One of these subjects of my affection is a British comedian by the name of Jack Whitehall. He has not only been voted the "King of Comedy" twice, but he writes one of my favorite shows (Bad Education), stars in another (Fresh Meat), is a regular guest on panel shows and is a hilarious stand-up comic. Naturally I follow him on the Twitter.
Fast forward to Friday morning. I was sitting at work, killing time before I started and browsing the Twitter, when I saw that Jack had retweeted something from a local comedy group saying that not only would he be a special guest that night at their show, but that free tickets were available. I immediately responded, claiming 2. I hadn't heard back saying if I had indeed gotten the tickets or not and I was getting nervous. I decided to log onto the group's website and actually purchase tickets, like a respectable member of society. I had, literally, just clicked the "Purchase" button, when an email came through that I was indeed, "on the list" for the free tickets.
Fortunately, I had also gotten a message from my friend, Megan, asking how I was going to see Jack Whitehall, as I had obviously bragged about it all over social media, largely to groups of people who had no idea what I was saying.
I told Megan about the show and offered her one of my tickets. She accepted and planned to meet us at the Hollywood Improv later that night. I still needed to finish working for the day and plans were put in place for my fiancee, Lauren, to grab a change of clothes for me and we would proceed to drive straight up to Hollywood to avoid the traffic and the inevitable line that I was sure would already be forming for the show.
The traffic wasn't bad and we made it to the Improv with over an hour until the doors opened. Megan literally drove up as we were walking to the box office and we got our tickets sorted out. Like most comedy clubs, the Improv has a 2 item minimum requirement, but unlike most, they had a bar in the pre-show area and anything ordered there counted as both necessary items. We were sold, and got a plate of nachos to while away our time.
As we were sitting there, an older gentleman, perhaps the manager, came over to us and asked if we were coming to the show, because the doors were just about to open. We leapt from our seats and were virtually the first ones in the theater.
We initially sat front and center, but Lauren began to worry that might make us the object of some of the comedians jokes, so we moved to a table to the far right of the stage. A much "safer" spot, as the people who eventually filled our initial seats were called out a few times throughout the evening. As we sat waiting for the show to begin, Lauren was casing the joint and immediately shot up in her seat.
"There he is! Back there! Standing by that table!"
I initially didn't comprehend what she was talking about, but eventually realized that she meant that Jack was in the theater. As my goal for the evening was to meet him, I told the girls that I was going to say hi and started to walk back. As I got closer, I saw that not only was he surrounded by people, but he was a bit fidgety as well, in anticipation of his set. I realized this might not be the optimal time to go gushing at him, so I returned to my seat, slightly dejected, but with a glimmer of hope for a post-show encounter.
The show was absolutely amazing. It was probably the best comedy show that I have ever seen, including anything on Comedy Central. All of the comedians were funny and there wasn't a dud in the group. This show single-handedly restored my faith in stand-up comedy. If anyone ever gets a chance to go to a Loud Village show, I highly recommend you take that opportunity.
All afternoon Loud Village was teasing that not only was Jack Whitehall joining the set for the night, but that there would be another super special guest as well. Since this was Hollywood, it literally could have been almost anyone, though watching Clint Eastwood do stand-up might be just a bit awkward. Fortunately for us, it was not Mr. Eastwood, but rather Chris Hardwick, of Singled Out, The Talking Dead, and a little podcast called, The Nerdist, amongst many other things.
Megan and I freaked out just a little bit, and true to the theme of the night, Hardwick was absolutely incredible.
Jack was up next and again, he did not disappoint and I don't think the stupid grin came off my face the entire time that he was on stage. He was an amazing comic and well worth seeking out on the YouTube.
There were still a few great comics to go, and, impressively, a vast majority of the audience stayed for the whole show. I'm not sure if that speaks more to the caliber of comedy or the manners of the crowd, but if it is the latter, our parents raised us all very well.
I figured that Hardwick and Jack had left after their sets, but eagle-eyed Lauren saw that they were sitting at a booth in the back of the theater. After a few minutes of wembling about whether or not we should bother them, I put my foot down and said that I was going and they were welcome to join me if they liked. As we approached the booth, Hardwick stepped out of it and we were able to talk to him for several minutes about how amazing the show was, as well as about Disneyland, where the three of us work.
He could not have been more gracious and humble, and Megan took a photo with him and his annual Disneyland pass. I regret missing that chance, but he said he'd come see us the next time he was at the park.
At this point, Jack was done with his previous group of admirers and it was our turn.
We thanked him for a great show and for all the great things that he was a part of. He told us that he was in the US to film a pilot for the American version of Bad Education and about how one of our favorite comedy moments of his had actually gotten him in a lot of trouble in the UK. He was so appreciative and spoke to us so genuinely, not like we were creepy, annoying fans that it's hard to believe that he would be playing a show at O2 later this year.
Of course we got our photos with him, thanked him one more time and left--at which point we all freaked out. As Lauren said, "The guy that we watch all the time on the TV is in this picture with me!"
It was truly one of the greatest nights that I have ever had, all thanks to being bored before work that morning.
Lauren had surreptitiously taken a beautiful gritty black and white photo of Jack with her phone while he was doing his set and she posted it on the Twitter. Almost immediately, Jack retweeted it with the caption of "cool photo," which was pretty much the icing on the cake.
Sure, we barely slept because our adrenaline was so high and sure we worked early the next morning but it was all worth it. Lauren claims that when she woke up the following (or rather, later) morning, she had to turn on her phone to see if it had all really happened.
It certainly did. It certainly did.
