The first time I saw Bobcat was at The Other. He started with his usual, painful, over-the-top, snot-infested “hey, how ya doin, welcome to the show, whatta ya do for living . . .” greeting and the crowd just didn’t get it. Might of been a heavy 707 night, but a couple of guys started tossing quarters up on the stage. I was practically peeing my pants but was largely alone in my glee.
But this homeless guy walks past the storefront and of course the stage was right there, and he sees a room full of people. He disappears behind the stage and then reappears with a cigarette shoved up each nostril and proceeds to “walk down stairs” from right to left. He disappears below the sill and then reappears walking back up stairs back behind the stage. He does this a couple of times, essentially getting all of the laughs. So Bob runs out and tries to grab him, but he skeedaddles. Bob went on to kill, but it was that homeless guy that warmed the crowd up.
This was a pretty typical night in the early 80’s SF comedy scene. Intimate, talented, and often totally random.
The homeless guy – Ray. Toothless. A regular. Played the piano for tips and then would ask us for “choclat cake..choclat cake…” till we finally gave him a piece. Jay Leno, in 1980, turned his piano-playing into a hilarious schtick by winding up Ray’s “key” on his back while he played. Funnier n hell.