In a contest like this, there are nights where the audience's favorites don't necessarily overlap with the judges'. There was definitely an element of that tonight at the BPH on Seattle's Capitol Hill, an urban neighborhood of nightlife and hipsters gay and straight.
Convention Wisdom had it that this night would belong to local comics and Capitol Hill denizens Solomon Georgio and Nicole Lucas. Turned out CW was only half-right.
Both got huge audience response - but only Solomon's translated into a high score.
Maybe the audience favorite was Australian comic Nick Sun, who let loose with an amazing set that he concluded by asking the audience to boo him off the stage. They obliged enthusiastically, with the booing making a near-miraculous segue to cheers. Alas for Nick's score, he had taken way more than the allotted 7 minutes maximum, and so suffered a large "overtime" penalty.
1. Travis Simmons 2. Solomon Georgio 3. Sean Kent 4. Derick Lengwenus 5. Toby Hargrave.
Capitol Hill incident tonight: Comedian Toby Hargrave, a fairly large man dressed in slightly scruffy layers, with a beard and long unruly hair, was unable to stop anyone on the street to get directions. Or even make eye contact.
L-R: Vince Valenzuela (host), Travis Simmons (1st), Solomon Georgio (2nd), Sean Kent (3rd), Derick Lengwenus (4th) and Toby Hargrave (5th)