It was pure crickets at last night’s Night Comedy XVI. And we mean literal crickets that would not shut up throughout the entire evening creating the best possible irony for a six-person stand-up show. 

To be honest, this was our first time attending Night Gallery’s monthly comedy series and we weren’t exactly sure what to expect. We arrived around 9 p.m., joined a small crowd on the patio for beers, and waited. The start of the show was announced close to 10 p.m. so we made our way into the hot box of a gallery and took our seats at the DIY theater that had been created between gallery walls. Cinder blocks held the stage up, a black curtain was half hung behind that stage, we sat in white folding chairs, and a sound system allowed every performer to infiltrate our ears in a big way. 

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Gallerist Mieke Marple welcomed the small crowd and introduced Nick Flanagan, founder of Night Comedy and our host for the night. He started us off with a self-deprecating bit about his envy of the Alpha that involved a half awkward Q&A with a semi-drunk yet charming audience member. Perhaps setting the tone for the half awkward semi-drunk yet charming night headliner, Nick was followed by Allen Strickland Williams (our favorite of the night), Sofiya Alexandra, Jena Friedman (fresh off the cool plane from NY), M.K Paulsen and Sam Jay. 

Racial issues, the DNC, feminism, fatness, drought and weed were all topics touched on in multiples, causing parts of the night to feel like a testing ground with quite a few jokes met with half silence. Perhaps it’s too soon or too real to joke about women’s rights in ISIS, mass shootings or a Trump apocalypse? Or maybe the audience was just getting sleepy around 11 p.m.

Thankfully M.K Paulsen entertained us with a fife (yes like a flute) rendition of “My Heart Will Go On,” and Sofiya Alexandra kept us in check with her line “Your white friend brought you here, didn’t they?” easing us back into laughter. However, the night ended with some classic heckling from a rude male audience member who got into a little back and forth with Sam Jay causing her set to end early in a notion of what felt like not wanting to deal. Rightfully so.

All in the all though the evening was enjoyable and we’ll definitely be back for more drinks and awkward laughs next month. Hopefully the crickets stay home.