I know what it feels like to walk out in front of a sold-out crowd of a thousand people that are there for you, and how good that feels, but as an opener, you just have to train yourself to think that it's going to be harder.
I thought late-night was crowded... the format's repetitive.
Besides, there were 50,000 fans or more there, and they wanted to see the best you've got. There was an obligation to the people, as well as to ourselves, to go all out.
But I got an audience that knows what I do. They usually show up, so I usually do pretty good.
An audience is the most dangerous thing in the world, because they paid, and they're looking at you. And they paid! And there's a lot of them! And they cast a cold eye, because they paid. To be on the stage, you have to be very secure.
I don't just like to use punchlines anymore, especially in arenas. They freak me out. There is nothing worse than 15,000 people waiting for a punchline.
My dad and some of them felt I should be playing on home soil and retire in front of the home crowd.
The crowd did not dream when they laid down their money that they would see a total eclipse of the Sonny!
The crowd loves a record, and if they're gonna be standing out there in crazy, blistering heat on the 4th of July, I mean, if they're doing it, I may as well try and give them a record.
Everyone likes to be the heel. Everyone wants to be the bad guy. I mean, I love being the bad guy, but the crowd doesn't want me to be a bad guy. In real life, I'm too much of a good guy to be a bad guy.
It's like a cosmic joke that people dream to perform in front of a huge crowd. But it is a welcomed challenge. I hope I always have that positive apprehension.
When you're the opener, you're the guy getting the crowd warmed up. But when you're the headliner, you're the main dude. People come to see you, and you have to deliver. It's a cool position to be in.
