Names Night!

Last night, in conjunction with Mitzi Shore's 80th birthday, the Comedy Store held it's first Names Night in over 8 years.  It was incredible.  New and old Names came by, many with family and friends, did a set in the Original Room and then came to the party in the Main Room and recorded a message of gratitude and reminiscence for Mitzi & The Comedy Store Archives.

I honestly didn't watch most of the sets, but I did enjoy watching people record their messages and memories.  Freddy Lockhart probably touched me the most when he said "We're all here because we loved that one summer when we were 12 and just sat around and shot the shit all day.  We are the ones who didn't want that to end, so we came here instead of getting stuck living at the end of a cul-de-sac with a job you hate, kids you hate, married to a woman you hate."  Shawn Halpin went with the slightly less sappy "This is the place where, if you're having a shitty day, you can always come by, go to the back door... and find someone who is having a shittier day than you."  Nick Youssef told the story of how Ari Shaffir was the doorman when he first started  coming to open mic and would militantly keep him out of the room except to go on stage (because he was only 18) and then helped him get his job at the Store the minute he turned 21.  And, true to form, PJ Stansbury told a disgusting, debaucherous, hilarious story.

Some time well after midnight, it started to peter out and turned into almost a normal Sunday.  There was a small fire in the ladies bathroom - ironically it was David Taylor, who has often threatened to burn the place down, that first smelled the smoke thus saving the day.  Here's Dean putting it out.

And then we dwindled down to mostly the usual suspects (and a few who were usual suspects before my time and have since moved on from hanging out in the Main Room at 3 am on a Sunday) and I enjoyed my favorite passtime - watching comics do impressions of other comics.  I never realized how very similar Tony Hinchcliffe and Nick Youssef sound until last night.

I can not tell you how amazing (and a little overwhelming) it was to be there on such an important night.  The Store has come to mean so much to me, I really identified with Jeff Scott when he said "That first night I thought, 'I've never met such fucked up people,' and then I thought, 'And I've never felt more at home.'"  The fact that everyone tolerates me and most people actually really like me there blows my mind a little every time it hits me.  And last night, it really hit me.  Watching these guys have a night full of so much love, positivity, bonding and reminiscing was such a treat.  They are not only funny, insecure little rock stars but they are also really wonderful people.