Comedian Open Mic Night attracts veterans, newcomers

Tucked into the side room of Public Eat + Drink last Thursday night was Colby Durand, the host of Public’s Comedy Open Mic Night, standing in front of a small guitar amp. While the amp was quickly discarded in favor of what was called “an a capella comedy night,” the audience was small enough to hear every word.

Durand MCed the evening and gave little one-liners in between acts.

“I was recently told… I look like Jack the Ripper,” he said. “I still don’t have a comeback for that because Jack the Ripper was never caught… no one knows what he looks like.”

The first comedian of the night was the Albany-based Carlisle Carey. Her comedy ranged from pop-culture observations, such as the Jersey Shore, to online dating. She explained that online dating is like being picked up in a dive-bar in slow-motion, and how you are going to say no to all of them anyway. It just takes longer online.

Another New York comedian, William Hughes, was the next comedian of the night. He stood next to the amplifier, but then changed his mind and grabbed a chair.

“I’m not just going to be cool,” he said as he turned it backwards, “I’m going to be don’t-do-drugs cool.”

Hughes’s routine focused mostly on the duality of his job, going from working at a desk in an office to the warehouse, and just what happens when people go to geeky conventions.

“Nerds go to these conventions,” he said, “and it’s like salmon going to spawn.”

Hughes even got some audience reaction on one of his jokes.

“Wow, that joke went down faster than JFK Jr.’s airplane,” he said when the joke did not receive as much laughter as he had hoped.

The audience responded with mixed laughter and shock.

“Too soon,” senior Brett Hinchcliffe yelled.

“Too soon?” asked Hughes. “If that’s too soon, Lincoln assassination jokes are too soon.”

The third comedian of the night was Michael Berrouet, an MCLA student and only on his second performance ever.

“So, I’m Haitian,” he said in the beginning of his routine. “Yes we still exist after the earthquake. Our country is God’s Etch-a-Sketch but we’re still here.”

Berrouet did a number of impressions including his mother worriedly warning him not to leave the house and the absurdity of Bruno Mars’ song, “Grenade.” However, Mars was not the only celebrity to be on the receiving end of his jokes.

“The other day I was listening to Lady Gaga,” he said and paused. “I don’t know why I was listening to Lady Gaga.”

The final comedian was Seth Brown, who apologized that he didn’t really have any new jokes prepared because he had been doing nothing but working on his book.

“If you want to hear about the Declaration of Independence of 1776 I could do that,” he said. The audience laughed but he continued on with jokes instead.

Like the comedians before him, he had a lot of nerdy jokes about nerds.

“At some point in their lives, every man has wanted to be Batman,” he said and explained it is because Batman is attainable. Rather than being able to fly or shoot lasers out of his eyes, Batman is just really rich.

Brown spent some time talking about superheroes and superpowers, including how everyone who bowls believes they have telekinesis.

He was even prone to some great puns, or terrible puns depending on your opinions of puns in general.

“I like interesting headlines,” Brown said after talking about how newspapers need more headlines about penguins. “That’s why I bought a corduroy pillow.”

If you love comedy but missed this Open Mic Night, there will be one on the first Thursday of every month at Public. The sign-up is at 9 p.m. and the comedians will start at 9:30 p.m.

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