Check out pics from Trev’s comedy headlining debut at Catch A Rising Star

It's been 22 years in the making and frankly I really don't know why it's taken so long. After all these years of performing standup comedy, it finally occurred to me that I should try headlining. When I asked to Catch A Rising Star owner and booker Suzy Yengo about it, she put me on the schedule for last Saturday, Aug 27. What a rush!

For five years from 2004-2009, I was the house emcee and general manager of Catch A Rising Star in the Princeton Hyatt. I would emcee about 250 comedy shows a year during that time.

Then later when I opened Sarcasm in the Cherry Hill Crowne Plaza from 2010-1015, there was more emceeing, which amounts to about a fifteen-minute set, then featuring or "middling," which runs about 30 minutes. Headlining is a whole different animal.

As much as I respected headliners before last night, I respect them even more now. A typical headline set runs about 45 minutes and when you first go up there it seems like an eternity.

Fortunately, I had a killer lineup in front of me performing to a sold-out crowd for which I am eternally grateful. Usually, the emcee opens the show but on this night based on my history there and the fact that I hand-picked the comics, I wanted to go out first and welcome the crowd.

Our first comedian was Liam Katz who won a talent show at his high school with standup against a bunch of bands, which is not an easy thing to do. He's only been performing for a short time but in that time, you can see how funny he already is.

Next came John Franklin, who you may have seen on the Netflix game show "The Circle." John's been performing comedy all over the country with lots of spots in New York and has some really funny stories about Hoboken where he is now living.

After John came Eric Potts, who when he's not talking or playing music on New Jersey 101.5, he's headlining comedy clubs across the country. He's also one of my best friends and my first choice to be on the show. I was so glad he was able to do it.

By the time I took the stage, they made it easy for me. The crowd was lively and thankfully they laughed at my jokes, with emphasis on "thankfully."

You don't realize how long 45 minutes is until you go up on stage to headline a comedy show. When they're laughing, it goes so much faster. It's also an incredible rush, unlike any drug you could ever imagine. Hopefully, that continues for me.

I'm looking forward to my next headlining appearance. In the meantime, I will be opening for Bobby Collins at The Brook Art Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 8. You can get tickets here.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise only. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.

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