Free Popcorn and $1.50 Schlitz

Took a road trip to Athens last night with celebrity bouncer Mason Jenkins to try the comedy night at Flicker Theater and Bar. Mason had a great set and really connected with the college-town crowd.

I also performed.

Flicker is a classic movie-themed bar with a side space for film screenings, acoustic music acts and monthly comedy. The classic movie theme is limited to playing TCM on the bar TV, some movie stills and posters along the walls and books on film on the bookshelf. It gets the idea across but doesn't bludgeon you with your ignorance of Erich von Stroheim's oeuvre. And with no beer over $3.50 you can still just be a cheap drunk.

It reminded me of what I love about Athens: it's arty but unpretentious, intelligent but laid back. And so was the comedy. Pete McBrayer set the tone of thoughtful silliness and a nice mix of acts made for a well-paced night. A simple, fun, interesting comedy show.

Having concentrated on sketches for awhile, looking forward to this show got me back into the rhythm of writing jokes again. Now I just need to remember to edit, rewrite and polish a little more ahead of time.

"Athens, GA. Where every restaurant in town has a dishwasher/bass player with a secret bootleg recording of Mike Mills taking a dump. 'Yeah, man. He totally came in one night.'"