I hope not.  My group has been working with others to try and keep things alive in this city.  But so many people come in and out it’s a rest stop for most talented writers/performers.  It would totally rock if you guys checked out some what’s in this great town.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agMmZzRTnA4

We are desperately trying to hole on to our comedy city, if you’re ever in beantown check out the improve or Remmingtons, there is a lot of great local talent. 

I know Chicago, NY, and LA are still huge.  But does ANYONE think of Boston anymore?

- Wicked Brutal

It’d be great to hole on to the comedy in boston, but more importantly I think that we should try and hold on to whatever’s left. Haven’t heard of the improve, but I have been to the Improv Boston a few times. Heard some funny guys at Emerson College, which is where you’re from I’m guessing. As for Boston comedy, I don’t think its dead. That’s the least of our worries, there are new standups and sketch groups all over the place. I think what we should worry about is if spelling is dead in Boston. That’s the real question. Your video was very funny though. Cheers!

-Doug

I have to go with New York being the best comedy city, simply because

1) I’m here and I’ve had so many transcendent experiences here.
2) The raw amounts of talents and opportunity for talent here. There’s a level of diversity in the art forms that’s unlike anyplace else in the world.

But I’ve admired the Boston scene from afar and from what I know, it’s probably one of the best places to birth yourself as a professional comic. There’s a few places to work with some variety between them and there’s a diversity of both alternative and club audiences, which allows you to learn to be funny for more folks. It’s sheltered enough from the industry that you don’t have to worry that you’ll be seen before you’re ready to be seen. You can focus on the art and not the industry, which is the important part for a developing comic. Plus, Emerson.

Todd

Haha, true. 

Everyone is very young here who performs.  Most of the older guys just never got out.  I’ve actually never seen a comedy show IN New York.  But I imagine it’s a bit of an older crowd.

Wow. I haven’t even been gone a year and already Boston comedy is declared dead?!

Seriously, though. Your post is a bit naive and misguided (which probably is because of the naivete). Remington’s (The Vault) is a venue, yes, and comedians do go there. But you need to get out more often, and maybe, oh, I don’t know, visit The Comedy Studio in Harvard Square or the Comedy Connection. Or merely turn on the TV in June. This year’s Live At Gotham showcase on Comedy Central features three stand-up comedians who live in the Boston area, as well as at least three others who got their starts in Boston.

Boston/Cambridge remains a great breeding ground for comedy. It has been that way for the past three decades (rent/buy the DVD of “When Stand Up Stood Out” to see how it got rolling in the early 1980s). That historical precedent has reinforced a built-in nurturing effect for young, new comedians to experiment and get their footing before they move off to New York City or Los Angeles, which they tend to do in waves every couple of years. There are still plenty of young comedians along with cagey veteran stand-ups, improv and sketch groups performing at places such as Improv Boston and Improv Asylum, and a number of venues exist out in the suburbs where other, older veteran stand-up fixtures from the 1980s continue to headline.

So, to answer your question: No. Boston comedy is not dead.

I actually have seen that documentary, it’s very good.  I feel like that kind of environment is what’s missing.  I have frequented many comedy clubs in this city, it’s what I do.  I find that most people are either comics stuck in the area who aren’t that great, or students.  Which is fine, but there’s no representation of Boston in the Boston comedy scene.  The comics that land here could have been from anywhere, there’s a different vibe.  Unique blue collar Boston life has been replaced with bad mainstream humor that attracts an audience of thirty somethings and college kids.  But that’s just from what I’ve seen, and I’m naive so don’t take my word for it.