Well, it turns out that James Taylor won't be the headliner after all at Thursday's Democratic National Convention finale in Charlotte. The musical lineup at Bank of America Stadium is now:

Foo Fighters
Mary J. Blige
Earth, Wind & Fire
James Taylor
Delta Rae
Inspire the Fire
Marc Anthony (singing the national anthem)

Ledisi, DJ Cassidy and Durham resident Brandford Marsalis are among the acts performing earlier in the week. But what I want to know is this: Will there be an empty chair onstage?

In my book, the difference between a bad stand up and a good stand up are the jokes, and the difference between a good stand up and a great stand up is the flow.

The flow is the storytelling, the pace, the intelligence that turns a bunch of lines into a seamless monologue.

By that standard, the six stand ups I saw on the first two episodes of "Russell Simmons Presents Stand Up At The El Rey" (Comedy Central, 11 tonight) range from bad to the potential of being good. Sadly, greatness was not achieved.