Steve Trevelise at Catch a Rising Star Comedy Club
It’s been 22 years in the making and frankly I really don’t know why it took so long. After all these years of stand-up comedy, it finally occurred to me that I should try headlining. When I asked Suzy Yengo, owner and booker of Catch A Rising Star, she signed me up for the program for Saturday August 27th. What a rush!
For five years, from 2004 to 2009, I was emcee and general manager of Catch A Rising Star at the Princeton Hyatt. I was hosting about 250 comedy shows a year during that time.
Later, when I opened Sarcasm at the Cherry Hill Crowne Plaza from 2010 to 1015, there was more animation, which is about a fifteen minute set, and then a standout or “in-between”, which is about 30 minutes. The headliner is a whole other animal.
As much as I respected the headliners before last night, I respect them even more now. A typical title is around 45 minutes long and when you first get on it, it feels like an eternity.
Luckily I had a killer lineup in front of me performing to a sold out crowd for which I am forever grateful. Usually the emcee opens the show, but that night, due to my history there and the fact that I chose the comics, I wanted to come out first and greet the crowd.
Our first comedian was Liam Katz who won a talent show at his high school with a stand-up against a bunch of bands, which is not an easy thing to do. It’s only been happening for a short time, but by then you can see how funny it is already.
Liam Katz, image via Steve Trevelise
Next came John Franklin, who you may have seen on the Netflix game show “The circle.” John has done comedies all over the country with many spots in New York and has some really funny stories about Hoboken where he now lives.
John Franklin, image via Steve Trevelise
After John came Eric Potts, who when he’s not talking or playing music on New Jersey 101.5, he’s headlining comedy clubs across the country. He’s also one of my best friends and my first choice to be on the show. I was so glad he could do it.
Eric Potts, image via Steve Trevelise
The moment I got on stage, they made it easy for me. The crowd was lively and luckily they laughed at my jokes, emphasizing “luckily”.
You don’t realize how long 45 minutes is until you take the stage to headline a comedy show. When they laugh, it goes so much faster. It’s also an incredible rush, unlike any drug you could imagine. Hope this continues for me.
I look forward to my next headlining appearance. In the meantime, I’ll be opening for Bobby Collins at the Brook Art Theater on Saturday October 8th. You can get tickets here.
The views expressed in the above post are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise only. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.
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