The Dollop #725: The Possum Open Mic (with Mike Bridenstine)

Main Theme / Purpose

In this episode of The Dollop, comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds hand the storytelling reins to guest Mike Bridenstine, who reads from his book Kansas City Comedy. Bridenstine recounts the infamous and chaotic "Possum Open Mic" incident—described as the wildest and most traumatic stand-up story from Kansas City’s comedy scene. The episode is a raucous exploration of open mic comedy culture, creative risk-taking, comic camaraderie, and the line between memorable performance and social disaster.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Role Reversal and Episode Setup

• Dave and Gareth admit they forgot to bring a story for the week, leading to Mike Bridenstine stepping in to narrate a tale from his book (03:00).
• Mike’s segment sets a tone of improvisational chaos that reflects the actual story being told.

2. Meet Kyle Paris: Open Mic Madman

• The protagonist: Kyle Paris, a notorious Kansas City comic known for using strange props (cooler, vacuum, pies, roadkill) in his acts (04:39).
• He meticulously prepares for a July 2001 open mic at Stanford’s club with an assortment of odd items, including a newly acquired fresh roadkill possum, obtained on his long drive to the venue (05:36).

3. Roadkill Comedy: The Set-Up

• Bridenstine details Paris’s history of bizarre props—he previously performed with a thawed turkey stuffed with dog and cat food, using a dildo as a wooden spoon (11:33).
• The comics reminisce about the extremities of open mics—props, trauma memories, and the line between innovative and disturbing (05:30).

4. The Fateful Night at Stanford’s

• Paris attends the club’s pre-show meeting, gets his running order (he’s third), and prepares with dishwashing gloves, hula hoop, and his infamous cooler (08:34).
• The crowd includes about 50 people and 30 comics, with Paris hoping to stun everyone with his bit (16:19).

5. Disaster Unfolds Onstage

• Paris opens the cooler on stage, unleashing a wave of decomposing heat and stench from the possum (18:55).
• The physical effects: audience members cover mouths, eyes water, some flee or vomit, including a pregnant woman (21:18, 28:12).
• Paris, maintaining “professionalism,” continues the act by retrieving a vacuum cleaner and forcing its tube into the dead possum’s throat, blowing and spreading the stink across the room (23:56, 24:24).
• Chaos and panic erupt—tables flip, people flee, and some vomit in the bathrooms (26:32).

6. Aftermath and Banishment

• Manager Ron Mirin, already known as a club “ticking time bomb,” is incensed and bans Kyle Paris for life after threatening to kill him (33:44).
• Comics and audience process trauma, but the comedy show resumes; staff spray industrial Lysol and perform amid lingering odors (46:24, 47:50).
• Paris, outside, reflects on his failure and emotional devastation, but is surprised by audience members telling him “you made me vomit, but it was awesome” (56:29).

7. Legacy and Redemption

• Despite permanent infamy, Paris is only banned for six months, later returning with a "No Dead Possum" t-shirt (61:34).
• The event cements Kyle’s legend in the Kansas City comedy scene; he forms a close, enduring friendship with Andrea Kaspari, another comic who performed that night (64:17).
• The story remains a defining (if traumatic) local comedy story, recounted with mixture of horror and admiration by the comics involved.

8. Reflections on Comedy’s Edges

• Discussion on creative boundaries, the importance of friends as checks for comic bits, and the difference in perspective between comedians and club staff/managers (30:32).
• The group reflects on how this kind of event would play out in the social media/phone camera era (63:10).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

The Buildup

• “He’s on his way to the mic, so you’d think he’d get the road—like, where is this again?"
  — Gareth Reynolds (06:00)

The Stench Arrives

• “When he opened the van, Paris remembers smelling the outside of the cooler to see if there was an odor. And since there wasn’t, he assumed everything was fine and dandy...”
  — Mike Bridenstine (16:52)

• “I opened it up and the heat in that place went up like 10 degrees. I'm not even kidding.”
  — Mike Bridenstine (20:08)

The Vacuum Catastrophe

• “He pulls out this vacuum... shoves the nozzle down the gullet of the beast and flips the thing on... A cloud of stench explodes out of this thing and wafts through the comedy club.”
  — Mike Bridenstine, quoting comic Chris Porter (24:07)

• “She gets a face full of stench, runs to the restroom puking so loudly we can hear her.”
  — Mike Bridenstine (28:12)

Comic Camaraderie and Reflection

• “Everyone who was telling me this story later kind of had like fond memories of it. Except for this manager guy. He's still very angry.”
  — Mike Bridenstine (33:35)

• “People came up to me and they said, you made me vomit. But it was awesome.”
  — Kyle Paris, via Mike Bridenstine (56:29)

On Comedy and Tragedy

• “If you're an open micr, you need to have an open micr friend and you need to talk to each other about what you're planning.”
  — Dave Anthony (30:32)

Important Segment Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Event | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------| | 03:00 | Mike Bridenstine introduced as guest storyteller | | 05:36 | Paris assembles props and seeks roadkill | | 11:33 | Description of Paris’s notorious previous routines | | 16:19 | Club and crowd context; Paris prepares his bit | | 18:55 | The cooler is opened; the stench is unleashed | | 23:56 | Paris retrieves the possum; audience begins fleeing | | 24:07 | Vacuum cleaner makes things exponentially worse | | 26:32 | Full-scale panic and vomiting | | 33:44 | Manager bans Paris for life, threatens violence | | 41:45 | Show resumes after chaos, staff sprays Lysol | | 56:29 | Audience members praise Paris for the “vomit bit” | | 61:34 | Paris’s comic ban is lifted after 6 months | | 64:17 | Paris and Kaspari become close friends |

Additional Stories & Book Details

• Mike Bridenstine’s Kansas City Comedy features other jaw-dropping tales: Norm MacDonald clearing out a family-night crowd, a comic faking being wheelchair-bound for two years, the criminal history of the club’s owners, and more (65:18).
• The Possum Open Mic stands as the book’s most infamous chapter, celebrated (and relived) on its 25th anniversary by the comics involved.

Closing Comments

• All hosts agree the story typifies the extremes of open mic comedy and would have exploded online in today’s viral era (63:10).
• The interwoven threads of disgust, admiration, and comic trauma provide a potent reflection on where the spectacle of stand-up meets the boundaries of good sense.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone fascinated by stand-up’s wild underbelly, tales of notoriety, and the blurry lines between legendary creativity and social disaster.