I'm currently reading Patton Oswalt's book, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland. If you're unfamiliar with him, Patton Oswalt is a hilarious stand-up comedian and actor. I bought the book expecting it to be hilarious, and it totally is, but what I didn't expect was an unbelievable amount of poignancy. Throughout the book Oswalt tells stories about his childhood, his hometown, and the beginnings of his comedy career. One chapter in particular that struck me was "The Victory Tour," in which he headlines a comedy club for the first time.
Turns out, Patton absolutely bombs his first few nights–so badly, in fact, that the club manager demotes Patton from headliner to opening for the new headliner. Patton meets Gary, the guy he'll now be opening for, and their conversation goes like this: