We’ve all got to start somewhere, preferably the top. But if you’re like most of us, it’s usually somewhere, well, not the top. And if you’re a stand-up comic, “not the top” was probably an open mic. And at that open mic you tried to make complete strangers laugh. And it all started with that first joke that you’ll never forget, even if you really, really want to.

And if you’re Mike Bridenstine and Brendan McGowan, the best thing to do with that first nerve racking and poorly structured “you ever notice” joke that was twice as long when you were rehearsing it the night before, is to dust it off and use your now refined timing and microphone savvy inflexions to give it a second chance.

And that’s where 50 First Jokes comes in, the first installment of the new Smoke Show taking place every Friday night at The Spot (4437 N. Broadway). The premise of 50 First Jokes is simple: 50 Chicago stand-ups tell the first joke they ever told on stage. The Bastion asks you: How can that not be hilarious? Answer? Possibly lots of ways. Luckily for those who packed The Spot’s upstairs, they didn’t have to worry about lulls in the funny. If that joke about your high school gym teacher was funny then, it’s probably funny now. And if it bombed then, it’s really funny now.

Okay, okay, I’ve got one. What do you call a bunch of comics opening up old tattered notebooks full of bowel movement jokes? …

The Smoke Show at The Spot, Fridays at 9.

-Andy Garrett