Damn, why the hell is Louisville so humid? You can almost feel the evenings cool air if it weren't for this foggy haze of shit just chillin all stagnant like right on top of our city. Sorry it was just a very humid evening as Louisville Pod makes it's way this past Friday night up to Louisville's most storied comedy club, the Comedy Caravan. That evening after meeting up with Jordan Cooper in front on the CC to do a short interview for Louisville Comedy Underground, about us over here at Louisville Pod, I finally found my way into the air conditioned confines of the club. Got a cocktail and was ready to laugh.
As I took a seat in the dark club, I enjoied the running of old infamous comedy clips on the projector screen. Conan O'Brien's Molecular Man was the one that stood out to me. This sort of club takes you back in time because of it's old school nature, the old comedy clips from the glory days of SNL and Mad TV and the clips were recorded on a VHS and just replayed at the club. You can still see the tracking feed at the bottom. Very 1991...very cool.
After patiently waiting the lights began flashing and the announcer introduced the opener, Tim McLendon. Tim is known for his clean brand of comedy, and his dry sense of humor which came across very quickly. While keeping it clean he still made the crowd laugh, which sometimes is tough to do. I titled this piece "Comedy For An Average Joe...or Jane" Basically because both comedians performing are so relatable to your everyday man or women, specially a lot that live in this area. Tim talked about marriage, kids, pee wee soccer and being the worst soccer dad when it come to having to bring snacks for after the game. Basically because he always forgets to do so, and at halftime he's at the store picking up a 2 liter of Big Red and a box of Ding Dongs. Comedians often talk about relatable topics but with Tim, he's easy to relate to especially if your a dad or husband. Lets be honest, picking your kids up from school isn't usually funny, or exciting but Tim can spin it to where you can relate, and have a good laugh.
The crowd would really respond to the headliner of the evening. Mrs. Etta May brought the house down with her trailer trash, redneck, blue collar brand of humor. She is a sassy southern bell from Arkansas. She curses heavily and wasn't afraid to show off her dirty and twisted mind, which certainly balanced out the lack of dirtiness and cursing from Tim. The crowd roared with laughter when she started talking about Shively. The part of Louisville which I only drive through fast. Quotes like "I'm considered sexy in Shively" and "300lb girls make the cheerleading squad in Shively...those are the cute ones" had the crowd locked from the start.
There was a lady in the front row which had been causing havoc from the start of Tim's set all throughout Etta May's set. Etta called her drunk Sandy. I'm not 100% sure that was her actual name or not, but either way she was dubbed "Drunk Sandy" for the rest of the show. She heckled and carried on through out the entire night. At one point after another comment from "Drunk Sandy" Etta May threw her hand up and said " Aww SCREW IT! Lets all just go to the Waffle House and mess with the third shift.
Etta May is a great entertainer. She's is one of the best storyteller comedians working this region. She is in production with CMT (Country Music Television) and will be coming out with her own show soon, so make sure to keep an eye out for that...you can't miss her. You can catch Etta May again during the week of July 20th-24th at the Comedy Caravan. She'll be kicking off that weekend with a special male review show called Etta May and her men. This is a show only for the ladies. Though when promoting that show, she had a word for the men too. She urged the men to...and I quote "Drop your ladies off at the show, go over to The Back Door. Shoot some pool and have a few brews and while your doing that we'll be pumping up the tires, and when you pick them up you'll be getting a BJ before you hit the Dairy Queen."
Goodnight, and don't forget to tip your waitress...
