Rollie Williams
patreon
Live show pics and a newsletter
🕑 Added 2023-05-11 12:10:47 +0000 UTCDear patrons,
The big Bell House show went off without a hitch and almost no one was the wiser that I got 3 hours of sleep the night before. A huge thanks to everyone who came out to the show, it was really packed in there and double thanks to the people who had to stand the whole time. We'll have plenty of footage from the evening in case you missed it because you don't happen to live in the extremely specific geographic area that made traveling to Brooklyn possible. A little description of the show below, BUT FIRST!
NEWSLETTER ALERT!
I wanted to let you know that you'll be receiving a little extra something in your inboxes in the form of the Climate Town Newsletter. It's basically a lot of the extra research and tidbits from the food waste video that we cut for time or because they didn't fit in the video. It's full of links and little facts and media and stuff and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE feel free to unsubscribe the absolute millisecond you decide it's not for you. The last thing I want to do is bombard you with crap that you don't want, so the unsubscribe button is basically the first thing you'll see, and I encourage you to use it if it isn't your thing.
The Bell House Show description:
Preshow:
2am - My bad night of sleep was caused by me worrying I would have a bad night of sleep and therefore creating a wonderful cycle of self-sabotage. I woke up and drank the first cup of what would be 9 cups of coffee that day and got to work on the powerpoint file. There were a few blips I wanted to work out, and I spent the day troubleshooting and making everything crispy.
6pm - I ran through a tech rehearsal at the Bell House with Javier (fantastic tech guy at the Bell House) and my live show producer/friend Justin. Two of the performers of the evening Ena (she had some WILD songs that she needed to audio level) and Peter came in to sound check. They sounded great. My EP Matt brought the big box of 100 shirts we had been doing our merch experiment on. I was feeling stressed and anxious and genuinely bad, but I could feel that fading. I hadn't done a big live show in a while and I had blissfully forgotten how it felt to feel underprepared (which was only a little true) and nervous about something going wrong. But all those nerves were evaporating slowly.
7pm - The house opened.
7:15 - My anxiety was replaced with the feeling that overcomes someone after the first roller coaster drop but before the second. Kinda calm but also a little apprehensive.
7:30 - The show was sold out so we had to wait as people came in and found places and got drinks. I've done a lot of shows and having to wait so that the line of people could get in is not something I've been on the supply side of before.
7:45 - The music fades out and I try to start the show but the powerpoint clicker was too far away from the bluetooth dongle to work so I had to try a few times. It was kind of funny but I wish it had just worked. Whatever. I moved closer, it worked, and I started the show. The audience was excited - I could tell it was gonna be a fun show. I laid out the run of show. It was a town hall as near as I could program it. We had 6 segments that mirrored how Town Halls run:
1) I would read the minutes from a fake previous show
2) Take a vote on approving the minutes
3) Do 'committee meetings' which just meant bringing out the performers in character (Nicole Conlan - A monstrous real estate developer, Ena Da - a rapper on their comeback tour, and Matt Nelsen - a climate tech bro). Finally, I came out again to explain how we were doing merchandise but making it a real pain in the ass for anyone to buy it and naming each shirt individually to make it harder to get rid of.
4) The public comment period. We put a microphone in the middle of the room and anyone who wanted could come up and say whatever they wanted. That part was really fun. People asked great questions and I found it very freeing to answer everyone honestly.
5) THE PARKING EPISODE! I did a live presentation (basically a rough draft) of the next episode we're releasing about parking. It went well.
6) Broadway singer Peter Smith hit the stage and sang a personal request from me (Night Call by Kavinsky) and then an original song (Let's Lay Down).
The show ended around 9:30. I went out to a bar afterwards and played pool on a pool table that was extremely encumbered by walls. It felt incredible.
Footage to follow! Thanks for everything!
Sincerely,
Rollie Williams
Comments
Quick question - do you have plans to be in LA this year? Also, is this the right place to post questions? Thanks so much for all you do!
I already wrote a lengthy message on the discord about it but I guess a second one here won't hurt. I'm pretty disappointed that you guys took on wren as a sponsor on your first newsletter. They charge a very high fee, are not a charity and are backed venture capital. They also lack transparency on why they choose the projects that they have and why they stopped using reforestation entirely for an undisclosed reason. If you want to advocate for co2 compensation (which is already kind of problematic in itself as I partly learned from your own videos), at least advertise a service that has lower fees and is a charity, like atmosfair or many of the others, even though I'm also critical of those charities. In the meantime, I think I'll pause my support, because I'm a poor student and because it leaves a bitter aftertaste in my mouth with the sponsorship. I still love the concept of connecting comedy with climate and wish you guys the best :)
Dave Patey
Sounds like an amazing night. Just a shame they'll probably all be in new England, not old England. If you ever do anything this side of the pond I'd come along, even if it was just to carry your luggage / hold a brolly.
Rollie, the show was fantastic and I can't wait for the next one! Selfishly, I hope it's also right here in Brooklyn. Seconding the motion to invite Jason from Not Just Bikes for a combined show!
