Come in, Montreal? Part Deux! (#seaworldorlando?)

It's time for another transmission from an Austin Expat in King Louis' Court! This time from none other than Mike "Master Showcaser" MacRae. Read. Learn. Enjoy.

Hey all:

Just returned from the festival last night. Sorry I didn't send any updates while I was there, but between doing shows, enjoying $11 Moulsons, and defending Texas to various Francophone shuttle drivers (if I ever return, I shall lay a wreath upon the Plains of Abraham in memory of Gen. Wolfe), I couldn't find the time. Plus, the business center at my hotel only allowed ten minutes of free internet, hardly enough time to craft a properly meandering screed.

My first show, "Go West", was Thursday night. After a thirty minute van ride to the exurbs of Montreal, we pulled into an eerily familiar-looking strip mall (complete with a "Curves") and saw the venue, which I can only describe as Canada's answer to Sherlock's Baker Street Pub. The sentiment in the van was expressed by Rich Vos, who exclaimed "Are you kidding? I could have stayed in fucking Jersey and done this gig." It went all right.

The next night was the first Masters showcase in front of a packed room at Kola Note. In the back of the room was a ring of disinterested industry -- agents, managers, bookers, etc. -- and I kept thinking of Andy Kindler's (hopefully) now-famous declaration to the fifteen percenters earlier that day during his State of the Industry Address: "Why don't you get a real job, you over-dressed, amoral freaks!"

But I guess I did all right, because at 9:30 am the next morning I found out I had been added to that night's Gala Show, the big televised theater to-do hosted by Martin Short. This was the fourth t.v. taping in my career, but definitely the first that I was informed about the day of. It was a great show with a lot of funny people on it. Ben Bailey might be one of my new favorite people to watch. Neil Patrick Harris was in the audience. I've never felt more like I was actually in show business.

Then back to Kola Note for the second Masters showcase. Plenty of green room fun: someone made the craft services girl cry, and I was accurately pointed out as "the guy just happy to even be here". Back at the hotel I hung out with Doug Stanhope and Bingo who were there for his anti-Montreal, Just for Spite Festival and were crashing, as always, the Hyatt party.

I had a great time with Andy and Eric hanging out and representing Austin. Which brings me to the most important point of this post: when I got this in the first place, I was in disbelief about getting on the Masters showcase (as were the other Masters; they had never heard of me, so everyone assumed I was a Canadian). But the festival coordinator said, in effect, that they wanted one guy on there who was not from NY or LA, perhaps a bit of an unknown, and Austin is a perfect place to pick such people from.

If the fact that Mademoiselles Harris and Grigioni from Comedy Central come down and judge the local Funniest Person competition here (that is a unique situation, for those of you who are unaware) isn't enough of an indication that this is a you-lucky-fucker place to get started in comedy, consider that someone got put on the Montreal Masters showcase largely -- hopefully not exclusively -- because he is from ATX. Nuff said.

See you at the Mish-Mash.

Michael Augustus Trevelyan MacRae