Houston Laff Stop- The End of an Era

It seems like just yesterday when I did my first open mic.

"I went to the store to buy condoms yesterday and the guy behind the counter says "Sir that will be 4 dollars plus tax" I said "Tax? I want the kind that you roll on!""

When I started in stand-up the Laff Stop was one of the most popular and well-respected comedy clubs in the country. Bill Hicks, Sam Kinison, Brett Butler, Thea Vidale, Janeane Garofalo, etc. honed their craft as unknown commodities on that open mic stage while weekly shows featured the best comedians of their era. The Laff Stop was more than a club, it was an institute of higher learning. If I could actually get booked there then my career path would be set, acceptance at the Laff Stop was acceptance all over the country...and that meant bookings, TV consideration and in some cases super-stardom.

After winning 'Houston's Funniest Person' in the early 90's I got my first booking. My open mic status was shed, I actually got paid to perform, and now that I was working the Stop the dates started to trickle in. It began...

Comedians so respected the atmosphere and eclectic energy, that many of the most creative artists of our generation recorded their live CD on the Laff Stop stage. Mitch Hedberg, Doug Stanhope, Tom Rhodes, Pablo Francisco, to name a few recorded one, and in some cases did multiple recordings there. It was a place that respected creativity and rewarded it with packed audiences, drugs, alcohol, adulation, and the occasional random sexual romp in the upstairs green room.

As the years passed the economy and took it's toll on the Stop. It moved from it's original West Gray location to what the owners thought would be the more profitable Allen Parkway, literally 5 minutes away. Stand-up sustained a huge blow when cable TV got in the way of it's progress. A comedian's popularity was defined by his 5 minutes on Comedy Central instead of his work ethic in clubs. No longer could an independent club that seats 250 afford to take chances on building a following for comics, now the huge clubs were sucking ticket sales out of the community with celebrity acts and bulk agent buys (agents that make deals with clubs to book lesser known acts in order to get their larger acts).

My relationship with the Stop was the most dysfunctional relationship in my professional life. At first she loved me, at times she hated me but after 18 years we had settled into a nice place. Not only did I do my first open mic there, I was robbed at gunpoint (yes, in River Oaks) for the first and only time in my life. It was the last place I saw Freddie Soto alive, the last place I worked with Carlos Mencia, the last place I had 20 comics to watch my headline set and the last time I did 2 hours on stage.

This past Saturday night the stage was darkened for the last time.

R.I.P. Laff Stop. Thanks for the memories.

 

Sarah is brilliant. We're having a get together tonight at Sherock's (the original Laff Stop location) beginning at 8. Should be a fun free night with great stories and a lotta cool comics performing.