As some of you might know, I work in Boston's Seaport District as do a great many people in the Metro Boston area. Some days it seems like half of New England disembarks at the Courthouse Station stop on the Silver Line.
While the Seaport District is known for a vibrant office culture by day, it is also considered a popular nightspot. However, I have largely designated the Seaport District as a work zone. Aside from the occasional overtime work-from-home project, playtime is reserved for Cambridge, Somerville and other parts of Boston.
However, tonight I made an exception, as I made my way to the Seaport District to see Ben Bailey perform his standup comedy routine at Laugh Boston in the Westin Hotel.
Bailey is best known for his 15-year tenure as the host of Cash Cab on the Discovery Channel and later on Bravo. I did not become familiar with the show until I began living with Dad in New York City in 2018 as we would watch reruns. Sometimes we would visit destinations where passengers were dropped off.
Not only was this the first time I've ventured out to the Seaport District for a social occasion, but it has also probably been at least 20 years since I've actually been to a comedy club. I remember seeing Wendy Liebman on a couple of occasions when the Comedy Connection had a location at Faneuil Hall.
While I like to laugh, I don't find most standup comedians to be funny. One of the reasons I like Liebman is that she relies on wordplay. Too many comedians rely on foul language. Now foul language can certainly be funny when deployed strategically but when you hear it all the time it is a classic case of the law of diminishing returns and ceases to be amusing.
The venue itself left a great deal to be desired. While they do not restrict bags like the Wilbur Theatre, they do search them and also conduct airport style body searches and make you take everything out of your pockets. I understand we live in a dangerous world, but having to do this is not conducive to a relaxing evening out on the town especially when you're trying not to drop anything as you hold up the line.
Once inside the venue, it is very dark and hard to navigate the seats and the tables. It also wasn't until well into the opening acts that I received any kind of food service. When I did get service, I made a simple order of fries rather than attempt to get a pizza without cheese given my most recent visit to City Winery.
I was also not impressed with the acoustics of Laugh Boston. Granted, I was sitting in the back, but I had difficulty hearing what the comedians were saying. However, it was probably just as well because what I did hear from the opening acts wasn't funny.
Things would improve when Bailey hit the stage. Bailey spent his set about what woodchucks think when they are hoisted into the air for Groundhog Day, doing riffs on various laughs and the old comedic standby of riding in airplanes. Bailey said he couldn't understand why flying was so exhausting when it all it is "sitting in a series of chairs in a climate-controlled environment where they bring you snacks." Amid all this, strange things were happening with the lighting and with his microphone, but Bailey made lemons out of lemonade and got the audience to laugh with him.
Bailey also reminisced about his days on Cash Cab. While he has fond memories, he was ready to hang up his hack license because, "It's difficult to maintain a game show level of enthusiasm while navigating New York City traffic with annoying passengers in tow." Bailey added that he was at a point where he was ready to speed down Houston Street and plow straight into the Hudson River.
Following the show, Bailey met with audience members to take pictures and sign autographs. I should not that Bailey stands 6,6 and is a foot taller than I am. But even if he were my height, he would still be a giant of a man. He readily agreed to sign my ticket to Dad, "Hi Steve, You're in the Cash Cab." I told Bailey that Dad would often tell cabbies, "You're in the Cash Cab," much to their annoyance. Bailey replied, "Yeah, they don't like that too much." No doubt, Dad will be happy to get this autograph when I visit him during Fourth of July weekend.
Ben Bailey has been doing standup comedy for more than 30 years and hopefully he will continue to perform for many more years to come. Maybe one day Dad and I can see him together even if it is not in the Cash Cab.
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