FORT MYERS, Fla. – Jimmy Shubert is such a pro that for him, it only took the second time to find the charm.
Shubert performed two shows at the Laugh In comedy club this weekend, enjoying that second show more than the first.
“I just through the second show was so much better,” Shubert said. “They were a good crowd. People wanted to laugh.”
That’s not to say the early show went poorly for Shubert. His performance was solid. But he knew the second show would be different when he saw the audience reaction to the second show opening acts – two of the three having opened for the first show.
“It gave me enough confidence to try some stuff I haven’t tried in a while,” Shubert said.
Shubert didn’t need to vary his material. The audience contained no holdovers from the first show. Still, he estimated he only revisited about 30 percent of his first-show material.
“I feed off the energy of the audience,” Shubert said. “As they got more into it I got more into it.”
APPLAUSE BREAK-DOWN (Nov. 14, 2020)
VENUE: Laugh In Comedy Club, Fort Myers, Fla.
LINEUP:
David Sadman (host)
Rob Churchill (guest)
Nadeem Awad (feature)
Jimmy Shubert (headliner)
SHOW HIGHLIGHT: Shubert varied his set from show to show, but he opened both shows with his bit about emotional support cats on planes – a routine that eventually led into emotional support pigs and fish. The bit killed both times, priming the audience for the level of humor they were about to experience.
BE OUR GUEST: A late addition to the second show, Churchill, a Boston transplant, dipped into politics by noting that a Silver Alert had been issued for Joe Biden. The joke played well in this area of Florida. …Awad had enough material to alter his act for the second show. Always a hit in Fort Myers, the audience loved him both times. …Sadman capably warmed up the audience for both shows by mocking the electoral recount and delving into how wearing COVID-19 masks can help spice up a marriage.
WORKING THE ROOM: With a rube consistently disrupting Shubert’s first show, ultimately throwing off the timing of his unicyling joke, the veteran comic had enough. When the heckler asked about Mike Tyson, Shubert asked the heckler’s date “Does he ask you dumb questions all the time?” The heckler didn’t get hint and kept running his mouth, prompting Shubert to pull the heckler on stage and give him the mic. Shubert then sat down in the rube’s seat and mercilessly – and hilariously – heckled the heckler.
THE COMICS’ TABLE: Shubert will introduce the movie Puppy Love, in which he plays a supporting role, on Wednesday prior to its showing at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival. Shubert was originally slated to perform at the West Palm Beach Improv that night, but the venue rescheduled that show for Dec. 8. …Churchill will be hosting shows at Visani’s in Port Charlotte, Fla. Next weekend. …Sheena Reagan, Florida’s Funniest Female Comic 2018, attended the show.
ONE LINER: “The shows were great. I think the hangover from the election, and the hurricane that sat near here and dumped a bunch of water on us, and the Corona Virus definitely affected the numbers. But that’s the best thing about good comics, they still can crush it when there’s not a lot of people there. …Jimmy did great. Nadeem was Nadeem – he always does a good job. David got them going in the beginning.” – Laugh In owner Jamie Morgan.
