Episode 53: Why Set Order Makes or Breaks Your Comedy

In this episode of Put Your Funny Where Your Mouth Is, Vince Carone and Dobie Maxwell break down one of the most overlooked keys to success in stand-up: the order of your set. Whether it’s comedy, boxing, baseball, or music, structure determines whether the audience feels the flow — or senses something’s off.

Vince opens up about the discipline behind preparing his eighth special (It’s Not All Peaches), including what it takes to cut material you love and why his earlier special No Complaints became an editing nightmare because of order mistakes. Dobie brings the mentor’s perspective, explaining how newer comics often throw everything into five minutes without realizing how placement affects laughs.

Together, they show how order turns a collection of jokes into a cohesive ride that builds trust, momentum, and impact — and why the audience can always feel it, even if they can’t explain why.

Key Points Discussed:

• Why order matters as much as the jokes themselves
• How Vince cut down his hour for MGM and built in “buffer time”
• Lessons learned from No Complaints and other specials
• How to avoid continuity mistakes that kill flow
• Why openers and closers aren’t enough — the middle matters
• Using boxing, baseball, and music as guides for structuring a set
• Why audiences feel when it’s wrong, even if they don’t know why