Good thing we got to the Swedish-American early for Friday night's Porchlight Third Anniversary storytelling evening -- even 45 minutes before the show, the rush ticket line was snaking all the way down to the Lucky 13. And inside, the crowd (women in flower-print shift dresses, men in corduroy) was distracted from the arduous folding-chair seat selection process by the gigantic set of klieg lights and steadicam equipment -- KRON 4 was taping the show. (We've always wanted to be on KRON 4!!! Look for us!)

Porchlight is basically the live San Francisco version of This American Life -- hosts Arline Klatte and Beth Lisick invite people to come up to the stage and tell an extemporaneous story on a theme. No notes, no patter, and a strict 10-minute limit per person.

Friday's show was Porchlight's Third Anniversary show, with the theme, "Eye of the Tiger: Stories of Weird Little Triumphs." Because it was the Third Anniversary, storytellers were limited to 6 minutes, and the show also featured a lightning round, where five members of the audience would be picked to tell a one-minute story each.

After the jump: the tyrannies of a live studio audience, the ominous 2-minute piano warning, and Matt Gonzalez on Archie Manning.

Picture of Porchlight hosts Arline Klatte and Beth Lisick by Lori Spears