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Tonight: Four comedians take the stage at Club Cafe
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A funny thing happened to four young comedians on their way to Club Cafe on the South Side for tonight's show.
They got a phone call from a reporter.
"We're actually in the car driving with Burger King right now," said Adam Lucidi, 26, who grew up in Uniontown.
The car -- a Cadillac, if you can believe that -- belongs to fellow comedian Billy Procida from New Jersey. Mr. Procida lined up tonight's gig through the Internet and rounded up Mr. Lucidi along with host Josh Wesson and headliner Mike Cannon, both from New York.
Apparently, loading up a car and setting out on the road to do comedy is a serious thing.
"We share some stories and riff on some stuff to make the miles go by," Mr. Lucidi said as they cruised on the Pennsylvania Turnpike this afternoon.
Sounds like the perfect road trip. And everyone's a comedian.
This is just what Mr. Lucidi was looking for when he left Pennsylvania about four years ago and moved to New York to learn his trade.
"I started when I was 16 at The Improv in Pittsburgh, but I didn't get to do it as much as I can in New York," he said. "Now, I'm doing it every night. New York is definitely where you go to get good, to know what's going on and to work those muscles.
"Los Angeles is more of the business aspect of comedy. New York is more of the art and figuring out who you are. In New York, you can go to a bar any night and do a show."
His time in New York has helped him to carve out his niche.
"As far as establishing my own persona, I think I've got that down pat," he said. "At least, I'm hoping it comes across that way whenever I'm up there.
"I do a lot of observational stuff. Simple, biographical stuff. Some people have told me that I have a 'boy-next-door' charm with a sharp tongue. And that seems to work for me. I don't have any legit TV credits or anything, but I'm hoping to get those."
He's still able to get laughs simply by telling the audience where he earned his college degree.
"Good old California University of PA," he deadpans. "I never realized how funny it sounded until I started saying it on stage."
He's single, he said, "but all my friends are getting married and it's driving me insane. So I can get into that. How everything around me is changing, meanwhile I'm still single."
As far as the dirty jokes are concerned, Mr. Lucidi scores himself at about a three or a four on the Cosby-to-Carlin scale of 1 to 10.
"I'm pretty clean," he said. "I've definitely got a lot of work because I'm very clean. But, you know, when I'm doing a late show in New York, I know I kind of have to step up my game to hang with the big boys. I get a good feeling for what to tap into.
"There's a lot of comedians in New York and most of them are very supportive. Good people on stage and off. But it is a very competitive thing. There's a lot of comics who want to help each other out. A few years ago, they would vouch for you so you could get work at another club. Now, there's all kinds of ringers. I think it's definitely changed from what it was."
The comedians in the Cadillac, he said, have each other's backs.
We could have asked him about the other guys in the show tonight, but they were sitting right there in the car with him, so he couldn't really be candid. Let's take a look at what Club Cafe's website says about Mr. Cannon.
"Mike Cannon is a New York City based comedian and a delightful human being," it says. "This year Mike will appear on Season 2 of MTV's 'Money From Strangers,' MTV's 'Failosophy' as a featured comedian panelist, and will co-host Cosmo's popular web series 'Sexy vs Skanky.'
???Previously he has been featured on VH1???s ???Why Am I Still Single????, The Huffington Post, Sirius XM Radio -- Raw Dawg Comedy Channel, and Laughspin.com among others. Mike regularly plays major clubs throughout New York City, and is always working on his act. It makes no difference to him whether he???s performing in clubs, trying jokes out on his friends, or bothering strangers for subway change or a sandwich. Comedy is his life, and he is dedicated to making the majority of you laugh and the rest of you blank-faced with confusion.???
The Cadillac should be pulling into town in plenty of time for tonight's 7 o'clock show.
Club Cafe is at 56 S. 12th St. Tickets are $12.
"We're looking forward to this," said Mr. Lucidi, who has made similar road trips to gigs as far away as the Dakotas. "A lot of what we do is networking. We might get something from this that leads to something in Harrisburg or Philadelphia or something."
First Published December 12, 2012 4:09 pm
