Dear You,
It’s the kind of thing you work up to your whole career: a 1-hour special. And it’s over. (The special, not the career. Well, at least I hope the career isn’t over.) All that are left are the questions. Did it work? Was it successful? Were the audience members happy? Why must people misspell my name as if I’m Mexican?
I wish to thank all of you who came out and braved the freezing New York air to stand in line and then sit in a chair for 3 hours. You were a great crowd. Sorry to have kept you so long. I hope you enjoyed the night of comedy.
Usually at shows, the comedian/band/exotic dancer will try to sell you some shirts afterwards. Since nothing is ever normal in my life, extra special thanks to talented NYC musician Jeff Taylor (and his brother) who printed up a bunch of t-shirts and gave them to me at the end of the show. Looks like I’ll be running for mayor:
I know, right? Freaking amazing. I’m sincerely grateful to all the other 600 people for coming, but, “Bro do you even superfan?” Jeff plays every Thursday night at the Rockwood Music Hall in NYC. Do yourself a favor and be there.
And most of all, thanks to the wonderful Shang, Adam Wasserman, Carole Montgomery and the whole Killer Bunny crew. They will edit it down, cut it up, and likely use heavy filters to make me look not un-pretty and I will let the rest of you know when it airs.
With much love and appreciation,
Paul
No one has deserved it more than you. All the love from Malaysia,sir. You are an inspiration. Let us know how we can buy the special 🙂
Thanks so much, Jason. I’ll pass on the information when it becomes available.
Paul,
From an organizational standpoint, Saturday night was a clusterfuck. The email stated that the show was to begin at 9:00, but they kept us waiting in line until 9:45 and only then started to seat us. Between getting everyone placed (I was in the balcony and they had to get us all on one side so it didn’t look empty for the taping) and the opening act, Shang didn’t start his set until about 10:15. Shang was very funny, and I thought we’d be out of there shortly after he finished. The email stated, “Paul Ogata will be performing a special set after Shang’s set in this Show” and “We will be holding the audience in their seats until the end of Paul’s set.” I had never heard of you before Saturday so I figured it would be a quick 15 or 20 minute set, but after Shang finished they informed us that they were taping your hour special.
You could tell the audience was irritated and upset that they’d have to stay for another hour, and one group of about 4 people got into an argument with the audience coordinator because they had to leave (something about need to get back to the babysitter, I guess they didn’t know about the second hour either). The audience coordinator was attempting to keep them in their seats but the group ended up leaving and they had to shuffle some people to fill in the empty seats. The stage hands took their sweet time, an additional 30 minutes, to change the stage lighting and equipment while a young comedian tried his best to keep everyone entertained, but he had almost no prepared material (kept saying stuff like “What do you guys want to talk about?” and taking long pauses between jokes). I was tired, thirsty, I had to use the bathroom, and I was seriously considering just getting up and leaving. Looking around I think a lot of people were thinking the same thing. In the end I decided to stay, though you didn’t get on stage until about 11:15.
It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Your performance was one of the tightest and funniest hour specials I’ve ever seen. The audience was howling with laughter, a complete 180 from the sullen vibe during the stage transition. I was literally in tears. When they brought you back out to re-shoot the intro, the audience was as enthusiastic as I’ve ever seen, cheering and hooting. Walking out of the theater people were almost giddy, talking about how funny you were and how they couldn’t stop laughing.
You’re one of the funniest comedians I’ve ever seen. I laughed more at your show than I did at Louis CK or Bill Burr’s most recent specials, and I’m not at all exaggerating. Please let us know when and where the special is released, I need to show all of my friends and family. You should be up there with the greats.
Zach, my sincerest apologies that you were kept waiting, and also my deepest gratitude that you stuck around! And thanks for the honest but kind words. You all were truly an amazing crowd! I look forward to sharing the air-date information when I get it. Thanks again.
No need to apologize, I only bitched about the wait because I wanted to emphasize how the audience switched attitudes so quickly when you started performing. I’ve seen enough stand-up to know how tough it is to turn a tired, disinterested crowd, but you absolutely killed it.
Paul –
Zach’s comments above is how amazing a comedian you are. To steal one of his quotes – “You should be up there with the greats.” And when this airs, you will be.
Aw thanks Gary. See you soon in Cebu!!!
Ogata-san,
You have been loved by so many people! Ganbatte! Watch out for diabetes, as we asians are not eligible for excessive calorie consumption. I hope to see your performance someday.
Thank you! I hope enjoying this wonderful groundswell of support will not lead to diabetes. Because this is so sweet!