I had the pleasure of riding out with Jamie Lissow for a private charity gig in Oswego, NY this past Friday.  I got to do 30 minutes opening in front of a sold-out house of 320 people.  The stage (which had a projector and video of the stage enlarged behind us), lighting, sound, audience, everything - all awesome!  They even set us up with a greenroom (see picture above)... it was an attic with a bomb-shelter-worthy supply of booze, canned goods, and pretzel sticks...weird. 

The real fun part, however, comes on the ride home from the gig.  Jamie and I were pulled over.  Multiple cop cars, some time spent in the back of a police car, and a sobriety test later... well - Lissow tells it best on The Wease Show.  Click HERE and select "Jamie Gets Pulled Over By Cops" under January 19, 2010.  It's a fantastic story.

I also opened for Early David Reed at 'The Comedy Club' in Rochester on Thursday and Saturday.  The Saturday crowds were especially awesome, thanks to everyone who came out.  And if you haven't seen Early David Reed, you missed out!

For those comics interested in participating in February's edition of "Chet Wild's Comedy Showcase" - submissions are due tomorrow (Wednesday, January 20th).  Visit the Open Mic & Showcase page for more info.

On a much more serious note, a tragic incident took place at Merge Restaurant in Buffalo this past Saturday morning.  For those of you unfamiliar, I co-host an open mic comedy night on Wednesdays with Rust Belt Comedy at Merge.  The owners and staff have always created a very supporting and welcoming environment providing performance space for the local arts.  Sadly, a dishwasher opened gunfire on the staff Saturday morning resulting in the injury of manager Rick Costner and the fatality of his son, sous chef, Ricky Costner Jr.

Merge has set up an account for donations to the Costner family on their website at MergeBuffalo.com.  We will not be having comedy night this week, but I know that many comics, including myself,  look forward to the opportunity to continue performing at Merge in the very near future.  The restaurant is owned and staffed by some of the nicest people you'll ever meet.  My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with everyone at Merge and the Costner family.