I caught the second to last show at New York’s Comedy Village (formerly the Boston Comedy Club) this past Saturday. I wasn’t a regular at the club, but it definitely had its place in the comedy scene. As Joey Gay said at the end of his story about a rowdy audience: “At this comedy club you can throw five ashtrays at a comedian and still not be thrown out and that’s the kind of comedy club NYC needs.”
Above: The comics from the second to last show, including Gay, Judah Friedlander, Rick Shapiro and owner/performer PJ Landers, pose on stage, with the audience invited to join them. Photo by Julie Seabaugh.
The sixth season of Last Comic Standing is coming soon, and like the uncensored outtakes from earlier, it looks like NBC just dropped these on the web. These clips are from the auditions in front of a live audience, so they’re all folks who got past the judges.
Taken from the Tempe Improv, this video features Adam Hunter Christina Pazstitzky and Phil Palisoul.
And in NY’s Gotham Comedy Club, we have Dan Naturman, Marc Theobold and Louis Ramey (who gave NBC a bit they can use over and over again in promos).
It just started last night in Kentucky, but midwest and west coast comedy nerds should check out the Stand Uppity Tour, which features Marc Maron, Andy Kindler and Eugene Mirman. Produced by the Huffington Post’s humor site 236, it’s got an appropriately liberal elitist tag line: “Comedy That Makes You Feel Better About Yourself, and Superior To Others.” Or as Kindler told a Minnesota paper: “It’s the anti-Robin Williams show. If you don’t think you’ll enjoy Robin Williams, you’ll enjoy this show.”
Here’s the remaining dates:
May 12 Lake Shore Theater, Chicago, IL - 9:00 PM
Get tickets
May 13, 2008 Turf Club, St. Paul, MN - 7:00 PM
Get tickets
May 14, 2008 The Aquarium @ Dempseys, Fargo, ND - 7:00 PM
Get tickets
May 17, 2008 Neurolux, Boise, ID - 7:00 PM
Get tickets
May 18, 2008 Bagdad Theater, Portland, OR - 8:00 PM
Get tickets
May 20, 2008 Mezzanine, San Francisco, CA - 8:00 PM
Get tickets
May 22, 2008 Echo Plex, Los Angeles, CA - 7:00 PM
Get tickets
May 26, 2008 Sasquatch Music Festival Comedy Tent, George, WA
(No Andy, just Marc & Eugene)
Get tickets
Tonight, the PBS Show “America at the Crossroads” will take a look at Muslim performers and stand-up comedy. The focus of the series is the war on terror and the many aspects of American culture that have changed since 9/11, so naturally much of the show will be how these artists have responded to the events.
If you’re familiar at all with the Axis of Evil comedy tour and special, you’ll recognize some of the names and the comedy from this documentary, including Ahmed Ahmed. Here’s a look at Ahmed Ahmed doing something that’s, sadly, fertile ground for Muslims who perform stand-up… checking into the airport.
But there’s a look at other performers in an earlier spot in their careers. Here’s Maysoon Zayid talking particularly about the challenges on the other side of being a Muslim stand-up - those from her own community.
America at the Crossroads look at Muslim comics premieres tonight. It’s on at 10PM in most places, but check your local listings for times.
Bonnaroo is coming up June 12 to the 15th with performances by lots of Dead-Frog fave comics including Cross, Galifianakis and Garofalo. But with Fabrcie Fabrice’s doppelganger Nick Kroll not on the bill, who will handle the craft services for all these funny folks?
Here’s a vid from last year’s fest which shows how good Fabrice Fabrice is at getting those soggy vegetable plates to stand-ups.
Aspen and comedy will keep their somewhat surprising association thanks to the Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival, which fills in for the recently abandoned U.S. Comedy Arts Festival run by HBO. The new fest takes place at the end of this month on the 30th and 31st.
I’m not sure about keeping up a comedy fest in Aspen, other than the sentimental and promotional reasons. The place is still expensive. But on the plus side, the fest is not being held during ski season which should help. it also kind of ensures that the people coming are there for the talent, not as an excuse for a ski vacation on the company dime.
Stand-up: Kathleen O’Brien, Tim Ball, Reid Faylor and Mary Sasson
Short Film: Icescraper! by Mark Potts, The Breakup by Amos Vernon, Actor Hunters: Ep. 1 Pt. 1 by Matthew Schwartz and Car Phone by Dan Perrault.
Previously, there was the suggestion that the stand-ups would perform in a show at the Wheeler Opera House in a show headlined by David Brenner, but no schedule has yet show up. (The other piece of news at the time - that this might be a cleaner festival that the HBO one - is also not clear as well.)
While all the details aren’t clear yet, the invite I received from Rooftop did make one thing clear. Right after the award ceremony, they listed “Games & Cake.” Yea! and Yum!
Another installment in Mo Diggs series about the history of alternative comedy as a broader movement, always playing against the mainstream.
New Wave: ‘80s
During the comedy boom, not as many comedians railed against the comedy establishment. The focus was on maintaining a quirky, strange voice. Formal experimentation was at an ebb, but character comedy was on the rise.
The alternative stand-up of the ‘80s was like new wave music: it had it’s roots in the radical experimentation of the previous decade (Kaufman and Sex Pistols, respectively) but it was accessible. Milions of fans enjoyed it.
One-liners were nothing new. But Steven Wright’s flat, deadpan delivery made all the difference. It was as if someone shocked before he was onstage. Bobcat Goldthwait’s delivery was even more unusual. Each joke was delivered in a pitchy, high voice that was interrupted by seemingly unprovoked growls. To add to the overall effect, during Comic Relief III he stood on hot coals while telling jokes.
Other characters would emerge, including Emo Phillips and Judy Tenuta. But Pee Wee Herman was by far the biggest character comedian of the ‘80s.
In 1977 The Groundlings staged a performance in which its members created characters that one might see in a comedy club. Paul decided to play a guy that everyone immediately knew would never make it as a comic, partly because Reubens couldn’t remember jokes in real life - he had trouble remembering punch lines and couldn’t properly piece information in sequential order. Saying that Pee-wee Herman was born that night, his distinctive guttural “Ha Ha,” followed by a high-pitched “Heh Heh Heh Heh,” laugh became the character’s catch phrase, as has his insult comeback “I know you are, but what am I?” (Wikipedia)
If the boom is not associated with great alternative comedy, it’s because there was no alternative. Comedians with distinct voices like Judy Tenuta and Pee Wee Herman could--and did--make money in the comedy clubs that were suddenly popping up everywhere. But when the boom was over, unique voices would need to look outside of the clubs to be heard.
Mike Judge tells MTV he's kinda warmed up to the idea of doing a live action Beavis and Butt-Head movie. He just animated a short segment with the duo for the upcoming "The Animation Show."
Andrew Dice Clay: "I think girl comics are doing better than guy comics today. They're more exciting than guy comics." Later, tells interviewer about a girl coming over who a "10-and-a-half." (AV Club)
The good: CBS adds two sitcoms to schedule. The bad: Mike Birbiglia's show appears to have not been picked up. You can watch previews of what they did order.
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