By Dan Martin
Katie Fischer; selfie. She took the pics. Hey there Laughtronauts!
A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of attending a comedy show in Providence, RI as a representative of WBOB.COM. I set out to see Comedian Doug Benson and his opener/friend Graham Elwood and perhaps have conversations with them. This is my story, the names and places have NOT been changed as to protect the legitimacy of the story. And when meeting Doug Benson, it is best to keep a record of events just to prevent THC induced amnesia from winning out in the end but we will get to all of that.
Let's start where most stories begin, at the beginning:
May 18th, a Saturday in Providence, RI I secured two tickets for myself and two to give away to see Doug Benson's road show and surprisingly enough it was in an off-beat venue of sorts. There are few venues for Comedy in RI and only two of those are or were at one time chains so there tends to be a lot of artist run shows in odd venues.
The show was at
Fete Music Hall. Fete is a French word, pronounced /'fet/, not unlike the infamous intergalactic bounty hunter. Being the film nerds that Graham and Doug are as well as all of their rabid fans, myself included, you know that pun was made by most. Fete opened up in November 2011 and until now has mostly been host to music shows and night club style evenings with DJs and house bands. The word as a noun means Elaborate Party and in french speaking languages is used as a verb meaning to celebrate. And celebrate we did! I asked around and even searched the web a bit and this appears to have been their first listed comedy show. The first time I attended Fete was a few weeks ago for the Phoenix.com Best Of 2013 awards.
FUTURE SHOT! Josh Shank Redemption, winning Maltin! My unofficial photographer slash date and I arrived an hour early to get a good spot in line until they opened doors. Local comedian Rob Greene had won the extra pair of tickets by calling in to the radio show and confusing me. That episode was lost due to technical difficulties so you are going to have to take my word for it. Rob's plus one was another local comedian, Cory Tenchara. I didn't see them until inside the show. Back in line however I made new friends. I was hanging in front of the ticket window where I was assured that once doors opened there would be a guest list and I was on it. I met four show goers that frequent comedy venues in Rhode Island. Josh, Jess, Kayla and Larry. Josh and Kayla are married, Jess is Josh's younger sister and Larry is my new best friend! Josh is a stand up enthusiast he has seen Doug and Graham before and even prepared a game tag for Leonard Maltin. A game Doug plays on his podcast. More on that in a moment. The six of us, my new gang, myself and my date/photographer were all surprised and curious to see a comedy show from national acts in such an off-beat venue. We had questions. If you are a concert goer in RI you are familiar with places like Lupo's and the Met Cafe. Where you can see touring acts from Snoop Lion to Slayer! Its exciting as a comedian to perform in a rock venue, it lends well to a high energy show. As a show goer though you can't help but wonder, are we going to stand in the pit like a GWAR concert? Can I enjoy a comedy show standing up? When is it appropriate to start moshing to a stand up set? When comedy had come to Lupo's in the past it was much like a concert. The main floor was open as well as the balcony and people found seating off to the sides where ever there was a ledge or bench.
Leonard Maltin with SteveVengers! (Not Winning) Before we headed inside though we were kept in line for about forty-five minutes to an hour. My new found gang and I were a bit concerned with the quality of the show when we saw Graham Elwood pull up in the parking lot below us and was made to park out on the street. Graham, who had been driving from their previous gig, unloaded his suit case from the car and a man in a valet jacket approached him and asked him to move his car. We all shared a laugh when the man with a valet jacket didn't move his car for him. The the so called valet was kicking rocks out of the empty spots that by the by were all handicapped and empty. No one get's in this lot! Not even natural crustaceans. I was hoping that this wasn't a sign of how the show would be run. It's always fun to get to a show early and see the acts arrive, its disheartening to see them treated like every other schmuck. I mean, they are about to work hard for the hundreds of people that would have never come to your venue unless they were there. Its the circle of life! Maybe I am biased as a performer, or maybe Graham wasn't actually supposed to park there. Anything is possible. After all we were at an old converted building in the middle of a defunct industrial area in Olnyville, Providence of all places, on Dike St! (Cue hacky celebrity impression radio voice.)
Josh and Wife Kayla share and inside joke Once inside the venue was impressive. There was a large ball room where the show was held. The ball room has a large raised stage with better than average rock show lighting. The room has an open floor plan with a triple length bar along the back wall and a second floor balcony that wraps around the top of the room. Unfortunately that was closed, there was no "V.I.P" or "Press" section. In fact Doug was not doing interviews because he'd rather do a meet and greet with the fans by the merch table after the show and sign everyone's stuff. And that they did! I myself purchased Graham Elwood's book and had then both sign it, as Doug did write the forward. Beyond that he took a picture or five with everybody that asked. It was pretty sweet!
Here's my autograph and here's my card. The show itself ran smoothly, Doug came out and read live tweets from the show, including mine asking him for an interview of sorts. In fact I was pointed out a few times that night because I do have an at times obnoxious laugh and wore overalls and a Star Wars shirt and sat in the front row. Being white and in that get up I am aware I looked like a lot of horror movie serial killers and their knowledge is vast and knows no bounds or mercy. Nevertheless a great show, I don't mind being a target. Doug introduced the show in lieu of a host. When he finished reading tweets and a brief opening about the general format of the show he brought Graham up. Graham was great! He has high energy and he opened by referring to the incident with the Valet and did a bit about Rhode Islanders calling him on his bullshit and busting his balls. I know I could relate. When Graham was done he introduced Doug and when the show was over Doug brought Graham back up for Leonard Maltin which he recorded on his phone and made a mini podcast out of. You can get it
HERE! "Rental Car XXIII"It was a great time and the guys were great sports after the show hanging back to sign every autograph and pose for every picture after putting on a high energy show. They show was sold out at about two hundred and fifty people. I believe I smoked pot with every individual there after the show or as Doug and I called it, "our unofficial off the record conversation." Though it is no secret that the man like his Weed. He did write, direct and star in "Super High Me." He said during our post show session that [He] "I like smoking, it helps me get through the non smoking times." This was after we were thrown out of the smokers area of the club because they were flipping it over into a DJ fueled dance party for bro dudes and hoochie mammas. I don't get out much, I don't know but I know it wasn't good. We all sought refuge in the abandoned dirt lot next to the coveted handicap lot. By we I mean Doug and the thirty plus fans all "packing" their own "punch!"
Afterwards my date and I floated home on a cloud of kind bud and kindness. Another great night out in a sleepy little city. A state full of cynical ball busters just trying to do our respective jobs. Some poorly but most seek an escape, a beer and perhaps a laugh after a long day of doing whatever you do however you choose to do it. The comedy scene is good here in RI and is starting to get even better with the addition of new rooms like this. Perhaps we will see acts at the newly opened
Columbus Theater soon enough. (Just a hope of mine, I have no insider info. so...) Here is hoping!
Hope you all enjoyed the tale,
-See you out there!
CLICK TO ENLARGE, THEN PRINT 
