[transmission from... Tyler Sonnichsen]

This Sunday, March 4, marked the one-year anniversary of the Laughing Lizard Lounge Comedy showcase. It still amazes me, thinking about how this room has graduated from a nerve-wracking chore into something that I legitimately spend the bulk of a two-week period looking forward to. A number of peers who I both respect as friends and stellar comics, including Herbie Gill, Seaton Smith, Jake Young, and many others, have said it's one of their favorite rooms if not their favorite. Standing the in back and watching a roomful of people having a great (free) time because of something I've been a key reason for happening is one of the greatest feelings in the world. I don't mean to sound pretentious, but a year+ in standup comedy does that to you.

Anyway, I've had a blast so far with the Showcase, but there are a ton of people who I couldn't have done this without their help and support. First off, Marshall Henry has been helping me book and run the room since its inception. He is always around to provide a helping/MCing hand, except of course for all those times he gets paid work out of town. (Bastard...funny, likeable bastard).
I'm surprised I've gone this long without mentioning the ridiculously cool and supportive Laughing Lizard staff: J.R., Wiya, Nene (for helping us get those first few shows off the ground), the lovely bartenders Kelsey, Ashley, Tara, and of course Omar (the loveliest) over in the Deli for keeping us fed on some nights up until 3am (sidetrack: Stop by the Stage Door Deli when you're in Old Town, the place is awesome. This is the kind of place I'd eat and hang out at even if it weren't for the comedy show). I also have to throw in a quick shout to near-future comedy star Rory Scovel (because no one else in DC mentions him in their blog, ever), for sending out that big group email on January 30, 2006 that lit a fire under so many of us to get things started.

Here, in no real order, is a list of some of the many great memories that year one has burned into my brain.

• The King, the Cow, and the Jim
  October 21, 2006
  In the middle of Jim Elliott's set to close out the night, a troupe of five partiers enter (in early Halloween costumes) as Elvis, Jesus, Captain America, Wonder Woman, and a Cow. They all sit along the side of the room and there is no way that Jim's going to successfully execute another joke. Being as how it was the end of the night and everyone was somewhat hammered, I let this fly, and in classic Jim Elliott fashion, he goes the hell off on them in the best way. As the Cow guy stands up and demands attention, squeezing his udder, Jim yells for him to sit the hell down, "I will..fuckin' tip you over!!"
• Short Lineup Rocks It
  January 27, 2007
  The Laughing Lizard, being a laid-back atmosphere for doing stand-up on Saturday nights, has rarely had any shortage of comics to perform. However, in this rare case, a clusters of comics were tied up or out of town on this night (including Marshall, who was up in NY), so at first I thought I had my hands tied. By the time we started, the entire lineup included myself as MC, Katie Riffey, Daniel John, Tim Miller, Jim Elliott, and Lance Smith. That meant at least 15 minutes per person, Tim being the only one with more than a year and a half in the game. This turned out to be among the most fun we've ever had doing a show there. Every comic had a great time, and the crowd loved it, especially considering how we took advantage of the intimate atmosphere... and Jim and I talked about Van Halen for a combined 20 minutes between the 2 of us.
• "You Gotta be Black"
  October 7, 2006
  Herbie Gill kicks off the night, including his joke about racism in Alabama. It's a joke that normally hits but in this case, the audience was fairly thin to start the show, and the only person to laugh loudly was a drunken, raspy-voiced, middle-aged black dude in a Sanford & Son T-shirt. He turns to all the white folks at the bar and says matter-of-factly, "You gotta be black to understand that."
• Jimes Wins Us Our Biggest Fans
  September 30, 2006
  
  Brandon Ivey came by to entertain us with some fine musical selections. Two local girls and good friends of the Laughing Lizard, the wonderful Miss Mary and her wonderful friend/roommate Sara, showed up in time to watch a few comics' sets towards the end, then when Jimes took the stage, they participated in the massive singalongs and general merriment. Mary, Sara, and a combination of their friends have been back to most every show since.
• "Yeah, Nigga, What"
  January 13, 2007
  A couple months ago, Jason Weems made his Lizard debut. He went first, and he was having a great time in front of a fairly packed room. As he segued into his joke about that cultural juggernaut BET, asking "Anyone here watch BET?," a slightly inebriated Tim Miller sarcastically says, just loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear him, "Yeah, Nigga, What!" Rather than just laugh and let it roll off like most comics would, Jason built off of it- "That sounds like it could be a show. 'Coming this fall to BET: Yeah, Nigga, What!'"
• Rory and Gavin's Duet
  March 4, 2006
  On the debut show, Rory did an unforgettable 6 minutes on just the funhouse mirror behind the stage, whilst local rocker Gavin Dunaway crept off to the side of the stage to set up his guitar. Rory, being Rory, capitalized on the situation, and brought Gavin onstage with him to accompany his joke about memory foam. A great moment to kick off the Lizard's run.
• Larry Poon brings Deaf Jim along.
  July 29, 2006
  Look at the photo. Bow and yell "I'm not worthy." Repeat.
  
• Tearin up The Bureau's Heart
  March 31, 2006
  The Bureau comes down from College Park, and Matt Liebman, Matt Mayer, Tom Doran, et al. pull off an unthinkable synchronized dance to N'Sync on the small stage. Completely hetero.
  
• Kojo, Barylick, and the CUA Grads
  September 30, 2006
  A group of CUA grad students show up about 2/3 of the way through the show, two of whom see fit to try to yell out random shit during Barylick's set, to which he zings one in a visor: "Hey, 1982 called, it wants your visor back!" Everyone let out a chorus of "OOOOHHHHHH"s, not even taking into account that those things were barely in style at the time. Then Kojo takes the stage and holds the bastards in the palm of his hands. When the mic cable shorts out, he walks over, grabs a chair, and sits down with them in the middle of his set, and much joy was had by all.
• God interrupts Doug's set.
  November 18, 2006
  Doug Powell stopped by to close out the night, and in the midst of discussing questionable reviews of his album, God interrupts his set to suggest an awesome joke for him. (I'll leave out the technical details). He finished by singing a song his cat wrote for him. Or something.
• Schlegel unleashes the co(s)mic fury.
  September 30, 2006
  Justin is usually bomb-proof as it is, but in this case the dude tore the place to pieces, particularly the middle-aged wedding party who happened upon this free comedy show dealie while bar-hopping. Schlegel plowed through his crossbow and McRib jokes to uproarious laughter. The crowd from the front row left shortly after, and I overheard one woman say to her friends, "I'm so glad we came to this!"

I'm sure there are some classic moments that I omitted for the numerous comics who've performed there. Speaking of which, thank you TIM MILLER, ERIN JACKSON, SEATON SMITH, HERBIE GILL, JOE ROBINSON, STEVE DRUMM, NORMAN WILKERSON, JIM ELLIOTT, APARNA NANCHERLA, JESSICA PAQUIN, ERIK MYERS, RORY SCOVEL, KEITH ALBERSTADT, JON MUMMA, JUSTIN SCHLEGEL, RYAN CONNER, TYLER RICHARDSON, FRANK HONG, CHRIS BARYLICK, JAKE YOUNG, MIKE WAY, KOJO MANTE, ANDY HAYNES, BRANDON IVEY/JIMES, JAMES JONES, JIMMY MERRITT, LESLIE COOLEY, LARRY POON, DOUG POWELL, DANNY ROUHIER, JARED STERN, JEFF MAURER, JERRY THOMAS, JAY HASTINGS, MATT SAPSFORD, KAT MALONE, CHRIS DOUCETTE, ZACH TOCZYNSKI, SAMPSON, MATT LIEBMAN, MATT MAYER, THE BUREAU, BIRD KNIGHT, GREG STEVENS, KENNEY SPEED, ANDY KLINE, SEAN GABBERT, LEO GOODMAN, JOHNNY COOK, AYANNA DOOKIE, MARCUS BROWN, GEORGE P. GORDON III, NEIGHBORHOODTOWN, LEO GOODMAN, DIANA SAEZ, ROB MAHER, MARK RATNER, KACIE WADE, JOHN MCBRIDE, LISA LANHAM, JERMAINE FOWLER, JASON WEEMS, DANIEL JOHN, KATIE RIFFEY, WILL HESSLER, and PATRICK ELKINS for gracing the stage. It's been fun and I'm looking forward to adding to the list soon enough. If I managed to forget you in this list, sorry, just let me know. Send me some of your own favorite moments from the place, too. Our next shows are March 31st, April 7th, and April 21st. Come on out and tell your friends. Let's increase the insanity.

Ok, I'm going to Florida now. See you soon, Standup People.