Debra DiGiovanni – from Comic Last Standing and MM Video On Trial. I did 7min with her on a weekend spot.

Running Rooms
FNC @ Lafflines
Even though the last show had a horrible turnout, I still have a soft spot for this show and I’m looking forward to future shows. Art is awesome to work with and there’s a never ending list of charities that need money. Some way, somehow we would like to help.

A couple months ago, I watched an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and they were building a house for a guy who was mentoring kids in a rundown neighbourhood. This gentleman stressed the importance of education and being a helpful hand in the community. The gentleman’s motto in life was, “Lift as you climb” which was his way of telling kids to strive for excellence, AND help bring others to the same level excellence. I’m going to teach my future children that because I’m adopting the same motto – Lift as you climb.

UFC @ Lafflines
I got this idea when a Toronto based comic came to town months ago and he was previously in California doing shows and he mentioned that there was a show that was drawing huge audiences of guys just because the advertising mentioned MMA . Shortly thereafter, I came up with the idea for Ultimate Funny Challenge which I pitched to Lafflines during a conversation. And lo behold, boom there goes the dynamite.

I’ll soon be sharing more details to the show but there are already about a dozen people who know how this show is going to be formatted. As of now, the intended launch for the show will be August.

Comedy Quest @ Rekados
As frustrating as the end result was, I got a quick taste of what to expect when I actually do run a weekly room. I was so excited because I had the opportunity to build bridges between Filipino and North American Stand Up Comedy and the bridge between white people and Filipino food. I was soooooo looking forward to bringing different people to two things I love very, very much. And it was a kick in the nuts when the owner told me that he chose to sell the place and the plans for comedy were being scrapped. I have no ill will against the owner and I look forward to re-visiting the idea of working again when he gets another restaurant up and running.

Comedy Quest – Part Two
I am currently in discussion with pub in Surrey about a new room. The location has many, many positives going for it which makes me very hopeful that the opportunity pans out.

Again, this would be about building bridges. I want to show the comics who don’t make it out to Surrey that it’s not the shit stain of the Lower Mainland. True, there’s a lot of questionable ticks that some folks will show when they’re walking around after getting their hits, but there are also plenty of good, sophisticated, and educated masses that reside in Surrey. On the other side, I want to bring Surrey the gift of awesome standup comedy that is living and breathing in Vancouver. I want Surrey to get excited about comedy. I want them to seek out comedy on the other side of the Fraser. And I think I can do that by bringing Surrey some of the best that Vancouver Comedy has to offer. Wish me luck that this pans out and sees the light of day.

So, if Comedy Quest comes to pass I will find myself running three different shows. Yes, that’s a lot of responsibilities, but it’s the ideal number of rooms that I want because they each serve a different purpose.

Flip n Comedy – this is the charitable show. Art and I get to make contributions to charities that we like. And as I had said, there will always be charities in need of money.

Comedy Quest – this is the pro show. I want set up a show where I can study pros. I encourage other amateurs to study what’s going on stage when a pro is working.

UFC Night – this is a pro-am show. Since the other two shows aren’t really opened to a lot of other amateurs, this is my way of opening more doors for us.


Development
I think I have made some vast improvements in the first half of the year. Although I have not really added any other bits to my portfolio, what I have done is tightened my existing material. In doing so, my sets have gotten better and so the audience feedback has reflected the progress. I recently had the set of my life at Yuks. I did just over 10min and I had laughter throughout the set. The laughs were huge and long – kind of like a black porn star’s penis. Anyhoo, I feel that I have made the most out of the opportunities that have come my way. I didn’t feel out of step when performing with the bigger names that I have had the privilege of working with. I don’t mean any disrespect to the other fine comics I have worked with, or their fans, but the fans of Debra Digiovanni are more vocal in their admiration for their performer. In that particular show, I felt that I worked that I fit in nicely with the other comics who helped fill in time before Debra took the stage.

New Material
When I mentioned that I have not really added any new bits, I wasn’t telling the whole truth. Have I been working on new material? Yes. Have I added any of that material into my repertoire? No. Do I plan on putting more work into new material? Absolutely. If I was to add the material that I don’t think is quite ready yet, I think I would be adding 8-10min. If I was to add the material after the required revisions, the time would probably drop to about 4-6min.

First Paid Gig
Technically, I was first paid to do comedy about ten years ago when a friend of mine asked me to open for his improv group out in Langley. However, since I don’t count most things that I did in comedy prior to August 2007, June 24th and 25th 2009 were my first ever paid gigs. After having done what was asked by me by Lafflines, they rewarded me with the co-middling position in the line-up. My first paid spots were with Reza Peyk and Richard Lett who I both enjoy working with. They’re good guys and would have no qualms about working with them again.

As for the sets themselves, I have to be honest and say that they were not my best moments as a comic. The first night I did about 17 and half minutes and then on Saturday, I did just over 15min. Although there were lulls in the set, I was able to pick the crowd back up each time. That was the first night which I followed with a tighter 15min set, but I managed to stutter my way through most of it. On both occasions, I thought I had finished strongly. And on both nights, I received many kind, generous words from audience members.

To be brutally honest, I don’t think I did that well. I think I have to face the fact that I don’t quite have 15min set that EVERYONE would consider tight. I can go strong for 12min, maybe even 13min but I have to be honest and say that I don’t have 15min. The stuff I added to make the 15min mark have received mixed success. This assessment is based on my own personal memory of the experience, a review of the recording from Saturday’s set and the feedback from one particular veteran.

As much as I want this, and as much as I want this NOW, I have to consider the bigger picture. There are two aspects to the bigger picture – one regarding the community as a whole and the other is personal role and long term goals.

Comedy Community
Any community is only as strong as its weakest link. If I am to be a professional comedian, I have to step up my game. When people go to a weekend show and sees me (for instance) do a mediocre job of setting up the headliner, they may conclude that the next time they go to a comedy show, they should only get there in time for the headliner. Or worse yet, conclude the $15-$20 they paid is not justified by the show they get because only two thirds of the act was good. I don’t want to be that guy who ruins comedy for potential new fans.

Long Term Goals
I have to improve to meet the bar of excellence that has been set by the comics before me. It is my job to raise myself to that level, rather than lowering the standard to meet my mediocrity. If I don’t improve and continue to put up mediocrity, then there’s no sense in setting long term goals because career would be over before it even began.

So I may need to shy away from the next opportunity, if I am not fully convinced that I can rock a full 15min set from start to finish.



Happy Canada Day!



The Denminion of Canada

Catching Up Pt. (04.16.09)

Catching Up Pt.2 –Development (Booker, Material, & Comic)


I remember about a year ago someone on the Comedy Couch mentioned that new comics should use their first two year to focus on writing material rather than using their energy to run their own room(s). At the time, I didn’t think much of it because running a room a year ago was the last thing on my mind back then. A lot has changed in 2009 for me in this regard.

In 2009, I have become a booker as well as a comic. With the success of the first Flip n Asian Show, an opportunity was offered to Art and I to continue producing shows for Lafflines. As a way of trying to make the show thrive, we’ve made a conscious decision to phase out of “Asian” shows. We’ve extended invites to other comics who are not of Asian descent, and the shows have become much stronger in the process. Also this year, I was in the midst of putting together a weekly show for an upscale Filipino restaurant before things were abruptly ended by the sale of the restaurant.

It was during the process of putting together the weekly shows that I realized what that particular pro was talking about. The point made a year earlier crystallized because I realized that I was thinking of joke ideas and not developing them because my focus was elsewhere. Between day job, booking responsibilities, girlfriend, and actual stage time there was no more time to develop the ideas into good jokes. Now that I only have a bi-monthly show to help organize, I’ve been trying to develop my ideas as fast as I can because I think I may have another opportunity on the horizon.


///


As far as developing my current jokes, I think I’ve been doing well with that. After the month and a half long funk that I was in, it seems that I’ve gained a new way of telling my jokes. The feedback that I’ve received has been very, very enthusiastic. Here, are some of the responses I’ve received …

Lafflines (Mar.20.09) – “You were awesome! Do you have a CD I can buy?”
Yuk Yuks (Apr.01.09) – “Good show, man. I'll probably be seeing you on the TV in a couple years.”
Kino Café (Apr.21.09) – “You can hear the applause from the outside.”

The generic “good job, buddy” are always nice to hear, but those compliments above went beyond that. To be honest, I was a little taken aback by the compliments but gladly accepted them. And the one at Lafflines was my favorite for another reason – I was integral part of the show and my set didn’t feel out of place with the pros that were working that night.

However, in regards to the newer jokes that I’ve been working on they have not fared as well as my older ones. Below is a quick list of the jokes that I’m working on and the problem(s) I am having with each of them.

Prison Bitch – okay start followed by nothing
Pussification – illustrating the shows are time consuming; establishing male bravado also time consuming
Cheap Hitman – There is ambivalence with this particular piece that is preventing me from fully following up and developing this as much as I would like.
Hyperhydrosis – turns sexual
Sugar Cane – turns sexual
Twitter History – close to another comic’s facebook bit
Twitter Founder – turns to gay bit
Yellow Camp – good for one joke
Ubiquitous – similar to another comic’s stuff
Cleator – very clunky; needs a finish

Out of the above new jokes I am developing, I am most hopeful about Cleator. I think it has the potential to be one of my better bits that will on par with Box Set, The Rabbit, and Tunnel of Love. It’s nowhere near the level of those yet, but with some work, it may get to that level.



************************************

This was posted July 1st, 2009. I completely forgot I had written this shortly after I posted the last "Catching Up". For the record, the above was written on April 4th, 2009.


Dennis L.

Pacman KO2 Hitman

Pacman KO2 Hitman (May.02.2009)


As Filipinos worldwide are starting to come down from the high of Manny Pacquiao’s annihilation of the Ricky Hatton, it’s time to put in perspective what this victory means for boxing. A lot has been written about how Pacquiao now belongs with the true legends of the sport – Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Henry Armstrong etc. I have to agree with this assessment 100%. Forget the fact I’m Filipino, I am basing this conclusion to the nearly thirty years I’ve put in following this sport.

In my opinion, THE PACMAN IS GREATEST FIGHTER IN THE LAST 30 YEARS!!! He is the best since Muhammad Ali. He has surpassed the accomplishments of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones Jr., Pernell Whitaker, Oscar De la Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Julio Cesar Chavez.

As many have pointed out, Pacquaio is the closest thing to Henry Armstrong’s conquest of three divisions that spanned 21lbs. Pacquaio’s titles have been won from 115lbs to 147lbs which is a span of 32lbs. With the exception of the first fight with Erik Morales and the couple with Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao has been dominant since his debut at junior featherweight. The one punch kayo of Ricky Hatton stands above all “Big Fight” knockouts of the past 30 years. Pacquiao’s victory even surpasses the Thomas Hearns’ knockout of Roberto Duran in the second round because Pacquiao was supposedly the smaller man, yet he was the one walking away from a flattened foe.

Other reasons why Pacquaio’s the greatest fighter in the last 30yrs …
Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, and Juan Manuel Marquez - this triumvirate of Mexicans had less than 10 losses between the three of them when they fought Pacquiao. These three men were considered the standard to which featherweight division was compared. Each one of them is an easy first ballot Hall of Famer. Everybody avoided these men, if they could help it. Pacquiao scored two stoppages against Morales, one stoppage and one decisive win over Barrera, and two very close fights with Marquez who he knocked a down a total of four times.
Other solid competition Pacquiao defeated includes De la Hoya (HOF), Ricky Hatton, Oscar Larios, and Lehlo Ledwhaba. All were stopped within the distance.

Below is a list of fighters briefly summarizing why their great and why their greatness falls short to the accomplishments of Manny Pacquiao.


Sugar Ray Leonard
Why he’s great …
This version of Sugar Ray has wins over Wilfred Benitez, Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler. All these men are bona fide greats and Sugar Ray bested them all. Enough said.
Why he falls short …
I roll my eyes every time I read that Leonard is the first five division champion. After “defeating” Hagler, Leonard fought a good Canadian kid named Donnie Lalonde for the Super Middleweight AND the Light Heavyweight titles ON THE SAME NIGHT!!! How can you win the title if you’ve never fought at that weight class? And it should be noted that Lalonde was a one handed fighter. A previous shoulder injury prevented him from using his left hand effectively.

Pernell Whitaker
Why he’s great …
Sweet Pea is one of my favorite fighters EVER. He is the BEST PURE BOXER I have ever watched. The man was unhittable in his prime. Whitaker can stand in the pocket and hit you with everything and not take any return fire. It was customary to hear “120-108, 120-108, 120-108” read at the end of his fights, as he became known for shutting out his opponents on the scorecards.
Whitaker is a four division champ who couldn’t punch worth s**t. Technically only has one win against a HOF fighter with Azuma Nelson. However, he has a disputed draw against a prime Julio Cesar Chavez and a disputed decision loss to Oscar De La Hoya, both of which I thought Whitaker won. Other notable names on his resume include Buddy McGirt, Roger Mayweather, Julio Cesar Vasquez, Jose Luis Ramirez, and Greg Haugen.

Why he falls short …
In winning titles from lightweight to junior middleweight, Whitaker covered 19lbs. Pacquiao has covered 35lbs or 39lbs depending on which records you look. In all honesty, Whitaker was such a good boxer that it is plausible that if he had more punching power, he could have gone up to middleweight and possibly defeated William Joppy or Julio Cesar Green for the WBC belt. Then again, I could have been blessed with Eddie Murphy’s wit and be mentioned amoung the very best comics in the world. Too bad, so sad – we can’t always get what we want.


Julio Cesar Chavez
Why he‘s great …
Chavez was a certified s**tkicker. He is best known for the path of destruction he laid by going an astounding 88-0 record from the start of his career and winning titles in three divisions. He only has one win over a HOF fighter – Edwin Rosario but it was CRUSHING victory. That said, he went out and destroyed the following high caliber opponents – Mario Martinez, Roger Mayweather, Rocky Lockridge, Juan LaPorte, Jose Luis Ramirez, Meldrick Taylor, Hector Camacho, Greg Haugen, and Tony Lopez.
His only losses during his prime were against Whitaker (incorrectly scored a draw) and Frankie Randall. On the downslide, he lost De la Hoya and Kotsa Tszyu. The other losses were to non-descript opponents when he was completely done as a fighter.

Why he falls short …
Chavez didn’t cover the same ground as Pacquiao has, as he’s basically fought a range of 15lbs – not even half of what the PacMan has done. Also, the level of competition he defeated doesn’t match the names Pacquiao has beaten. Chavez accomplished a lot, but not as much as Pacquiao.


Roy Jones Jr.
Why he’s great …
Without a grain of doubt in my head, Jones was the most TALENTED fighter I have ever seen. He had amazing had amazing hand speed and footspeed and one punch kayo power. His most meaningful wins came against Bernard Hopkins, James Toney, Tito Trinidad, and Mike McCallum who are all Hall of Famers (HOF). He had other wins against quality opposition like Virgil Hill, Reggie Johnson, and Montell Griffin.

Why he falls short ….
Jones made the poor choice of wasting his talents on fights that didn’t matter. In his prime, Jones fought non-descript guys who had no chance in hell in beating him. There was a joke about Jones that went something like he likes to fight civil service guys because he fought Ricky Frazier, a policeman, and Tony Thornton, a postman.
The potential to cement his greatness was there because during his prime, there were a handful of English boxers fighting a round robin tourney to claim who the best super middleweight was. And to his discredit, Jones didn’t fight any of the following – Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn, Michael Watson, and Steve Collins.



Oscar De La Hoya
Why he’s great …
He is the first six time division champion. As much as people want to discredit De la Hoya, I believe he is a good enough fighter to have competed against ANY OF THE GREATS in boxing. I certainly don’t think he would win most of them, but he would put up a solid effort and challenge a lot of the old time greats. Technically, De la Hoya only has two victories against HOFs and both were over Julio Cesar Chavez. I believe De la Hoya won the rematch against Shane Mosley and I believe that he also won enough rounds to secure victory over Felix Trinidad. Other solid fighters he defeated include Genaro Hernandez, Rafael Ruelas, Hector Camacho, Ike Quartey, and Fernando Vargas.

Why he falls short …
A handful of his victories were very questionable. His wins against Pernell Whitaker and Felix Sturm were very controversial. He’s also lost to Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather, and Pacquiao. Essentially, when it came to fighting elite level fighters, De la Hoya consistently fell short.


Floyd Mayweather
Why he’s great …
So far, Mayweather has remained undefeated in his career that has covered from junior lightweight to welterweight (17lbs). He is a solid two way fighter who doesn’t forsake his defense while attacking. He’s in the mold of Whitaker but with more power and fighting out of a conventional stance. His list of HOF names that he’s beaten includes De la Hoya and Jose Luis Castillo. Other high caliber fighters he’s defeated include Ricky Hatton, Diego Corrales, Zab Judah, and Genaro Hernandez.

Why he falls short …
Similar to Jones, Mayweather has been rightfully criticized by the boxing media for his lack of gumption to fight the best available opposition. Before he “retired” there were opportunities to fight either Antonio Margarito and/or Miguel Cotto. The thing with Mayweather is that he’s now decided to come back and fight Juan Manuel Marquez, with a potential of fighting Paciquiao if he wins. It’s not too late to add to his legacy by taking on challenges bigger and better opponents.



DENlightening you with some boxing opinion ......

Catching Up, Pt. 1 - The Hiatus (Apr.10.09)

CATCHING UP Pt. 1 – The Hiatus
April 10, 2009


It’s been quite some time since my last entry. Initially, the blog stopped because one of the posts lacked discretion and a conscious decision was made to suspend posts until things cooled off a bit. Even though things have cooled off for some time, I have not been able to get back to blogging because I have been incredibly busy.

The time between the last post and this post has been very trying to say the least. To be honest, the online war that prompted the suspension of this blog took a lot of the fun out of comedy for me. Compound that with a few personal issues on top of that, the past couple of months of comedy was a test of mental and emotional toughness for me.

The weekend before my online war with a fellow amateur comic, I found out that an old high school friend lost her baby at birth, a close friend of mine lost his father, and another good friend informed me that she was going to get a divorce. Then in early March, one of my closest friends found out his brother was shot in the head; the brother past away a week later in the hospital.

My friend’s death was the closest loss I’ve ever had to go through so far. I’ve been more than lucky thus far to not lose anyone that I’m particularly close to. The thing with my friend’s brother’s passing is that I was really close to the family growing up. I can’t count the amount of times I would be over hanging out with my friend and having his family to banter with. My friend’s family is a good family that didn’t deserve the heartache they received. My heart goes out to them.

On the day job front, I have spearheaded a project of launching a new website. The launching of a new site is surprisingly easy when you have the right people to delegate. However, there are a lot of details to oversee. Revisions upon revisions are required to establish a quality site, so the project takes a TON OF TIME.

So during the months of February and March, I have been showing up to shows either distracted and exhausted, and some times both. From the January 13th to March 17th, I felt like I was in a bit of funk. The Jan. 13th set a Yuks was the last set I felt good about before the whole Yuks competition got the best of me. Then for a couple months, I performed like I was in a fog. The set at Kino on March 17th was the start of me starting to get my groove back.

The couple of months that I have been “off my game” made me think about how much I want this. How much am I willing to fight through to “make it”? What exactly am I willing to give up? What exactly would I NOT give up?

More things to catch up on .....


Dennis L.

Flip N Asian Show # 2 (written Feb.05.09)

FLIP N ASIAN SHOW #2
Lafflines – Thursday, February 5th 2009


For this particular episode of the FNC, I took Bullet. Aside from a prolonged portion of awkwardness during Fat Dennis, I thought I put together a solid effort. I thought the emcee did an amazing job of putting the crowd in such a great mood that I think that it was easy for me to do my first joke.

I thought Kamikaze got a decent reception, but I was able to raise the energy with This. Then the awkwardness came with Fat Dennis. The awkwardness was due to not really knowing this bit as much as I should. I’ve only used once since I put on the shelf about a year back. However, I do believe the joke has more nuggets that I can mine out of it.

Regardless, it took me a couple of moments to get the set back on track with Flip Commitment which I followed with my Brown jokes. This was the first time I had a sizeable Brown contingency in the audience for the Brown jokes. And I’m glad to say that my instincts were proven correct and that they don’t go over the line. The jokes are said in good fun and are not overly disrespectful to the Brown community.

After the Brown jokes, I was able to crescendo with Porn, Rabbit and then finally, Tunnel. I got HUGE responses for Rabbit and Tunnel. HUGE. It was a good set, despite the seconds lost during the transition from Fat to Flip Com.


Set List
- Kamikaze
- This
- Fat Dennis
- Flip Commitment
- Indian Swimming
- Brown Medal
- Porn
- The Rabbit
- Tunnel of Love
Time: 9.19min


There is one other thing worth noting from the night. The host, Sunee D., highlighted a skill that I haven’t really put any thought towards. I really liked how he paid close attention to the show and would open up with wisecrack about the previous act in between sets. I think that’s a skill that I should be honing instead of shooting the shit with other comics during the show.

Getting Back On the Saddle - Double Spot (written Feb.03.09)

DOUBLE SPOT
KINO / DARBYS – Feb.03.09


After the debacle with blogging that led to a brief, but bitter feud with another comic, it was time to re-build the good faith that I had damaged in the last week or so. Last night was the first step of getting back on track. I had two spots last night – Kino and Darbys.


KINO
To be honest, I felt uneasy about this set. Coming off the Joke Off which I really don’t count as a set, I’ve been a little tense about my place in the community. Pondering how much damage did I do to myself? The set at Kino was the first step towards finding out.

///

The set itself was decent. I didn’t think I was great, but I didn’t think I was horrible either. I had a strong start and a strong finish, but at around the end of Fat Dennis I had a lull. The stall in laughter could be attributed to me not really knowing the material well enough, but it also highlighted the possibility that the joke needs revision.

Another aspect that needs further attention is The Rabbit. I am still not happy with the transition from explaining what it is, to what it can do. I need to insert a joke in there to keep the bit from stagnating.

On a positive note, I think I found a better spot for the phrase “human stalactite” in the Porn bit. Also positive was the further shortening of Tunnel of Love. Admittedly, this was done completely by accident.


Set List
- Kamikaze
- Fat Dennis
- Flip Commitment
- Porn
- The Rabbit
- Tunnel of Love
Time: 6.52min


DARBYS
Since the Kino show had a late start, I wasn’t able to leave until shortly after 10pm. After a quick drive, I arrived at Darbys about 10min before I was scheduled to go up. Last night’s crowd at Darbys was definitely lively, borderline rowdy. Goodness gracious, but when they laughed, they laughed hard.

Personally, my set was a little uneven. There were moments where a certain joke would fall flat, but the very next line would elicit an eruption of laughter. I believed that happened with The Rabbit and its features. And it is worth mentioning that my tongue got tied on a couple of occasions.

In all, I thought the crowd was a little tricky, but I managed to stay in the pocket and deliver the goods.

Set List
- Kamikaze
- This
- Flip Commitment
- Porn
- The Rabbit
Time: 5.07min



For me the night was “successful” in that I got back on the horse and let the material do my talking for me. However, I was reminded last night that I really need to get my ass going in regards to writing new material. I saw a couple of my personal favorites performers present newer jokes which were awesome. I hope the stuff in my head turn out as good as the jokes that I saw last night.




Denaissance!

Comedy Goals 2009 (Reposted)

FLIP N FUNNY
Comedy Goals 2009


- Work together with Art and make the FNCS one of the best shows in town
o Organize contact list
o Design poster template
o Get (more) facetime on TV and print

- Add another 10min of SOLID, EDITED material
o Anything less than 8min will be considered a failure

- WRITE the following joke ideas
o Cleats
o Duckie
o CLEANER MATERIAL

- EDIT the following jokes
o Tunnel of Love – shorten it
o Sasha – find intro and exit
o Youth – bunch of revisions
o Pharmaceutical – find exit

- Advance ONE round in the Yuks competition
- Do another weekend spot at Yuks
- Do a 10min spot at Yuks
- Do my first weekend spot at Lafflines
- Participate in the Comedy Festival
- Get headshots done
- Get websites up and running
- Get more video done
o Learn to edit video


**** Originally written Jan.13.09 ***