Sheng Wang

If you get a chance to go see Sheng Wang perform, do it. It was easily the best comedy show I’ve ever been to.

We watched his Netflix special Sweet & Juicy and was hooked immediately. When we saw he was coming to town, I jumped at the chance to get tickets, and am so glad we did. Melissa, Ian, Meghan and I escaped for a rare school night out and traveled down together to the beautiful Carnegie Library Music Hall, where it was a treat to see some good old friends!

Kevin Camia opened the show with a hilarious set of skillful self-deprecation and amazing observations. It’s a really unique style of comedy that’s such a breath of fresh air compared to biting/controversial/topical comedy. Not that there’s anything wrong with those styles, but it was a welcome change of pace.

Sheng took the stage and from start to finish was absolutely on fire. I’m sure he gets a lot of comparisons to Mitch Hedberg as they share a similar vibe and delivery. Mitch is one of my all-time favorite comedians, so there’s a reason why I gravitated towards him! But Sheng very much stands on his own two feet and has a style, rhythm, and observations that are wholly unique.

He has an extraordinary gift of articulating everyday experiential phenomena. One bit detailed the feeling of being a “no shoes” household but occasionally needing to wear your shoes inside because you forgot your keys or wallet. He hilariously describes what’s running through our mind and how our bodies react, stacking up these observations and going deeper down the rabbit hole. His delivery was so impressively skillful, and the audience’s response was clear that we could all relate to the phenomenon he’s describing. Extraordinary.

There’s a real wholesomeness to his material, touching on growth, noticing entering different phrases of life, health, self care, and other positive things. Towards the he “broke character” (in quotes because he’s very much himself throughout) and expressed his gratitude and pride for booking his first theater tour after almost 25 years of grinding as a comedian. His warmth is infectious, and as someone who shares the same values, I felt extremely seen. Great freaking stuff.

After the show, I wanted to take advantage of the fact we got to see some dear old friends and get our picture taken. I asked a kind stranger to take our photo. He obliged, snuffed out his cigarette, and I handed him my phone. He drawled “3…2…1…” he said while I noticed his index finger firing many photos during his countdown. A beautiful moment of serendipity as I just described this exact phenomenon. I realized that while I’m no stand-up comedian, I have my own flavor of expressing my little observations. That makes me happy. Blogging makes me happy.

Keeping the energy going

Melissa and I came back home on a high from the show, and since Ella was sleeping over at our neighbor’s house, I asked if she wanted to play some music. I’m happy she agreed! Melissa’s been on a big Latin music kick lately, and recently expressed “I’d love to learn how to play more Latin-style piano.” Because she is a ridiculously talented natural musician (a fact I need to remind her of often), she picked it up immediately.

With me on drums and Melissa on keys, we jammed for a bit and then came back to a simple A/B pattern. We recorded it, and then quickly switched to other instruments to add to the sound. Jamming with yourself is an interesting feeling, but it can be really fun! I’m happy with how our jam turned out, especially the last part:

Last night’s mega-dose of positive energy met me where I was already at, which has me buzzing. It is incredibly obvious to me that the way I feel stands in stark contrast to the present state of the world. I have a lot more to say about this, but I’ll save it for another post.

But I will say this: now more than ever it’s so important to seek out laughter, joy, and connection in your life.