Two nationally acclaimed comedians will return to the Hamptons to perform at Abby Russell’s Sticks & Stones Comedy Club, located at 25 Pond Lane in Southampton Village. Carmen Lynch and Jordan Rock will once again entertain East Enders with their cutting-edge comedy. Both were kind enough to share some of their thoughts about comedy with Hamptons.com.
Carmen Lynch, an NYC-based stand-up comedian, will headline a 7 PM show in English and an exclusive Spanish-only show at 9 PM on August 9th. Comedian Andy Pitz will be opening for her. Jordan Rock will be back on August 17th. She has appeared on TV including The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
About the direction comedy is going since COVID, Lynch said, “The business model is so different (since COVID) because now it’s all about putting clips on social media and there are a lot more comedians out there than there were before COVID. So, it’s about keeping yourself relevant, and putting yourself out there, letting people see you. It’s a lot more do-it-yourself now than it used to be. Your career can change so quickly by promoting yourself. In a way that’s good because you really don’t have to depend on others. Everyone has a special on YouTube, everybody has clips on social media, so it’s really about you doing the work instead of expecting others to help you.”
Jordan Rock, who has been seen on Netflix and Last Comic Standing, concurred, saying in his interview, “Since COVID, it’s interesting because of the chance of going viral. Back in the day, we used to hang out and had to be in the clubs to be known by your peers. Showing face was a part of the job.” Rock, who is also the brother of comedians Chris Rock, Tony Rock, and Andre Rock, then added, “Now you can start comedy this week and if you go viral this weekend you can be selling out by the winter. That has changed the game. Some people think that’s bad but I don’t see it as a bad thing because a lot of comics now go out to work with their friends that went viral. I think the only bad part about comedy after COVID is the flow of comedy is dead. People prioritize clips and they try to find clips to go viral and not work on a flow. Now in comedy, I see the flow has gone. They are writing damn good jokes that will surprise, but right after that joke, they say ‘so what else are we talking about,’ they don’t have a flow.”
Last year, when both Jordan Rock and Carmen Lynch performed at Sticks & Stones, they received a dose of the Hamptons. Carmen’s show in the Hamptons was also the first show ever at Sticks & Stones Comedy Club. “I had done a random Hamptons gig five years ago, but the show at Sticks & Stones had more of a comedy club energy, which was really fun.” Then she noted that, “This year, because my mom has multiple myeloma, which is a blood cancer, Abby is kind enough to donate some of the proceeds of some of these upcoming shows to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.”
Ms. Lynch said that Abby Russell puts together these amazing shows. “I love that she is challenging me to do a Spanish show as well. I think that is so exciting.” Lynch noted they are doing it because there is a big Spanish community in the Hamptons. “I love that we are trying that,” added Lynch. “I have known Abby for many years and every show she puts together is gold.”
Since both Jordan Rock and Carmen Lynch perform all over the country, they both answered questions about the differences in audiences. Rock said that he believes the difference in the audience depends on where you are. He mentioned that on the West Coast, in Los Angeles, people come to shows in hopes of seeing stars, a person that they know. He said, “They go to a show and they don’t really care about the quality. They are happy to see stars (like David Spade), that’s the highlight of the show. New Yorkers go to the comedy show because they believe everyone will be good and they are more into new comics.”
Lynch, who was in California for the phone interview, had a slightly different take. “I find that the audiences out on the West Coast these last few days have been good, great, but they seem nicer. New York is a little edgier and I think some of my edgy stuff might work better on the East Coast. I say that and yet last night’s show was great. I am still kind of figuring that out here in California but on a general level they (West Coast) are smiley here, maybe us East Coasters are just a little more full of eggs or something.”
Concluding the interview, Rock exclaimed, “The Southampton crowds were really open, the people that showed up were there to laugh and then I remember walking outside (Southampton Village) and realizing that very small-town square was jumping. Everybody was just outside, just jumping and partying. People really are on vacation out there.”
