Comedy -v- Music

Neither myself or the close personal friend drink a great deal. Sitting in a pub, skulling pints and chewing the cud is all well and good but it's not something we're interested in doing each and every weekend. Instead we go to see the occasional play and a lot of gigs - music and comedy. Frequently, when leaving a music gig at which the band in question has lifted the roof, I find myself mulling over the pros and cons of performing stand up comedy and music, wondering which has more benfits (or which is easier). The thought process generally goes something like this....

1. You "die" a lot more obviously (and painfully) when performing comedy. People will clap politely at the end of a song they don't really like but they will not laugh politely at something they don't find funny.
2. As a musician the sight of a crowd of people deliriously leaping up and down to a song must be an incredible feeling - people rarely jump up and down at comedy gigs (and if they do it probably indicates that you are playing a benefit gig for tourettes sufferers). On the flip side of the coin, there is a certain buzz that comes from making a room full of people laugh - particulary if it's a particularly well crafted or clever gag. I think I'd prefer the jumping though.
   
3. As a comedian you need a much higher turnover of material. People singing your songs with you is a sign that you are doing something right... as a comedian, if they know the story you are telling it's a sign that you need some new material. Nobody has ever shouted at Bono -"Hey Bono, you did New Year's Day last time - got anything new?".
   
4. In addition, it is possible, as a musician to release albums and DVDs -you can still perform these songs in concert because that's what people came to see. In fact, its what they expect to see - how many times have you left a concert disappointed that the band didn't play a certain song? As a comedian, you can make money releasing a DVD but you may as well perform a cermonial burning of the material as you can't really use it any more.

All in all, I think maybe that performing in a band just about shades it - if you call 4-0 shading it. What I think is easier to do, and what I can do however are two different things - mostly because I haven't got a note in my head. I can occasionally think of something mildly funny and write it down in a way that makes some people laugh. (That is to say that what i write, as opposed to the physical act of writing it, is a source of laughter).

Apart from that I'm not entirely sure where this post is going or where it was meant to go (if anywhere). It should probably be scrapped as pointless at this stage, but having spent the time typing it, I think I'll inflict it on the world anyway.