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Laughter at the Longshot Saloon
By Angeline Tiamson
September 12, 2005
San Marcos--San Marcos, California is not unlike any other Southern California suburb. There’s the token shopping plaza in nearby Vista that includes the friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart and Target, and a slew of restaurants on main street (appropriately titled “Restaurant Row”). Palomar College and California State University, San Marcos afford the town a nice collegiate atmosphere.
Yes, San Marcos,…one of the many illustrations of the growth in San Diego County. While pleasant, it is also a testament to the cookie-cutter style with which our growing communities have met the new millennium.
Unless it is Tuesday night. That’s when a drive through suburbia brings you to the comedy club at the Longshot Saloon.
A faithful following has created the atmosphere of the only comedy club in North County. Spend a couple of nights in the place creates and you’ll find yourself among instant friends and familiar faces. The success of the bar relies on the word of mouth—the Longshot is San Marcos’ answer to Cheers. Setting apart this local bar is the sincerity of its staff. They cultivate relationships with the regulars and strive for nothing more than to make life a little better with a joke or two.
Seventy five percent of the comedians on stage (all but the headliner) work the show for free, as a testament to their dedication.
“There’s no money in it,” states Assistant Manager and occasional emcee Mike “Smitty” Smith. “It’s all for the love of making people laugh. No one is going to even know who you are.”
On Tuesday nights, from ten to midnight, cheers can be heard amidst continuous cocktail service as the comedians start their lineup, beginning with Smitty himself. A blend of improvisation and prepared material keeps the show fresh, if a bit obscene. Time is made from the end of the show to closing to ensure that the audience can “hang out” with the comedians, thereby increasing the feeling of community.
Found through an agency, the comedians are representative of the next wave in the field: professionals into comedy for the love of the art, and on the verge of making it. The Longshot Saloon is part of a larger circuit traveled by comedians, and features professionals who have done shows from the La Jolla and Irvine comedy clubs to those that have done work with Comedy Central and Showtime.
A Tuesday night will generally see three comedians, two of them paving way for a third, paid, headliner who has been in the game slightly longer. There is a vein of comedians who frequent the Longshot stage, challenged not only to continue creating new material, but material that relates to San Diegans and local news. Favorite jabs at culture range from local traffic spots and college quirks to national news. The audience has found a favorite spot on Tuesday nights.
Next time you find yourself driving along the edge of cookie cutter suburbia, watch out for the crumbs that roll on the side, the little jewels that set our town aside as a community of its own. Watch out for the Longshot Saloon.
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