@RealEarthquake Had His Hands Full in Memphis

Comedian got more than he bargained for at a Memphis comedy club.

Okay, so last night, I'm at the Chuckle House Comedy Club in Cordova, TN.  It's a nice community just east of Memphis.  I've been there before and enjoyed myself immensely, so I took the time to return and see one of my favorite comedians, Earthquake.  It was my first time seeing him in person, so I was excited, but I had no idea that he wasn't the only "performance" I'd witness that night.

The crowd in that club was drunk beyond control!  My first (and probably last) time attending this place on a Friday night.

EQ is a vet, so he handled them like a pro, but I could tell that his patience was tested as he performed.  Let me lay out some things that happened:

Drunk white lady

You can barely see her on the left in the photo.  She was the catalyst to all of the heckling.  EQ interacts with the crowd during his set.  He'll speak to you or give you some dap just to show love to the audience.  Drunk white lady (and her race has something to do with the story) made a pass at EQ.  He essentially responded that although he could care less about people dating interracially, he prefers black women and had no interest in her.  DWL was offended by this.

Eventually, she stood up in front of the stage and started talking to her friend.  Her friend, who is black and had a big forehead (that's relevant, too), was trying to calm her down.  DWL drew the attention of EQ (because she's standing directly in front of him while he's performing) and he went in on her.  Big time!  Insult after insult.  Referring to her as "Becky" for the duration of the verbal assault.  This infuriated "Becky" who then slumped in her chair, arms folded, staring into space.

Black friend-girl with big forehead

The crowd is erupting in laughter as Earthquake is going in on "Becky".  Black friend girl with the big forehead (far right of photo) starts talking to EQ.  She decides that she wants to speak up for her friend and asked EQ for the microphone.  Seriously, BFGBF?  A comedian is going to give you the mic in the middle of a performance?  EQ starts to go in on her and how her eyebrows and hairline are in a civil war and that's why they are so far apart from one another.  Crowd goes wild with laughter again as he starts to go in on BFGBF.  However, during all of the laughing, there is this guy who starts barking.  Not like the old Arsenio Hall "woof, woof, woof", but a deep, hound dog kind of barking.

Que Dog

This guy is well-dressed and sitting directly in front of me.  That's his hat in the photo above.  For those who aren't aware of Que Dogs, they are members of a fraternity found mostly at black colleges/universities.  Omega Psi Phi has many popular members from Shaquille O'Neal to Michael Jordan.  Evidently, this guy, who was drunk, thought EQ would respond to his barks, which is something a lot of Que Dogs acknowledge with a return bark when they hear it.

Well, either EQ isn't a Que Dog or chose not to acknowledge it, because he ignored the barking the first few times it happened.  But, this guy wouldn't stop.  He was barking intermittently just like a hateful dog in your neighborhood who doesn't want you to get any sleep at night.  Every six seconds or so, this dude would bark.  It was the most annoying thing I've ever dealt with in public.  For the last 30 minutes of the show, this guy barked at random.  Even stood up at his table and asked EQ what he wanted to drink and the he would pay for it.

Conclusion

After awhile, EQ asked, "what is going on in Memphis, TN?"  He had a drunk white lady, big forehead black friend girl, a dog, a drunk dude with jheri curl in an Adidas track suit that I didn't mention, and a jealous boyfriend who wouldn't let EQ shake his girlfriend's hand, and a black lady who sat behind me who spewed racist hate at "Becky" all evening.  All of this in less than an hour.

Now, don't get me wrong.  It was an enjoyable show, but I truly wish that I could have heard all of it.  I don't think that EQ even got to do the last 15 minutes of his set because of the rowdiness of the crowd.  Even the bouncer had to get involved and threatened to throw people out.

I know that this blog post comes off erratic and random, and I'm sorry for that, but this is a case where you truly had to be there.  It would probably take me an hour just to lay out and explain all that I saw and heard last night.  EQ did his thing and handled the crowd masterfully and still made the night funny.  But, after this weekend, I don't think that he will ever come back to this venue in Memphis because he had his hands full.

Nothing is Sacred. Not Even Death.

Maya Angelou, 1928 - 2014

Remember when there were certain things you didn't do simply because you were taught to respect it? Yeah, some of you probably don't. My generation is the blame for that. My generation is the one that decided to let kids raise themselves. We are the generation that decided that schools should be solely responsible for teaching our kids because we're too tired. We give them smartphones/tablets to allow kids to be in their own world because we don't want them disrupting ours.

Because of that, nothing is sacred.

To let you get an idea of how far our level of respect for almost anything has declined, I'll use the following example that most kids born 1975 and earlier (especially minorities) may be familiar with: in my house when I was a child we had furniture in a certain room that we were not allowed to use. There was a couch in the living room that my parents said was for "company only." I wasn't even allowed in the room without a good reason. That couch was deemed sacred and I don't recall ever setting my butt on it before it got older and was given away to a needy family. I respected it because my parents taught me to respect it. Regardless of how silly it may have been it taught me something.  It taught me restraint.  It taught me to respect something that was not necessarily important to my life simply because someone else had an appreciation for it.

Over time and due to the lack of actual parenting, more things have lost its sacredness. Elders are no longer respected. Presidents are no longer respected. Religions are no longer respected. But, the one thing that I always thought would remain sacred can be added to that list: speaking ill or making fun of the dead.

At one time people only felt comfortable with criticizing or insulting the dead based on either how long ago the person died (hence the phrase "too soon?") or if the person died doing something illegal or stupid (Darwin Awards). Now there are no moral restrictions on insulting or criticizing any one regardless of when they died, cause of death, or even the stature of the person who died.

Today I read quite a few disrespectful memes and jokes on the death of author / motivational speaker, Maya Angelou. I even came across a columnist who trashed Maya Angelou as a person on a blog site.

As a blogger, I can't tell people not to have an opinion simply because it differs from mine. I want people to speak their minds because some things just need to be said. But, why just hours after her death? Why post jokes almost immediately? Why demonize her (or anyone else for that matter) when the grieving has just started?

I'll tell you why: because it's more satisfying (to some) to be funny and/or popular than it is respectful.

Social media entices people to do things that will make other people take notice. All of us with strong opinions push the envelope or cross the line at some point. I've crossed the line myself on many topics, I'm sure. Maybe not maliciously, but it's still crossing the line to get a reader's attention.

But I never posted a meme or a blog post insulting or criticizing someone who died. Because to me that would be the equivalent of putting muddy shoes on my mom's couch in that living room I mentioned earlier.  There are still some things in this world that I will deem as "sacred" even if no one else will.  And a person's death is one of them.

What do you think about the level of disrespect you see online all for the sake of being funny/popular?

Murder Mystery Anyone?

Last week, The Lady and I were fortunate enough to take part in a murder mystery dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. It's a steakhouse named "Char" and normally the magnet to it is just the food and service. However, I think that I'm now hooked on murder mystery dinners!

The name of the group that put on the performance is called The Detectives. They perform across the city at different places including private parties.  Basically, you order your meal and in between salad, main course, and dessert, the actors put on a performance.  They act out a story involving a murder and it's up to you and the people sitting at your table to solve it.

Now, this isn't anything new, however, it's new to me.  It was my first time attending one and I enjoyed it immensely.  I went into the event thinking that I would only get pleasure from actually solving the crime (which our table did), but it was much more to it than that.  The performance itself is extremely comical and entertaining!  I laughed a lot more (and louder) than I expected.

So, if you ever get the opportunity to see one of these, then please do.  I hope to attend the next one in town a couple of weeks from now.  The photo below is a picture of me and one of the performers whose character's name was "Goldie."  She ended up being the murderer, but who wouldn't want to be stabbed with a letter opener from someone who looks like this?

Ever done a murder mystery dinner?  If so, what did you think of it?

(By the way, I'm sitting down, so don't think "Goldie" is freakishly tall or anything.)

Gotta Love @JeseniaBailey!

Introducing Actress/Comedienne, Jesenia Bailey!

Jesenia Bailey

I've come across a lot of talented people since I started my blog.  I've met some really great writers, actresses, models, talk show hosts, singers, etc.  Well, now I can say that I've run into a pretty funny comedian in Jesenia Bailey.

I stumbled across her in a Facebook group which eventually led me to her YouTube channel.  I was treated to some very amusing impersonations as Jesenia took on multiple characters and pulled them off quite nicely.  To help you fet to know her a little better, here is some info from her website over at www.JeseniaBailey.com:

"Jesenia is a New York comedian/actress/writer/producer.  She’s a seasoned theater & film actress, having performed both comedic and dramatic roles.  Jesenia is also a stand-up comedian and has performed at all the major comedy clubs in NYC, including:  Carolines and StandUp NY.   

Jesenia is currently pitching her webseries "BECOMING RICARDO", which is based on her signature character Ricardo Montalban, an off-beat, high-strung macho man.  The webseries will premiere online in August 2012. 

One of Jesenia’s career goals is to become the FIRST Latina cast member/writer on a TV network Sketch Comedy Show!"

Jesenia does tons of characters and she appears to be an up-and-coming performer.  As you know, I absolutely love to see someone, who is good at what they do, excel to higher grounds.

So, I'm asking my TQ Family to help support someone once again by visiting Jesenia's Facebook page before Friday, November 23rd, to help her out.

By taking a minute, you can help promote a career and keep Jesenia moving in the right direction!  Go to this link and simply click "Like."  This contest is in place to help promote more Latinos in show business.  Jesenia could easily fit in with the SNL crew and ultimately into movies and your Like could help.

After you click the link, then stop on by her YouTube channel and check out her funny skits.  Here's a sample of the characters she performs below:

                           (* 11/24 update * Jesenia won! Thanks for your help, everyone!)

Follow @JeseniaBailey on Twitter!

Jesenia doing her victory dance!