
I’ve been doing lots of open mics. I did one recently at a Chinatown beauty shop. It’s called the Peek-a-Boo Hair Salon.
It’s very Chinese.
They got glowing red lanterns dangling from the ceiling. A big laughing Buddha with a fat stone belly. Plus, a Great Wall… of two-way mirrors.
(Talk about a captive audience.)
I went up after the Tik Tok Twins, a teenage Taiwanese dance act. I opened with my bit about Pork-Fried Firecrackers.
Nothing! Not a giggle, not a smirk. You could’ve heard an egg drop.
At first, I thought they didn’t understand me. But then one woman started clapping. But she was only drying her nails.
Next, I did my gag about Dim Sum being the name of my neighbor’s idiot kid. I thought I heard a snicker after that. Just a big toe getting clipped.
Then, I got a bit edgy. I did my joke about President Trump and President Xi meeting at a Castro bath house — how they both blew a shot at world peace.
[As Trump]: “Shame, shame, Xi, Xi. Look at what a mess we made!”
That joke made the Buddha blush. The two-way mirrors got hella steamy.
In the end, I did get a standing ovation — from a lady getting up from the hair dryer.