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Backyard Comedy (Bushwick Fire Pit) – Keep Brooklyn Weird

Saturday Nights

In New York, a free Saturday night is like the most seasoned chip at the bottom of the bag. It’s Wonka’s golden ticket or the twenty bucks found in last season’s jeans. In the city that never sleeps, with many good friends close by, the plans can sometimes feel never ending. It’s a pretty great problem to have. This weekend, my trip got canceled, so I got a free Saturday (and Friday and Sunday), but those are stories for another time. Right now, it’s still 1:16am on Sunday and I’m excited to tell you about my night.

I know I’ve kind of built this thing up, but the truth is, sometimes even when you’ve been dreaming of a spare night- once you have it, you don’t know what to do with it. In New York the possibilities are truly endless. It’s almost like you’re at the Cheesecake Factory with that huge menu or one of those ice cream shops with too many flavors to choose from. How do you ever pick?

Me + Eventbrite = 💞

One of my favorite ways to find something unique in the city is to scroll through the much famed Eventbrite. (Which is how I end up at fun events like the backyard comedy show!) Hear me out- on safari, you can filter your search to the burrow, type of event, time and date, free vs ticketed- you can even filter the language that the event’s hosted in. So although Eventbrite can be viewed as a catchall or endless pit of weird events- there are gems if you’re willing to hunt for them. So don’t knock it entirely- I guess is what I’m saying!

For tonight, I decided to look for something near me since I’m so often pulled away to events outside of my neighborhood. After some filtering and scrolling, I found one that looked interesting- a backyard comedy show around a fire pit. It would be hosted in someone’s actual backyard, AND, they promised six dollar cocktails. Can you really ask for anything s’more? (Yes, they had those too.)

Bushwick Fits & I’m Off to the Races

I thought about inviting a friend, but decided I wanted to be in my own company and potentially make some new friends. So, at 9pm I headed over.

I also wanted to shine light on my outfit- as dressing for Bushwick can be intimidating. You need to look cool, but not like you tried to look cool. Effortless. Then there’s the grunginess! This can be swapped or combined with old school classic elements, but you need to have some type of unique/badass/timeless quality about yourself. I don’t know who wrote the rules, but somehow everyone who lives here follows them. (If you live in Bushwick and don’t know what I’m talking about it’s probably because you’re naturally cool and don’t have to work at it like the rest of us!)

I picked my baggiest boy jeans (not super baggy, but baggy enough), a striped shirt, my brown light-weight puffer jacket, and white socks with my black loafers (can you say classic). I’m also currently rocking bangs right now, which automatically gives me extra credit in this neighborhood. (At least that’s what I tell myself!) Since I heard you asking through the computer, I listed an inspiration of my glamorous backyard comedy outfit. You’re welcome!

Boys that Are Too Young For Me

Upon arrival to the venue (a brownstone that strangers live in), I was ushered through the apartment and into the backyard comedy show. Smiling faces awaited with a few rows of plastic chairs. The fire pit was small, but the s’mores ingredients were all there. There was also a table to retrieve Moscow mules in exchange for a six dollar Venmo. I grabbed a drink and a seat and started chatting with the guy sitting next to me.

For some reason, lately I’ve been really good at attracting 21 year olds? I don’t know what that says about me, at 27, but they’ve all given me lots of flattery and told me I look “young for my age”. Ouch! He was nice, though we never exchanged names. He lives in Fidi, where I go to school, and we talked about how young everyone at the school is. Well, except for me I guess.

A Confession

If I’m being honest, I guess I should tell you.. I don’t really like comedy shows or comedians. It’s nothing personal, I just have a very dark sense of humor. I don’t really laugh at anything unless it’s god-awfully inappropriate and has an ingeniousness to its context. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I don’t laugh the easiest. Every time I’ve ever been to a comedy show, it’s always felt the same. It’s like when you’re sleeping with someone you really like for the first time and you realize the sex is bad. You want so much to like it- you try to FORCE yourself to like it and you might even fool yourself into thinking you do, when you know you actually don’t. It’s the same for me at comedy shows. What do you do? Do you fake it?

I don’t. The 21 year-old me probably would have, but what you begin to realize at some point is that authenticity must be prioritized. Because if you don’t, what are you doing? You only have one life and you shouldn’t spend it pretending to like things you don’t. You deserve real laughs (and real orgasms too).

So all of this adds up to me not being the best comedic patient zero. To be honest, I saw cheap drinks and a fire pit on the menu, said YES, and ignored the rest. So I didn’t know what to expect.

What to Expect At Backyard Comedy

The host came on and I could tell this wasn’t going to be a typical comedy show. I mean, we are in someone’s back yard in the ‘weird’ part of Brooklyn. The guy quickly claimed that he was a sapiosexual (intelligence over hotness) and made a reference to baby Sheldon being jailbait. He then talked about how a previous audience listener who slandered him on google reviews and insinuated that he was a pervert. To this, he acquitted himself by outsmarting her. So basically, inappropriate + ingenious context = I enjoyed myself.

There were 7 different comedians in total, some of which were hilarious, some I could have done without, but is that not to be expected? Five of the comedians were guys who lived at that exact brownstone either currently or previously. Men in their mid 30s, some who admittedly didn’t have day jobs and couch surfed when they needed to, so they could continue this dream of comedy. To me, that really said something about them. They’re just a bunch of friends, getting together and doing something that they love and that makes them happy.

My Favorite Comedian

The last comedian of the night was hilarious and by far my favorite. I did some research to find his name, Shaunak Godkhindi. Shaunak is one of those people who has to be a comedian, because he’s too funny not to be. His voice impressions, quick whit, and crowd work was hilarious and I wished he would have been on the stage longer.

After the show I made some new friends with the girls sitting next to me and chatted up some of the comedians. It was a fun night and I can’t wait to bring some of my friends with me to the next one! Backyard Comedy at the Bushwick Fire Pit = A++!

Want to read about more silly adventures I have in the city? Read this fun article I wrote about a meeting up with some friends! (Indecent exposure may or may not have occurred…)

yours, Belle

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