One of the hardest things about trying to be a comedian is the quiet nights where there is nothing but other comedians in the audience. They are usually very supportive, they just don’t laugh. It is not that you are not funny, it just that comedians are usually analysing what you are saying. That’s why I love whenever Dana Carvey turns up on the Dennis Miller radio show, say what you like about Miller’s lean to right politics, every time he has a comedian on he lets them run wild and free and none so as Dana Carvey. Laughter, unlike applause, must be earned and is very hard to fake. Here is a snip from that show where Dana is imagining the next celebrity sex scandal and it is Regis Philbin, Dennis is on the ropes! Awesome! There is nothing as contagious as true laughter.
Here is the full 16 minutes, it gets a little weird in the middle.