Cheap Gigs As An Excuse

I'm doing two bookings this weekend that clearly are not paying ANY of my bills. I take gigs like these every so often because it provides a perfect excuse to visit family members I don't see often enough. In this case I'm doing two really low-paying comedy gigs so I can get a chance to visit my older brother Marty & his family.

I went up here a couple of days early because I didn't end up filling the rest of the week. However this really pisses me off. I had no fewer than 3 calls for the 27th (all different times) and at least one call for the 26th. Potentially, I could have added $1,500+ in earnings to my month. Instead, NONE of the calls came through as actual bookings and so I'm being paid to visit family (sort of)

I find myself in Marquette, MI, very close to my first of the two craptacular gigs, Pasquali's in Negaunee, MI. I'll be sure to take a snapshot of the place today as you just won't believe how bizarre this all is. Pasquali's is an Italian restaurant sporting a Scottish Highland chick dancer in the sign, and it used to be a disco club (complete with lighted dance floor) and a topless bar, of all things.

I'm the feature act so I'll be doing about 30 minutes of stand-up, juggling, whatever I do to make people laugh. This will be fun because I know there'll be a reasonable amount of audience all there to support ME. Normally nobody comes to se my shows so this is already a welcomed treat.

The next day I stop off at a casino to do a freebie show as an "audition" for a fair board committee (I picked up this show after meeting a friend of Marty's) in the hopes they'll likel the program enough to actually PAY to have me work some of their fairs later on. Honestly I normally wouldn't take this gig as the time it would take for me to drive to the show is time I'd rather spend with family, fishing, and just relaxing a bit. However, this one is on the way to the show I have later that same night in Sheboygan Falls, WI at the Odyssey Fun Center.

GOOD LORD! Is there really a stand-up show at a place called the Odessey Fun Center? I'll be sure to give you a full report.