Rory Scovel is a DC comedy scene alumnus. He now works out of New York, but that doesn't mean on any given night you can head up there and catch one of his sets. This is a hard working dude who performs in rooms all over the continent. But don't worry, he still graces our nation's capital from time to time. The first time I heard Rory was at the late great venue Dr. Dremos. He was headlining that night, so he did a good thirty to forty-five minutes. My first impression of him, as he sauntered to the stage like he didn't care if he spent his whole set getting to the stage, was SNOOZE FEST! I'll clarify upfront that my first impression of him was wrong. Maybe it was because he was headlining and had so much time, but his pace couldn't beat a four year old on a big wheel. I'm not saying that is necessarily a bad thing. He is the kind of comedian you love to unwind to after a hard week at the office. Just sit back with your favorite drink and chill. Most importantly though, he has great material and timing. You know that feeling when you are preparing yourself to laugh? You bring your laugh up to about your adam's apple and just hold it and wait for the punch line. You don't know when it is coming, but you know it is going to come bursting out. You really don't want to do that when Rory is on stage, because he can keep you waiting as long as he wants. You're inevitably going to have to let it out before the punch line comes, and then you're just going to look stupid to the chick you are on the blind date with. He just has that kind of personality and timing that can make you laugh when he isn't even saying anything.
Rory looks very at home when he is performing. This guy is probably more comfortable on stage than the audience is in their seats! He is the kind of casual comedian who takes the stage with a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other. The only thing I didn't like was it seemed as if he didn't know what he was going to say next. He would frequently flip through his notebook looking for a joke. I can't be too hard on him for that though. It was just an open mic in Clarendon. He is great at writing on stage too. I could tell when he was writing on stage because he was.... well... literally writing on stage. He would say something that hit and annotate it in his notebook with a chuckle. He is not a comedian I would recommend new comics to emulate. His easy going style is really a "you have it or you don't" style. Especially if your material is weak, you are just going to lose your audience after five minutes. Rory does it well. Next time he is in town be sure to catch his set.
3 comments:
Was this the December 5th show?
That sounds about right. It was the first night that it really snowed in DC. I remember it becuase Nick Turner made a comment that now they can bring out their snow jokes.
That show was kind of rough since the comedians out numbered the audience members. It was the first night it snowed so everyone stayed indoors. It was still a decent show. I heard his show at the Hyatt later that week was a better indication of his skill.
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