"There's a lot of angry comedy in this city."
- Rick Overton
I like going to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Mic at 87 Ludlow on Thursdays. There's a really good group of people that go there and it's hosted by either Charlie Kasov, Danny St. Germain or Jon Savoy, all of whom are good guys and run a good ship. After the mic there's a Two-Minute Drill, which is a really innovative idea that Charlie came up with and I enjoy a lot.
After the mic and the drill I often head over to RG Daniels' show Potty Mouths, because I like RG and the comics he books. I host every few weeks and always know people there so it's a good time. Last night I did all three, which isn't unusual, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Mic, the Two-Minute Drill and then went to Potty Mouths since Jon Clarke was producing it that night since RG couldn't make it.
There's been something in the back of my mind for a long time and it was really struggling for me to latch on to it all night. Finally during the very last comic I was watching I couldn't stop thinking about it. There are so many comics that are angry. They're just angry and dirty and mean and I have no idea why. I don't understand it at all.
I started to address it at Stay Puft, because the comic before me said something to the effect of his constant unhappiness and almost every other comic applauded. I did not. Nothing against him, I just don't agree. And I got up on stage and said, "I don't understand why you're so unhappy. It's beautiful outside!" It is. It's like 65 degrees out right now. It's fantastic.
Then a good friend of mine, while drunk, blew up during the mic. And at the Two-Minute Drill a few stories were told that were just hateful and angry. And then at Potty Mouths... 80% of the people that went on stage were angry, miserable and mean. Not funny at all. It just doesn't make any sense to me. Are things that bad? Is life really that crushing? Is the world that brutal?
It's not like I haven't been there. I get angry. I've been the Angry Young Man before, but that was when I was 15. By the way, Billy, you're doing great. I grew out of it. It was a phase. I told a friend of mine on St. Patrick's day that I'm not content, but I'm happy. You don't have to be furious to to try and change things. There's Malcolm X and then there's Martin Luthor King Jr., Ghandi, Henry David Thoreau and so many others. Civil disobediance.
Is there something about feeling like an outcast that makes you angry and drives you to comedy? Because these people all seem to think that they're one in a million as people, but as comics they're a dime a dozen. They're everywhere! Everyone yells, screams, tells dirty jokes, mean stories. There's a lot of hate in these shows.
I don't know what to do about it. Ignore it? Try to do my own thing, I guess, but it hurts me to see it. A lot of these people are my friends, but often it's hard to talk to them or encourage them to do somet things, because it's baffling. Have a cookie, man.
Just to close it out, my favorite comedian is Tom Rhodes. He's playing at Comix in July here in New York and I'm definitely going to see him. Rhodes' biggest influence is Bill Hicks, but where Hicks screams, Rhodes seems to smiile. He's got an attitude about him that's very loving and happy. He talks about politics and race and culture and how people are wrong, but it's always with a sense of humor and an air of joy. The potential that life has and the beauty of it seems to get him by. In one of his CDs, "Live in Paris" he says, "The way we eliminate fascism is by laughing at it." Right on, brother. Right on.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Thursday, December 07, 2006
You Wouldn't Believe Me If I Told You
Almost a month ago Ed Murray, Tim Warner, Jon Clarke, Mike Drucker and I decided that we've seen a lot of shitty comedy all over New York City and beyond. We've seen a lot of good comedy too, but a-fuck LOT of bad comedy. They're everywhere. Open mics, alternative rooms, comedy clubs, and little cafes and coffeehouses. Bad comics or just unpolished, unprepared, understated comics are all over this city. So we said, "Fuck this. One day, just one day soon, we're going to the best comedy club in town. The one that has the best booked room and won't just put up any old fucker even though he's got a friend in the club, a famous last name or a solid brown nose. We're going to the Comedy Cellar."
If you've never been to the Comedy Cellar you should really go. As a man well versed in his stand-up comedy in all its avenues (comedy clubs, open mics, myspace, youtube, rooftop comedy, barker shows, colleges, and those little cafes and coffeehouses) I recommend going to any show, but the Cellar is particularly special. It's right under the Olive Tree Cafe and is located in the heart of the village on West 3rd and Bleeker and books some the best talent New York has to offer and since New York is where all the best talent lives they really get the best talent in the world. It's a wide variety of comics, but they're all fucking brilliant. There are therefore two major consequences of that. Since the talent is spectacular the crowds that come know fucking comedy and they know that the comics are going to be great. So their standards are high meaning that when you're bad you're BAD and when you're good you get TONS of appreciation. Number two is that since the crowds are great and the comics are great other great comics drop in unannounced all the time. If you've seen the movie "Comedian" you'll know that Jerry Seinfeld heads over to the Comedy Cellar all the time.
We picked Wednesday, December 6th for the sole reason that it's a weeknight and we'd be able to see great comics trying out new material. There actually aren't a ton of places to really catch that in the city. At least not all at once. Another beautiful thing is that the Cellar does two shows a night and for the price of one admission you're welcome to stay for both shows. So that's at least four hours of comedy for a $10.00 cover charge. The line-up for the night we picked was hosted by Marina Franklin (Last Comic Standing), Julian McCullough (Comedy Central), Lenny Marcus (MTV), Ronnie Garcia (The Late Show), Gary Gulman (Tourgasm, The Late Show, The Tonight Show, Last Comic Standing), Gregg Rogell (The Aristocrats, Conan O'Brien, Tough Crowd, and The Tonight Show) and Keith Robinson (Tough Crowd, HBO) for the first show. Then Marina hosting again, Jessica Kirson (The Tonight Show, Carson Daly, Last Comic Standing, VH1, Bravo, Premium Blend), Pete Correale (The Tonight Show), Sherrod Small (Best Week Ever, Tough Crowd, Showtime at the Apollo), Jim Florentine (Crank Yankers, Tough Crowd, Howard Stern, MTV), Dan Naturman (Last Comic Standing, Jimmy Kimmil Live, The Late Show), Dave Attell (Insomniac, The Late Show, Tough Crowd) and Ardie Fuqua (Tough Crowd) for the second. That's a pretty damn good show.
It starts out with Marina Franklin going up. I thought she was great on Last Comic Standing. She didn't get into the house and I remember thinking she got totally ripped off. I saw her last February at The Comic Strip with a few friends when they came up from Philly and she was the best of the night in my opinion. She did a bunch of crowd work up front with a few jokes mixed in and the crowd was rolling, picking up steam. We liked her unanimously.
After that was Julian McCullough who was very funny. He also did a bunch of crowd work with some jokes in there for good measure. His wasn't warming up crowd work though. It was just free flowing. He called back to other bits or laugh lines a bunch of times. I'd never seen him before, but I'd love to see him again.
Next was Lenny Marcus. Lenny started off slow and wasn't loving the crowd. The crowd was loving him though. He's a very cynical guuy, which is one thing to love about him. I did a quick one nighter on Saturday where he headlined at a Temple in Long Island. He was great and has a CD that you should pick up called You're Getting a Zero. You could really tell how self-loathing all these guys are, but Lenny especially. Beautiful in its way.
I was dying to see this guy and when we saw him in th room we were crossing our fingers he was going up. Guess who dropped in: Jim Norton. If you've ever watched Tough Crowd, listened to Opie and Anthony or been to the Adult Film Awards you've seen little Jimmy Norton. The most vile, filthy human being on the face of the planet. His first joke had him fucking a tranny. His last bit was about a girl squirting in his face and went on for five minutes. He was really great. I guess he was working on something, but I had never heard any of it before and a lot of it was really fucking good. The crowd wasn't even coming along with him on some stuff, but he really got them with just a little interaction and then it was back to just straight jokes. Awesome.
Followed by Gary Gulman who just had a special on Comedy Central called "A Boyish Man" and I hear he's got an HBO special coming out too. I've heard a lot of things about him too. I've heard he's kind of a dick. I've heard he isn't that funny live. I've heard he's too energetic. He was awesome. The crowd loved Norton and Gulman got on stage by saying, "You guys really like the last guy, but just remember, I didn't make him leave. He did a bunch of Mel Gibson stuff and then went into a bunch of Jewish stuff, and then a bunch of Jewish invention material, and into jokes about Christmas versus Chanukah and closed on a three minute bit about the song The Twelves Days of Christmas. At one point in his set he does an impression of Hitler and then he said, "That's just what Hitler sounded like. He sounds like Peter Sellers playing Dr. Strangelove." The five of us were the only people who got it and we loved it. We applauded for a full thirty seconds and after his set Gary came over and shook our hands. Good guy.
Gregg Rogell, who has one of my favorite styles of delivery, was on after Gary and had a really solid set. He's kind of like a darker Matthew Broderick. I guess he was practicing for something, because he kept mentioning something about order. His writing is so technical and quick too. Really great stuff. I've seen him before and he is just so smooth. Once a guy dropped a beer bottle and it shattered. Without missing a beat Gregg goes, "A Jewish couple just got married," and then goes into all his Jewish material. Great act, Gregg Rogell.
To close out the first show was Keith Robinson. Keith is nuts and I've seen him before too. He really goes all out. Crowd work, ad libbing, material. It's all there. He went long too, but damned if I remember it. I remember that I was laughing.
Then there was a short intermission for whoever wanted to leave or come in. The second show (half) started around 11:10. marnina did a little bit of crowd work, recognized us and two other tables, and brought up the first comic.
The first comic was Jessica Kirson and right now I've got to sidetrack a bit. First of Jessica has always been a very nice person whenever I've seen her. I've met her a few times now and once when she was practicing for the Tonight Show. When she walked into the room she recognized Mike and then a few more of us. Asked us how were and chatted for a bit. THEN she asked if we'd paid our cover yet and got three of our five covers comped because we were comics. And then she said, "Sorry, I only got three comped. They're cheap here." Then she shot the shit with us a little more before going over her set list and walking on stage. I love her. THEN she CRUSHED! I was dying. Best set of the night so far and her entire fifteen minutes was gold. She would turn to the back wall and speak like an inner thought, but fuck all those were directed right at the five of us. We were given her an applause break, she turns and says, "Don't applaud, it'll never fill the hole." She was a ball of energy and sharp wit, man. Fucking brilliant. She'd start some crowd work and then turn into a joke before anyone could answer. "I don't have left-overs! Where are you from? I hate birthdays." Fantastic. One of the top three highlights of the night, definitely.
Second was Pete Correalle who'd I'd never seen before. Smart guy, real funny and he had some really good jokes, but Jessica was a damn hard act to follow. But he had us going a lot. if Pete's on stage, stay in the room, dude.
Next was Sherrod Small who was also really funny, but to me he was a little like a poor man's Keith Robinson. He would start to lose the crowd at some points, but he would always get them back. Nothing he said was really that new though. It felt like he hadn't written a new joke in a long time, but he was definitely fucking funny. I've seen him before and he's got a great attitude up there. Just fun loving and shit. It's really cool to witness.
After Sherrod was Dan Naturman who'd I'd never seen live before, but I've seen him on TV a bunch. He's a great joke writer, kind of in the same vein as Gregg Rogell. Somewhat dark, but with quick and fun delivery. Very Jewy if we're going to get into details. He's got one of my all time favorite bits about owning a calculator watch, but he didn't do it. Sadness. But he did a ton of other great bits I hadn't heard before.
I was really looking forward to seeing Jim Florentine who went up next, but I didn't love him. He had some really funny jokes and some jokes that felt really long. Maybe it was new, but I don't know. He was a cool guy though. You could tell he was smart, but I'd heard so many crazy great things about him and he didn't live up to his reputation. Whatever, there's always next time and it wasn't like he was anywhere near bad.
Second drop in of the night was after Jim and that was Shawn Wayans. Yes, of the Wayans brothers. No, not Damon. No, not Marlon either. The one who's always around with Marlon. No, not Damon. No, not Keenan. Shawn. Thhe Harpo Marx of the Wayans Brothers. He was very funny, but I'd definitely say he lost me. The last ten minutes of his set was a lot of different dance stories and moves that I thought was just all act out. What's he, a clown? He did have some really great stuff though. A girl telling him "I want a sponsor!" was priceless.
I did kind of just want Shawn off stage so I could see the next guy. Basically the guy I came to fucking see. Dave Attell! Oh, man, he's the shit. One of the best joke writers in the business. And none of it is safe. And I hadn't even heard one joke that he told tonight. I think a ton of it was new and yet he didn't look at his notes once while he was on stage. Absolutely incredible. I wouldn't say he killed, but damn did he have these people. It was hard to top.
Dave Chappelle. He lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio and was in New York City for a few days and he came to the Comedy Cellar and ended up doing forty minutes off the top of his fucking head. He did a bunch of Michael Richards stuff and Jesse Jackson stuff all while smoking a cigarette mind you. Indoors, how taboo. Then he just blurted out, "What do you want to talk about? I don't have any material." It was crazy. He's KILLING and doesn't have ANY written jokes. Halfway through his set he looked at a notebook, says, "These all suck," and goes back to just talking about stuff. He talked about Michael Richards and Jesse Jackson. "Jesse wants to ban the n-word. You don't need to do that. Why don't we ban people treating us like n*ggers? Fuck it, banning the word's easier." He talked about Britney Spears' pussy, Dick Cheney's daughter, a man raping his mother (and it was funny too), Chappelle's Show, his career, fame, being unemployed, traveling the world, Dubai, and even the Rocky Mountain National Park. It was fucking fantastic. One of the best things I've ever seen in my entire life. He's so quick witted and fun. Telling stories like they're jokes. He started talking about The Cosmic Joke and gave some brilliant examples too. He's definitely transcending the art form and is bringing it all around. He makes everyone look like an amatuer. And then he left and then tried to end the show.
But no, the crowd was still amped and even though he got MAJORLY bumped, Ardie Fuqua went on stage last. A bunch of people left after Chappelle, but Ardie did awesome too. We were still hyped, but he was funny. Just doing crowd work and free feeling it. He did about seven minutes and then said good night and everyone left.
It was a motherfucking great night. Marina Franklin, Julian McCullough, Lenny Marcus, JIM NORTON, GARY GULMAN, GREGG ROGELL, Keith Robinson, JESSICA KIRSON, Pete Correalle, Sherrod Small, Dan Naturman, Jim Florentine, Shawn Wayans, DAVE ATTELL, DAVE CHAPPELLE, and Ardie Fuqua. That's something special.
If you've never been to the Comedy Cellar you should really go. As a man well versed in his stand-up comedy in all its avenues (comedy clubs, open mics, myspace, youtube, rooftop comedy, barker shows, colleges, and those little cafes and coffeehouses) I recommend going to any show, but the Cellar is particularly special. It's right under the Olive Tree Cafe and is located in the heart of the village on West 3rd and Bleeker and books some the best talent New York has to offer and since New York is where all the best talent lives they really get the best talent in the world. It's a wide variety of comics, but they're all fucking brilliant. There are therefore two major consequences of that. Since the talent is spectacular the crowds that come know fucking comedy and they know that the comics are going to be great. So their standards are high meaning that when you're bad you're BAD and when you're good you get TONS of appreciation. Number two is that since the crowds are great and the comics are great other great comics drop in unannounced all the time. If you've seen the movie "Comedian" you'll know that Jerry Seinfeld heads over to the Comedy Cellar all the time.
We picked Wednesday, December 6th for the sole reason that it's a weeknight and we'd be able to see great comics trying out new material. There actually aren't a ton of places to really catch that in the city. At least not all at once. Another beautiful thing is that the Cellar does two shows a night and for the price of one admission you're welcome to stay for both shows. So that's at least four hours of comedy for a $10.00 cover charge. The line-up for the night we picked was hosted by Marina Franklin (Last Comic Standing), Julian McCullough (Comedy Central), Lenny Marcus (MTV), Ronnie Garcia (The Late Show), Gary Gulman (Tourgasm, The Late Show, The Tonight Show, Last Comic Standing), Gregg Rogell (The Aristocrats, Conan O'Brien, Tough Crowd, and The Tonight Show) and Keith Robinson (Tough Crowd, HBO) for the first show. Then Marina hosting again, Jessica Kirson (The Tonight Show, Carson Daly, Last Comic Standing, VH1, Bravo, Premium Blend), Pete Correale (The Tonight Show), Sherrod Small (Best Week Ever, Tough Crowd, Showtime at the Apollo), Jim Florentine (Crank Yankers, Tough Crowd, Howard Stern, MTV), Dan Naturman (Last Comic Standing, Jimmy Kimmil Live, The Late Show), Dave Attell (Insomniac, The Late Show, Tough Crowd) and Ardie Fuqua (Tough Crowd) for the second. That's a pretty damn good show.
It starts out with Marina Franklin going up. I thought she was great on Last Comic Standing. She didn't get into the house and I remember thinking she got totally ripped off. I saw her last February at The Comic Strip with a few friends when they came up from Philly and she was the best of the night in my opinion. She did a bunch of crowd work up front with a few jokes mixed in and the crowd was rolling, picking up steam. We liked her unanimously.
After that was Julian McCullough who was very funny. He also did a bunch of crowd work with some jokes in there for good measure. His wasn't warming up crowd work though. It was just free flowing. He called back to other bits or laugh lines a bunch of times. I'd never seen him before, but I'd love to see him again.
Next was Lenny Marcus. Lenny started off slow and wasn't loving the crowd. The crowd was loving him though. He's a very cynical guuy, which is one thing to love about him. I did a quick one nighter on Saturday where he headlined at a Temple in Long Island. He was great and has a CD that you should pick up called You're Getting a Zero. You could really tell how self-loathing all these guys are, but Lenny especially. Beautiful in its way.
I was dying to see this guy and when we saw him in th room we were crossing our fingers he was going up. Guess who dropped in: Jim Norton. If you've ever watched Tough Crowd, listened to Opie and Anthony or been to the Adult Film Awards you've seen little Jimmy Norton. The most vile, filthy human being on the face of the planet. His first joke had him fucking a tranny. His last bit was about a girl squirting in his face and went on for five minutes. He was really great. I guess he was working on something, but I had never heard any of it before and a lot of it was really fucking good. The crowd wasn't even coming along with him on some stuff, but he really got them with just a little interaction and then it was back to just straight jokes. Awesome.
Followed by Gary Gulman who just had a special on Comedy Central called "A Boyish Man" and I hear he's got an HBO special coming out too. I've heard a lot of things about him too. I've heard he's kind of a dick. I've heard he isn't that funny live. I've heard he's too energetic. He was awesome. The crowd loved Norton and Gulman got on stage by saying, "You guys really like the last guy, but just remember, I didn't make him leave. He did a bunch of Mel Gibson stuff and then went into a bunch of Jewish stuff, and then a bunch of Jewish invention material, and into jokes about Christmas versus Chanukah and closed on a three minute bit about the song The Twelves Days of Christmas. At one point in his set he does an impression of Hitler and then he said, "That's just what Hitler sounded like. He sounds like Peter Sellers playing Dr. Strangelove." The five of us were the only people who got it and we loved it. We applauded for a full thirty seconds and after his set Gary came over and shook our hands. Good guy.
Gregg Rogell, who has one of my favorite styles of delivery, was on after Gary and had a really solid set. He's kind of like a darker Matthew Broderick. I guess he was practicing for something, because he kept mentioning something about order. His writing is so technical and quick too. Really great stuff. I've seen him before and he is just so smooth. Once a guy dropped a beer bottle and it shattered. Without missing a beat Gregg goes, "A Jewish couple just got married," and then goes into all his Jewish material. Great act, Gregg Rogell.
To close out the first show was Keith Robinson. Keith is nuts and I've seen him before too. He really goes all out. Crowd work, ad libbing, material. It's all there. He went long too, but damned if I remember it. I remember that I was laughing.
Then there was a short intermission for whoever wanted to leave or come in. The second show (half) started around 11:10. marnina did a little bit of crowd work, recognized us and two other tables, and brought up the first comic.
The first comic was Jessica Kirson and right now I've got to sidetrack a bit. First of Jessica has always been a very nice person whenever I've seen her. I've met her a few times now and once when she was practicing for the Tonight Show. When she walked into the room she recognized Mike and then a few more of us. Asked us how were and chatted for a bit. THEN she asked if we'd paid our cover yet and got three of our five covers comped because we were comics. And then she said, "Sorry, I only got three comped. They're cheap here." Then she shot the shit with us a little more before going over her set list and walking on stage. I love her. THEN she CRUSHED! I was dying. Best set of the night so far and her entire fifteen minutes was gold. She would turn to the back wall and speak like an inner thought, but fuck all those were directed right at the five of us. We were given her an applause break, she turns and says, "Don't applaud, it'll never fill the hole." She was a ball of energy and sharp wit, man. Fucking brilliant. She'd start some crowd work and then turn into a joke before anyone could answer. "I don't have left-overs! Where are you from? I hate birthdays." Fantastic. One of the top three highlights of the night, definitely.
Second was Pete Correalle who'd I'd never seen before. Smart guy, real funny and he had some really good jokes, but Jessica was a damn hard act to follow. But he had us going a lot. if Pete's on stage, stay in the room, dude.
Next was Sherrod Small who was also really funny, but to me he was a little like a poor man's Keith Robinson. He would start to lose the crowd at some points, but he would always get them back. Nothing he said was really that new though. It felt like he hadn't written a new joke in a long time, but he was definitely fucking funny. I've seen him before and he's got a great attitude up there. Just fun loving and shit. It's really cool to witness.
After Sherrod was Dan Naturman who'd I'd never seen live before, but I've seen him on TV a bunch. He's a great joke writer, kind of in the same vein as Gregg Rogell. Somewhat dark, but with quick and fun delivery. Very Jewy if we're going to get into details. He's got one of my all time favorite bits about owning a calculator watch, but he didn't do it. Sadness. But he did a ton of other great bits I hadn't heard before.
I was really looking forward to seeing Jim Florentine who went up next, but I didn't love him. He had some really funny jokes and some jokes that felt really long. Maybe it was new, but I don't know. He was a cool guy though. You could tell he was smart, but I'd heard so many crazy great things about him and he didn't live up to his reputation. Whatever, there's always next time and it wasn't like he was anywhere near bad.
Second drop in of the night was after Jim and that was Shawn Wayans. Yes, of the Wayans brothers. No, not Damon. No, not Marlon either. The one who's always around with Marlon. No, not Damon. No, not Keenan. Shawn. Thhe Harpo Marx of the Wayans Brothers. He was very funny, but I'd definitely say he lost me. The last ten minutes of his set was a lot of different dance stories and moves that I thought was just all act out. What's he, a clown? He did have some really great stuff though. A girl telling him "I want a sponsor!" was priceless.
I did kind of just want Shawn off stage so I could see the next guy. Basically the guy I came to fucking see. Dave Attell! Oh, man, he's the shit. One of the best joke writers in the business. And none of it is safe. And I hadn't even heard one joke that he told tonight. I think a ton of it was new and yet he didn't look at his notes once while he was on stage. Absolutely incredible. I wouldn't say he killed, but damn did he have these people. It was hard to top.
Dave Chappelle. He lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio and was in New York City for a few days and he came to the Comedy Cellar and ended up doing forty minutes off the top of his fucking head. He did a bunch of Michael Richards stuff and Jesse Jackson stuff all while smoking a cigarette mind you. Indoors, how taboo. Then he just blurted out, "What do you want to talk about? I don't have any material." It was crazy. He's KILLING and doesn't have ANY written jokes. Halfway through his set he looked at a notebook, says, "These all suck," and goes back to just talking about stuff. He talked about Michael Richards and Jesse Jackson. "Jesse wants to ban the n-word. You don't need to do that. Why don't we ban people treating us like n*ggers? Fuck it, banning the word's easier." He talked about Britney Spears' pussy, Dick Cheney's daughter, a man raping his mother (and it was funny too), Chappelle's Show, his career, fame, being unemployed, traveling the world, Dubai, and even the Rocky Mountain National Park. It was fucking fantastic. One of the best things I've ever seen in my entire life. He's so quick witted and fun. Telling stories like they're jokes. He started talking about The Cosmic Joke and gave some brilliant examples too. He's definitely transcending the art form and is bringing it all around. He makes everyone look like an amatuer. And then he left and then tried to end the show.
But no, the crowd was still amped and even though he got MAJORLY bumped, Ardie Fuqua went on stage last. A bunch of people left after Chappelle, but Ardie did awesome too. We were still hyped, but he was funny. Just doing crowd work and free feeling it. He did about seven minutes and then said good night and everyone left.
It was a motherfucking great night. Marina Franklin, Julian McCullough, Lenny Marcus, JIM NORTON, GARY GULMAN, GREGG ROGELL, Keith Robinson, JESSICA KIRSON, Pete Correalle, Sherrod Small, Dan Naturman, Jim Florentine, Shawn Wayans, DAVE ATTELL, DAVE CHAPPELLE, and Ardie Fuqua. That's something special.
Friday, November 17, 2006
How Old Are You?
I fucking hate that. "How old are you?" Y'know what, how old are you? I used to get asked this all the time, but not so much anymore. But tonight I was asked it on each show. Two women just didn't give a shit about what I had to say just because I wasn't born before the year 1975. Fuck that, man! They totally thought they were better than me for having more life experience. But they're not. Y'know what makes you better than someone? Being tolerant and patient. Not judging a book by it's cover.
Oh, also today I saw someone get hit by a car and met a guy who was stabbed on Wednesday.
Oh, also today I saw someone get hit by a car and met a guy who was stabbed on Wednesday.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
The Vibe In Here Is Great Right Now
Emmie said my favorite thing last night. "There's a great vibe in here right now." There was nothing really special that happened last night, but I ton of little cool things happened and I was a big fan of that. I was just so happy throughout the night. A little stressed at times, but all in all having a great time. Here's how it went down:
So in the afternoon Aaron Haber, Shannon Sutherland, Ed Murray and I had rehearsal and afterwards Aaron, Shannon, and I went to Lucky's for burgers afterwards. They were delicious.
Anyway, the shows then went very well. The comics were good, the audiences were outstanding, and almost everyone made money. Almost everyone. That's incredible. My sets ranged from sood to awesome and my new jokes did great on each show.
Some great people were around too. Ed, Mike Drucker, John Knefel, Jeff Sussman, Meghan Hanley, Jon Clarke, Eric I., Pat Dixon, Josh Spear, and so many more were on a bunch of shows. Jesse Joyce, Andy Hendrickson, and Keith Alberstadt were all hanging out and funny. It was also a night of great stories. Drucker and Ed told me a hilarious story early on, but John Knefel (http://www.myspace.com/johnknefel) took the cake, man. I hope he blogs about it, but either way I was dying.
On the 10:30 show I knew I did well and while I was getting off I made that ridiculous cocky effort to make eye contact with people I wanted compliments from. And it worked. And they stayed. And I got some phone numbers CAUSE I'M THE SHIT. All right, that's really arrogant. Fact is it almost never works for me and it worked perfectly last night so I'm proud. Can't a boy be proud of something? Please? Lara?
Everyone was just in a great mood last night. It was a fun place to be. We were sold out for the midnight show and it was just fun. It was fun to be at the Improv last night. I saw so many great people, talked to a ton, made people I know and don't know laugh, I laughed a lot. It was great. Thanks guys. See you tonight.
So in the afternoon Aaron Haber, Shannon Sutherland, Ed Murray and I had rehearsal and afterwards Aaron, Shannon, and I went to Lucky's for burgers afterwards. They were delicious.
Anyway, the shows then went very well. The comics were good, the audiences were outstanding, and almost everyone made money. Almost everyone. That's incredible. My sets ranged from sood to awesome and my new jokes did great on each show.
Some great people were around too. Ed, Mike Drucker, John Knefel, Jeff Sussman, Meghan Hanley, Jon Clarke, Eric I., Pat Dixon, Josh Spear, and so many more were on a bunch of shows. Jesse Joyce, Andy Hendrickson, and Keith Alberstadt were all hanging out and funny. It was also a night of great stories. Drucker and Ed told me a hilarious story early on, but John Knefel (http://www.myspace.com/johnknefel) took the cake, man. I hope he blogs about it, but either way I was dying.
On the 10:30 show I knew I did well and while I was getting off I made that ridiculous cocky effort to make eye contact with people I wanted compliments from. And it worked. And they stayed. And I got some phone numbers CAUSE I'M THE SHIT. All right, that's really arrogant. Fact is it almost never works for me and it worked perfectly last night so I'm proud. Can't a boy be proud of something? Please? Lara?
Everyone was just in a great mood last night. It was a fun place to be. We were sold out for the midnight show and it was just fun. It was fun to be at the Improv last night. I saw so many great people, talked to a ton, made people I know and don't know laugh, I laughed a lot. It was great. Thanks guys. See you tonight.
How L.O.E. Can You Go?
Last night Lara Yaz, Ed Murray, and Tim Warner produced a show at the Improv called Lack O' Ettiquite. It was good and I had a lot of fun. There were a bunch of people I hadn't seen in awhile and that alone was awesome, but the real treat was watching everyone perform that I knew and the one guy I didn't. They all just looked so good up there. Now I didn't see everyone's set regrettably, because I had to do some sets next door for The World, but what I saw was really good.
Josh Spear hosted the show and did a great job. He was a great anchor for the show. Everything blended together so nicely and there's something I really like about how Josh sits on the stool and no one else does. It's very comfortable.
I helped make the line-up and one criteria I was made aware of was that Ed Murray wanted to go up first. And he did. Ed looked fucking fantastic. Swinging new bits in with old ones, it was great. He closed on a bit that I haven't seen him do in a long while either and that was cool to watch.
Lara Yaz was the next comic I saw and she did really great. She opened with her Alcoholic material, which is all very well written. Again it was one of the most fun sets I saw of the night. She stuck to her set a lot and got a great reaction for it.
The one guy on the show I didn't know was Dan Curray and he rocked. Very jokey, very non-traditional, and very funny.
Tim Warner followed Dan and did what he does best: owns the stage. Whenever Tim is on stage you fucking know it. He doesn't really have to say anything, but it all still seems apart of the act. Most times it is. Some great jokes in there. What was cool was that the the really jokey stuff for Tim that usually kills got decent responses and the longer stuff that often will go unnoticed by a crowd went over huge. Everything in the GNR bit was great.
After Tim was Tom McCaffrey who destroyed the room. His premises were getting laughs. Then his punchlines. His tags. And his toppers. They all just rocked. He told maybe ten jokes in a twelve minute set, because people were dying.
Pat Dixon closed out the show and probably did a solid twenty or twenty-five minutes. Pat's sets flow so beautifully well. It's such a great thing to watch. It doesn't feel like he's telling jokes. It feels like he's just getting shit off of his chest. He closed on one of my favorite bits: the blow up doll. "Fuck you, air whore, I gave you life!"
It was a fantastic show, guys. Good job.
Josh Spear hosted the show and did a great job. He was a great anchor for the show. Everything blended together so nicely and there's something I really like about how Josh sits on the stool and no one else does. It's very comfortable.
I helped make the line-up and one criteria I was made aware of was that Ed Murray wanted to go up first. And he did. Ed looked fucking fantastic. Swinging new bits in with old ones, it was great. He closed on a bit that I haven't seen him do in a long while either and that was cool to watch.
Lara Yaz was the next comic I saw and she did really great. She opened with her Alcoholic material, which is all very well written. Again it was one of the most fun sets I saw of the night. She stuck to her set a lot and got a great reaction for it.
The one guy on the show I didn't know was Dan Curray and he rocked. Very jokey, very non-traditional, and very funny.
Tim Warner followed Dan and did what he does best: owns the stage. Whenever Tim is on stage you fucking know it. He doesn't really have to say anything, but it all still seems apart of the act. Most times it is. Some great jokes in there. What was cool was that the the really jokey stuff for Tim that usually kills got decent responses and the longer stuff that often will go unnoticed by a crowd went over huge. Everything in the GNR bit was great.
After Tim was Tom McCaffrey who destroyed the room. His premises were getting laughs. Then his punchlines. His tags. And his toppers. They all just rocked. He told maybe ten jokes in a twelve minute set, because people were dying.
Pat Dixon closed out the show and probably did a solid twenty or twenty-five minutes. Pat's sets flow so beautifully well. It's such a great thing to watch. It doesn't feel like he's telling jokes. It feels like he's just getting shit off of his chest. He closed on one of my favorite bits: the blow up doll. "Fuck you, air whore, I gave you life!"
It was a fantastic show, guys. Good job.
How L.O.E. Can You Go?
Last night Lara Yaz, Ed Murray, and Tim Warner produced a show at the Improv called Lack O' Ettiquite. It was good and I had a lot of fun. There were a bunch of people I hadn't seen in awhile and that alone was awesome, but the real treat was watching everyone perform that I knew and the one guy I didn't. They all just looked so good up there. Now I didn't see everyone's set regrettably, because I had to do some sets next door for The World, but what I saw was really good.
Josh Spear hosted the show and did a great job. He was a great anchor for the show. Everything blended together so nicely and there's something I really like about how Josh sits on the stool and no one else does. It's very comfortable.
I helped make the line-up and one criteria I was made aware of was that Ed Murray wanted to go up first. And he did. Ed looked fucking fantastic. Swinging new bits in with old ones, it was great. He closed on a bit that I haven't seen him do in a long while either and that was cool to watch.
Lara Yaz was the next comic I saw and she did really great. She opened with her Alcoholic material, which is all very well written. Again it was one of the most fun sets I saw of the night. She stuck to her set a lot and got a great reaction for it.
The one guy on the show I didn't know was Dan Curray and he rocked. Very jokey, very non-traditional, and very funny.
Tim Warner followed Dan and did what he does best: owns the stage. Whenever Tim is on stage you fucking know it. He doesn't really have to say anything, but it all still seems apart of the act. Most times it is. Some great jokes in there. What was cool was that the the really jokey stuff for Tim that usually kills got decent responses and the longer stuff that often will go unnoticed by a crowd went over huge. Everything in the GNR bit was great.
After Tim was Tom McCaffrey who destroyed the room. His premises were getting laughs. Then his punchlines. His tags. And his toppers. They all just rocked. He told maybe ten jokes in a twelve minute set, because people were dying.
Pat Dixon closed out the show and probably did a solid twenty or twenty-five minutes. Pat's sets flow so beautifully well. It's such a great thing to watch. It doesn't feel like he's telling jokes. It feels like he's just getting shit off of his chest. He closed on one of my favorite bits: the blow up doll. "Fuck you, air whore, I gave you life!"
It was a fantastic show, guys. Good job.
Josh Spear hosted the show and did a great job. He was a great anchor for the show. Everything blended together so nicely and there's something I really like about how Josh sits on the stool and no one else does. It's very comfortable.
I helped make the line-up and one criteria I was made aware of was that Ed Murray wanted to go up first. And he did. Ed looked fucking fantastic. Swinging new bits in with old ones, it was great. He closed on a bit that I haven't seen him do in a long while either and that was cool to watch.
Lara Yaz was the next comic I saw and she did really great. She opened with her Alcoholic material, which is all very well written. Again it was one of the most fun sets I saw of the night. She stuck to her set a lot and got a great reaction for it.
The one guy on the show I didn't know was Dan Curray and he rocked. Very jokey, very non-traditional, and very funny.
Tim Warner followed Dan and did what he does best: owns the stage. Whenever Tim is on stage you fucking know it. He doesn't really have to say anything, but it all still seems apart of the act. Most times it is. Some great jokes in there. What was cool was that the the really jokey stuff for Tim that usually kills got decent responses and the longer stuff that often will go unnoticed by a crowd went over huge. Everything in the GNR bit was great.
After Tim was Tom McCaffrey who destroyed the room. His premises were getting laughs. Then his punchlines. His tags. And his toppers. They all just rocked. He told maybe ten jokes in a twelve minute set, because people were dying.
Pat Dixon closed out the show and probably did a solid twenty or twenty-five minutes. Pat's sets flow so beautifully well. It's such a great thing to watch. It doesn't feel like he's telling jokes. It feels like he's just getting shit off of his chest. He closed on one of my favorite bits: the blow up doll. "Fuck you, air whore, I gave you life!"
It was a fantastic show, guys. Good job.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Thursday, November 02, 2006
BOOKS! The New Magazine!
I'm a fan of reading. No one seems to do it anymore, but everyone I know seems to always be reading something so maybe that's not true. Nobody rads enough. I know I don't. I read about two or three books a month. A year ago that number was closer to six and I was proud of that. I wasn't do shit else, but I was reading like it was my job and essentially it was. I just wasn't getting paid.
Right now I'm reading a book by Ritch Shydner and Mark Schiff, two comedians that I'm 90% sure you've never heard of. It's a collection of road stories by over 100 famous and non-famous working comics that vary from their worst experiences, successes, and just plain old bizzare stuff. The book's called I Killed and if you're a comic it's very interesting. If you're a citizen then you might still enjoy it. In the same way that I imagine you'd enjoy the movie "Comedian."
The next book on my shelf is Catch 22, which I'm really excited to pick up. I used to own it, but Dan Tovrov borrowed it from me in 2004 and I never got it back from him. I don't think I ever asked for it again. We used to trade a lot of books. You should exchange some books with someone else. Like a writing buddy it's a reading buddy.
I should fucking host my own book show. Like the new Reading Rainbow. Man, I hated that show when I was a kid. That was a show that would come on and I'd look for the remote like it was kryptonite and Superman was after me. That show was on for twenty-one years, from 1983 to 2004 and they still air reruns on PBS. That is a lot of children's books. How many times can Spot run across the yard? Apparently more than Terrell Owens.
Right now I'm reading a book by Ritch Shydner and Mark Schiff, two comedians that I'm 90% sure you've never heard of. It's a collection of road stories by over 100 famous and non-famous working comics that vary from their worst experiences, successes, and just plain old bizzare stuff. The book's called I Killed and if you're a comic it's very interesting. If you're a citizen then you might still enjoy it. In the same way that I imagine you'd enjoy the movie "Comedian."
The next book on my shelf is Catch 22, which I'm really excited to pick up. I used to own it, but Dan Tovrov borrowed it from me in 2004 and I never got it back from him. I don't think I ever asked for it again. We used to trade a lot of books. You should exchange some books with someone else. Like a writing buddy it's a reading buddy.
I should fucking host my own book show. Like the new Reading Rainbow. Man, I hated that show when I was a kid. That was a show that would come on and I'd look for the remote like it was kryptonite and Superman was after me. That show was on for twenty-one years, from 1983 to 2004 and they still air reruns on PBS. That is a lot of children's books. How many times can Spot run across the yard? Apparently more than Terrell Owens.
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