Holy shit, I almost lost my shit, People-



Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival tickets are now available. I'm doing a few of the dates. Go get em if you live near em and want to come.



This week was quite a run. I haven’t been jamming the road like I did this week in a while. I started in Lawrence, Kansas and it was a great show. They have a great little festival going on down there with the Free State Fest. It was a hell of a night. I did over an hour of standup then they screened an episode of my show and then I did a Q & A for another hour. It was a great night. I like doing Q&A because then something has to happen that never would've otherwise. That’s exciting.



The day after Lawrence I flew to St. Louis through Chicago. I know, weird, but that’s the way it had to be done for some reason. I need to pay more attention to how I am booked to fly. The lack of logic can shred my brain sometimes. I think it may have been the best, if not only, way to go. I played The Firebird in St. Louis which is a rock club. I generally don’t like playing rock clubs but it was seated and intimate and I thought the show went pretty well. I’ve never played St. Louis in my life and it was good to see the folks there. I was staying in a hotel with a view of the Arch. I’m not sure what the point of that thing was initially but it is one of the greatest free standing pieces of mind blowing sculpture in the world. I love looking at it. I also had frozen custard at Ted Drewes. I love looking at that as well AND eating it. Fuck.



On Thursday I flew back through Chicago to Indianapolis and then drove to Bloomington for five shows at the comedy mecca that is The Comedy Attic. It’s sweet little room that has some real magic in it. I love playing independently owned clubs with owners that are real comedy fans. Jared Thompson, the proprietor at the Attic, is on top of shit, almost a little too on top of it, but that’s his charm. He treats comedy and comics with respect and it makes a big difference in the shows you’ll see there. If you live in Indianapolis it is totally worth the drive out. It is a far better club than anyplace in that city. At the Attic you see club comedy how it is supposed to be seen, up close, intimate, no distance between you and the comic. The shows were great, the crowds were great and I love being in Bloomington for a few days. They have one of the best indy record stores there called Landlocked Records and I just basically hung out there for a couple of days talking to Heath, the owner, and listening to music. I bought some cheap records. Old cheap records. Embarrassing old cheap records. Guilty pleasures. (Journey among others.)



So, getting to losing my shit. I have to leave Indy at 1:45 for Chicago and then to LA. I did not know that I had 35 minutes to connect. I didn’t catch that when I okayed the reservation. IMPOSSIBLE. Chicago is a clusterfuck of an airport and to get from the regional commuter fight terminal to my connecting flight is like a half a mile walk. I freaked out. Knowing I had a very small chance of making the flight and getting home with ample time to record today's intro and get it to Brendan in New York, so I laid down a panicky, aggravated intro in the car on the way to the airport as back up. Then I get to the airport in Indy and the 11:45 hadn’t even left yet at 1:00 and there was a late flight to NYC at the gate where my flight to Chicago was supposed to park. Fucked. I was able to get on the 11:45 by an act of pure will because the gatekeeper was at the end of his rope. It took off at 1:50.



I made it to Chicago for the sprint to my gate. I made it to the gate and the guy there wanted me to put my duffle bag in the ever shrinking carry on gauging frame. I said it would fit. He said you can't get on until you do it and you need to see the agent because your ticket has been changed. I said, “Fuck.” Then I smashed my bag into the frame, it fit, then I pulled it up quickly and it was stuck to the whole apparatus which came up with my bag. I said, “Goddammit, this is bullshit!” As I wrestled it out in what became a bit of a tantrum scene. One of the gate people said, “Don’t handle things with anger.” Embarrassing. I guess masturbation is out. Made my flight. They had upgraded me as well. I’m an asshole.



This week on the show, on Monday David Huntsberger shares a life story like none I have heard. On Thursday I get deep with Rosanne Cash. Amazing talk.



Enjoy!



Boomer lives!





Love,

Maron