Going to Mecca

This weekend, I am traveling more than 2 hours to Madison, WI for a comedy show. I am dragging my wife 140 miles to see a comedian that she is sick of hearing about, since I keep talking about his podcast. Marc Maron will be doing the “Big Work” at a comedy club and I will be seeing my first stand up show in some time. The WTF podcast (in which Mr. Maron is the host) has been occupying my driving and workout time for the last 5 months or so and it will be good to see the guy in action.

For those of you not familiar with the comedian or the show, here is a primer. As a comedian, Marc has been doing stand-up for over 20 years and his style is raw and personal. He has had many gigs over the years including hosting Morning Sedition on Air America and a role in Almost Famous. The WTF Podcast is a show that releases two episodes a week and it has morphed into a one on one interview program that focuses on comedians for the most part. The interviews are unbelievably open and honest because of Maron’s style and lack of personal barriers.

The great thing about the show is not all of the insight that I have gained into the comedy world, but the fact that it has brought me back to my days as a teenager when comedy ruled my life. I used to watch Marc as a host on Short Attention Span Theater (a clip show that featured stand-up comedians on Comedy Central or Ha!, I forget which one). I loved watching standup and I have seen some great performers over the years including Sarah Silverman, Robert Schimmel and Mitch Hedberg. Maron and his show have made me want to seek out some of these comedians that I am unfamiliar with or rediscover some great ones.

Going to the show in Madison will make me one of the crazy folks that he talks about. People that drive from hundreds of miles away and bring some gift or baked goods to appease this audio God whose followers worship on every Monday and Thursday. I do not think I am to that level of a WTFer even though most of my casual conversations with my family include, “I was listening to the podcast and…” I look forward to being a teenager again for an evening, even if it means I have to go to Wisconsin to do it.