The Random Ramblings of Samm Diep

Night (weekend) of a Million Laughs

Tonight we went to see Jerry Seinfeld at the Temple Buell Theatre. Though it was a most enjoyable show, in a completely different way from Dane Cook, there was a bit of irony to the evening. It was actually somewhat surreal.

Our evening began at the Appaloosa Grill on 16th street for a lovely dining experience. I had the special "Game of the Week." (It wasn't football or hockey. I'll tell you that much.) It was Elk Medallions with garlic mashed potatoes. Yuuuuuuuummmmmmmmy... Our friends Andy & Caroline joined us for the festivities and Johnny K. joined us for dinner. It was a beautiful evening as we strolled over to the Temple Buell Theatre for the show.

A very funny Tom Papa opened the show. I think I'd seen that guy on Leno or something like that before. I really enjoyed his humor. It was clean but clever. He made silly faces, too. He was, by far, much more entertaining than the opening act from last night's show. It was like day & night. We laughed almost as much for Tom as we did for Jerry. (no, that wasn't the irony)

Here it comes...
I discovered this weekend that the only thing worse than standing beside a loud, out-of-tune singer during a rock concert is to be sitting by a loud, delayed laugher during a comedy show. It was almost my worst nightmare & they're everywhere. Last night's laugher at least did not stay for the show. If she had, I'm sure she would've laughed with the rest of the audience.

Tonight, the four of us found ourselves, sitting directly in front of a woman with THE most loud, unusual, and DELAYED laugh in history. It sounded like Forrest Gump's mom ate an owl while calling for a train. It was so strange. It was like a constant, "whoo, whoo, whoo..." The laugh alone would not have been as bad if she did not wait until the entire audience was done laughing before she let out her whistlin' tune. The four of us were shocked and amazed at what was happening at first. We couldn't believe our ears. But then, as it consistently continued through the show. It was so tough not to burst out into laughter each time you heard it. You almost came to expect it.

At one point, Jerry made a pool reference in one of his jokes, "I'm stripes. You're solids. Just shoot." I turned to Chisolm for an inside glance and snicker. He looked clueless. Apparently, he explained later that this woman's outrageous, delayed laughter had melted his brain and he was having trouble paying attention. No kidding? We got a good look at the culprit after the show, but it definitely made for a memorable evening we will never forget.

Her whoo-ing and our laughter was so untimely and consistent that the people in front of us were turning around to sneak a peek. I'm sure they were thinking it came from us. We couldn't believe that no one else around us noticed the extraordinary sound. Chisolm feared that Jerry would hear the strange, howling laughter and think it came from us. What a strange encounter.

Oh! And the irony??? We were watching (fusilli) Jerry Seinfeld performing on stage while having our own true "Seinfeld" experience.

posted by Samm @ 10/09/2005 01:41:00 AM