Why Doesn’t Lubbock Support Live Comedy?

This one is quite perplexing to me. Even back when we had a comedy club, Lubbock was never a "comedy town".  Could it be that we're just not miserable enough to need it?

I saw this bit in a Doug Stanhope special (below) and what he essentially  talked about was how he did better in depressed areas because those people "need a laugh".  I understand that, but it's still weird, because who doesn't "need a laugh"?

We recently had visits from Doug Stanhope and Ralphie May.  Stanhope was probably close to a sell out, but Backstage is very small.  Ralphie May played to about half of the Civic Center and he sells out venues 2-3 times that size in other towns.  BOTH comedians rocked the house and made sure everyone had a good time.  You know what else they did?  Both comedians came back after their show and signed every single autograph and took every single picture until everybody was gone .  If you compare this to most bands who meet 20 people before the show, play their set, pack their crap and move on, it's a pretty awesome thing they do.

This is nothing new for Lubbock.  I sat in a half empty club with the legendary Bill Hicks on more than one occasion as we pounded drinks and talked about the show.  I've seen Sinbad, Bobcat Goldthwaite, George Lopez and may others play to sub-par crowds.  This isn't to say there isn't a few bright spots.  My friend Rodney Carrington does well.  Ron White has seen both sides of a  fickle Lubbock comedy crowd.  Carlos Mencia got paid once or twice, then didn't.  I'm also pretty sure the guy with the dummy, Jeff Dunham had one good turnout then a bomb.

Who's to say whether live comedy even needs to be "a thing" around here? I've just always loved comedians.  Here's the deal though.  Ralphie May came to town, absolutely tore the house down. He even promised to come back and back, time after time, until we packed the Civic Center.  There will be one time though, when he's sitting around with other comedians and he'll be asked "how'd you do in Lubbock?" and, without a mean bone or intention in his body or mind,  he's gonna say "I love it, but it's tough to sell tickets there".   That's not a good thing.